New public safety millage to replace two expiring

By Lisa Brody

A new Bloomfield Township public safety millage was unanimously approved to be placed on the August 2 ballot by the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees on Monday, April 11, to replace two current public safety millages that are expiring.

The new replacement millage will be an increase of .6021 mills, providing an estimated increase of $2.67 million for public safety in 2023. It is a 10-year millage, to be levied starting in December 2023.

There are currently four separate public safety millages in Bloomfield Township. The two that are expiring in 2022 and 2023, public safety millages number 3 and number 4, were both millages with a 10-year levy, and with the replacement millage, number 4 will not be levied in 2023. For 2022, public safety millage number 3 had a levy rate of 1.0572, and public safety millage number 4 had a levy rate of 2.2307, for a combination levy of 3.2879 mills.

The new replacement millage will have a 2023 levy rate of 3.89 mills.

The administration explained that with this new proposal the township in fiscal year 2023-2024 would have three public safety millages totaling 6.4087 mills.

Administration said the combination of the millages with the increase in the levy will allow the return of a traffic unit to provide targeted traffic enforcement; expand animal welfare hours of operation while increasing patrol officers availability; provide for better supervision of dispatchers; and improve the ability to respond to community problems and needs.

Trustee Stephanie Fakih asked why they were putting it on the August ballot, and supervisor Dani Walsh explained it was because there are also two more millages expiring next year, a senior services millage and the safety path millage, “and you don't want to have four millages on the ballot at the same time.”

Walsh said the plan is to have those two on the November ballot, with August devoted solely to public safety.

Clerk Martin Brook explained there was a study session on March 28, and ballot language needed to be approved by the end of April by trustees to make it on the August ballot.

The ballot language reads as: Shall the Charter Township of Bloomfield replace two (2) voter authorized public safety tax levies of 2.2307 mills, and 1.0572 mills (a combined total of 3.2879 mills reduced by required millage rollbacks), due to expire in 2022 and 2023 respectively, with one new combined replacement rate of 3.89 mills, authorizing a levy of $3.89 per $1,000 of taxable value to finance the Charter Township of Bloomfield’s continued providing of fire, police and public safety protection, for a period of 10 years, with the new combined replacement millage to be levied commencing in December 2023 and if the new combined replacement millage is approved, the Charter Township of Bloomfield would not levy the December 2023 levy of the 2014 voter authorized public safety 1.0572 mills as rolled back. This new combined replacement millage will be subject to applicable statutory and constitutional tax limitation provisions at the time of the levy and will not exceed the above stated rate. It is estimated that this proposal would result in the authorization to collect $18,175,000 in the first year if approved and fully levied.