There are good taxes and there are bad taxes.

Examples of each can be found on the Aug. 2 primary election ballot.

An example of a good tax is the Addison Township Fire Department’s request for voters to approve an eight-year, 0.75-mill property tax to support its capital improvement fund.

This fund contains money set aside for everything from purchasing new vehicles and equipment to constructing new stations, should that ever become necessary.

The current capital improvement millage is set to expire with the December 2016 tax collection. The Aug. 2 ballot proposal is both a renewal and a slight increase over the current rate, which is 0.732 mill. When the tax was originally approved by voters in August 2008, it was 0.75 mill.

There’s absolutely no reason why Addison’s fire proposal should not be approved at the ballot box.

The department has a long, proud history of always being extremely frugal with the funds that taxpayers vote to give it. Both officials and personnel are never wasteful and never extravagant.

We wholeheartedly urge Addison residents to vote YES on the fire department’s millage request and thank all firefighters for their continued service to the community.

But with the good comes the bad and, to us, that’s represented by the 10-year, 0.1-mill regional property tax renewal for the Detroit Zoo.

Originally approved in 2008, the zoo tax, paid by property owners in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties, is used to help fund operations and maintenance.

Granted, this 0.1-mill tax is pretty minor in the grand scheme of things, but to us, there’s a principle at stake here.

We simply don’t believe that it’s the taxpayers responsibility to help pay for a zoo.

Taxes are for necessities like police, fire, roads and education. The zoo is a swell place to visit and it makes for a dandy day trip for young families, but it’s by no means a necessity. It’s a luxury, pure and simple.

The Detroit Zoo should be strictly funded by admission fees, memberships, donations, grants and fund-raising campaigns.

Let the people who love the zoo and visit the zoo voluntarily reach into their pockets to support the zoo.

There are much more important things to do with our limited pool of tax dollars than playing Dr. Doolittle.

We strongly urge Oxford and Addison residents to vote NO on the Detroit Zoo millage renewal.