When Oxford Township’s absentee voters receive their ballots in the mail, Parks and Recreation Director Ron Davis hopes they will say ‘yes’ to a millage request designed to continue funding his department for another decade.

“It’s an investment in your community,” he said. “Parks and schools bring families and without families in a community, the community dies.”

The township is planning to send out at least 1,829 absentee ballots this week.

“We are shooting for Wednesday,” said Deputy Clerk Susan McCullough.

As part of the Aug. 6 special election, voters are being asked to approve a 10-year, 1-mill request to fund the parks and recreation department’s operations.

One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.

If approved, the tax levy would begin in December 2020 and end in December 2029. It’s expected to generate $939,798 in its first year.

The ballot language labels the proposal as “new additional millage,” but it’s actually a renewal combined with a small increase. The parks and rec. tax rate is currently 0.8234 mill. The millage is set to expire with the December 2019 tax collection, which means the department has funding in place for the 2020 fiscal year, but nothing beyond that.

In a nutshell, Davis said no operating millage means no dedicated funding and no department to maintain the parks, offer recreation programs and hold special events.

Davis wants people to understand there’s a big difference between the $2 million bond proposal that voters approved in November 2016 and the current millage request.

The bond money has been used, and continues to be used, to make capital improvements in the township’s four parks.

In contrast, the operating millage pays for maintenance, supplies, electricity, employee wages and everything else needed to run the department on a daily basis.

He believes there was “so much confusion” about this among voters that it contributed to the failure of a 1-mill operating tax request on the November 2018 ballot.

Voters rejected the proposed operating millage 5,149 to 4,805. Folks who cast a ballot at the polls on election day favored the request 3,438 to 3,337, but absentee voters rejected it 1,812 to 1,367.

Davis explained a small tax increase is being requested, as opposed to a straight renewal, because although the department and community have grown significantly over the years, the operating millage rate has not.

According to Davis, prior to him taking over as director in 1995, voters approved 1 mill to fund parks and rec. services. When he arrived, that operating tax had decreased slightly.

Twenty-four years ago, Davis said the department was responsible for only two parks (Stony Lake and Seymour Lake), offered a limited number of enrichment programs and had two full-time employees, himself and a maintenance superintendent.

Today, the department oversees more than 500 acres of parkland spread across four township parks (the other two being Oakwood Lake and Powell Lake), offers approximately 130 enrichment programs throughout the year and has seven-full-time employees, including Davis.

The department has added a number of amenities to Seymour Lake Park, including the Kids Kingdom playground, KLR Splashpad and most recently, a multipurpose community room and senior center.

In addition to that, the department holds 10 special events annually that together draw approximately 1,200 participants.

To help offset the fact there have been no operating millage increases in the last 24 years, the department has sought out and obtained additional funding through grants, donations and partnerships.

“We try to get by with what we have and if we don’t have it, we go out and try to find it,” he said.

Or the department just keeps existing things running, such as its maintenance tractor from 1998.

Going forward, Davis wants to ensure there’s adequate funding to properly maintain and operate all of the facilities. That’s why he believes a small tax increase is necessary.

Davis wished to assure voters that if they renew the department’s operating tax and give it some additional funding, the money will not be hoarded. It will be put to use in ways that the public can “enjoy,” he said.

“My goal as the director is to provide (services), not run up a big bankroll,” Davis explained. “I want to take the money we get and invest it back into the park system, whether its programs, facilities or special events.”

He noted the department typically doesn’t have a lot of money leftover at the end of its fiscal year to add to its fund balance, or reserves, because its philosophy is to run programs “at a friendly-cost,” so they’re accessible and affordable to everyone. “We’re not sitting on a huge nest egg of money,” Davis said.

When the current fiscal year began on Jan. 1, the department’s opening fund balance was $243,000. Of this $105,000 to $108,000 has now been spent constructing and furnishing the new senior center in Seymour Lake Park, according to Davis.

If anyone has any questions regarding the millage proposal, Davis encourages them to call the department at (248) 628-1720.

“I’ll meet with anybody,” he said. “I’d be more than happy to go talk to them.”