Oxford Village and Township added their voices to the north Oakland County communities opposed to a proposed mass transit tax expected to be put before voters on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Last week, both the village council and township board passed resolutions against the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) of Southeast Michigan’s proposed 20-year, 1.2-mill property tax.

One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. A home with a taxable value of $100,000 would pay an additional $120 annually under the RTA millage.

“I can’t support (the RTA tax),” said village Councilman Tom Kennis. “I love the idea of (a mass transit system). It works. I’ve seen it in cities all over the world, but now is not the time to put any additional burden on our tax base (when the village has needs of its own).”

Township Treasurer Joe Ferrari said he does not believe the mass transit plan is a bad concept, “I just don’t think it should be funded by property taxes.”

“There’s a lot of private grants out there, different developments – those are the ones that should be paying (for) it,” he said.

Oxford officials are not alone in their opposition as the Leonard Village Council and Addison Township Board both passed anti-RTA tax resolutions last month.

The proposed RTA tax would be used to develop and operate a regional mass transit system linking parts of Oakland, Macomb, Wayne and Washtenaw counties. If approved, the tax expected to generate $2.9 billion in tax revenue over two decades.

A new rail line connecting downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor is the centerpiece of the RTA plan. It’s expected to make eight round trips per day beginning in 2022.

Dollars would also be used for new/extended local bus services, cross-county connector services and to establish a bus rapid transit (BRT) system. A BRT system involves special buses operating in a way similar to a rail line, traveling in dedicated lanes at higher speeds.

The entire mass transit plan is expected to cost $4.6 billion when state and federal matching funds included.

But none of these proposed services would extend to any of the townships, villages and cities in northern and western Oakland County.

Oxford’s village council voted 4-1 in favor of the anti-RTA millage resolution at its July 12 meeting.

“I am opposed to it,” said village President Sue Bossardet.

Councilman Erik Dolan said he’s “adamantly opposed” to the mass transit tax, which he sees as benefiting the “more urban areas” at the expense of communities like Oxford.

“I don’t think it will have a significant impact on our locale,” he said. “It is my belief that it is essentially a tax designed to generate revenue from the locations which have the ability to pay (it) in order to benefit the areas which do not have the ability to pay (it).”

The only opposition to the resolution came from Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth.

“I’d just like to say that I, for one, am not opposed to this,” she said. “I think even though it doesn’t come to Oxford, I think there’s a benefit to all the residents in Michigan.”

Helmuth believes a regional mass transit system will help save money on “road repairs” and lead to “less (exhaust) emissions in the air” as more people use public transportation instead of their own vehicles.

“I think this is going to be beneficial even if it’s not coming directly to my door,” she said.

Bossardet disagreed.

“I don’t see this changing anything as far as roads or (creating) less traffic,” she said.

Bossardet expressed her confidence in the locally-operated-and-funded North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA).

“I think that our NOTA service here, that we’re paying for, is something that we should wholeheartedly support,” she said.

NOTA provides low-cost, publicly-subsidized transportation for senior citizens, disabled individuals and low-income folks living in Oxford, Addison and Orion townships along with the villages of Oxford, Leonard and Lake Orion.

NOTA is governed by officials from the six communities and funded by local taxpayers via a mix of contributions from the municipalities and a dedicated property tax approved by voters in 2014 and 2015. The rate was originally 0.25 mill, but the Headlee Amendment reduced it slightly.

But Helmuth argued NOTA and the RTA can’t be compared as they are “apples and oranges.”

“I don’t think they’re the same thing at all,” she said. “NOTA doesn’t take you to Ann Arbor. NOTA doesn’t take you to Detroit.”

In Helmuth’s view, Michigan, known for its auto industry, is “so far behind” other places when it comes to mass transit.

“The Big Three want you to buy cars,” she said. “Well, not everybody can afford a car.”

At its July 13 meeting, township officials passed their anti-RTA resolution 7-0.

Ferrari expressed his concern that millage after millage is being piled on property owners. “We keep putting all these burdens on the taxpayers,” he said. “We’ve got the DIA (tax). We’ve got the (Detroit) zoo (tax). Now, we’re adding this.”

DIA stands for Detroit Institute of Arts.

The treasurer fears all these regional millages will impact the ability of local governments to get millage proposals passed that directly benefit local residents.

Ferrari proposed putting a “clause” in the resolution requesting that if the RTA millage is approved, 50 percent of the revenue generated by it would be rebated to the local municipalities to help fund NOTA.

“So at least we get some value out of the money,” he said. “I’m sure it’s not going to make a difference, but still.”

Ferarri’s suggestion received no support.

Trustee Jack Curtis suggested Oxford and the other municipalities opposed to the mass transit tax should forward their resolutions to the RTA and let them know this area doesn’t want to pay for something that’s not going to benefit north Oakland County.

“It means nothing to us,” he said.