Brandon Twp.- Taxpayers will get some relief on their December tax bills.
The township board approved the 2015 millage rates by a 4-2 vote at a special Sept. 24 meeting. Clerk Candee Allen, Treasurer Terri Darnall, and trustees Dana DePalma and Jayson Rumball voted yes. Supervisor Kathy Thurman and Trustee Bill DeWitt voted no. Trustee Ron Lapp was absent.
Following the public truth-in-taxation hearing, the board approved the following rates: .9966 mills for township operating; 4.0 mills for police operating; 3.8 mills for fire operating; .5905 mills for fire equipment and housing; and .6300 mills for library debt.
‘I was in favor of my original proposed millage rate of 3.75 for police operating, because it would offer more of a break for the taxpayers and still allow us to reach our goal for the carry forward, but in two years instead of one,? said Thurman.
The board was in agreement about all of the rates except the police millage rate, although it is still lower than the 4.25 mills that was levied in 2014 after voters passed the 4.25 mills to continue to keep 10.5 Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputies contracted to patrol the township for the next five years, as well as keep the OCSO substation in downtown Ortonville.
Boardmembers had settled on requesting 4.25 mills from voters in order to build up the police fund balance and be able to support police without the cable franchise fees they had been using to supplement the fund.
The board’s goal during strategic planning sessions was to get the police fund balance to 25 percent of expenditures. A 4 mill levy will achieve that goal by the end of next year, whereas a 3.75 mill levy would have taken more than two years to arrive at the desired amount.
The township board voted earlier this year to replace a part-time deputy position on the midnight shift with a full-time deputy. The board also agreed to pay the portion of the police liaison officer’s contract as a patrol officer for the township when school is not in session during the summer, as well as during professional development days, vacations, and breaks during the school year.
The township pays $1,424,179 annually for the OCSO contract, which expires this year.