Last week, Oxford Township officials approved millage rates and budgets for the 2018 fiscal year, which begins Jan. 1.

All of the property tax rates were reduced due to the state’s Headlee Amendment.

The board set the township’s operating tax at 0.9265 mill. That helps support the general fund, which was approved at $2.36 million. The previous tax rate was 0.9373 mill.

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

Officials set the fire department’s operating tax at 3.4008 mills. This is a reduction from the previous 3.4404-mill levy. The fire budget was approved at $3.19 million.

The police budget, which funds the township’s contract with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, was approved at $2.69 million and is supported by a tax of 3.8172 mills. That’s down from 3.857 mills.

Officials approved levying a 0.8295-mill tax to support the parks and recreation department’s $1.26 million budget and a 1.3583-mill tax to finance the Oxford Public Library’s $1.168 million budget. Headlee decreased the parks millage by 0.0077 mill and the library’s rate by 0.0159 mill.

The North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA) budget was approved at $1.437 million with a tax rate of 0.2427 mill. NOTA experienced a 0.0029-mill Headlee rollback.

Officials approved a 0.21-mill tax rate to help pay off the parks and recreation bond debt. Voters approved a $2 million bond in the November 2016 election. The tax levy to pay off the debt began last year at 0.27 mill and it will expire in December 2025.

Oxford’s three full-time elected officials all received pay raises.

The supervisor’s annual salary will go from $73,586 to $76,162, a 3.5 percent increase. When it takes effect in January, the supervisor’s salary will have risen $8,162 since 2014.

The clerk and treasurer salaries will increase from $63,846 to $67,038, a 5 percent increase. When they take effect, their salaries will have risen $8,038 since 2014.

During the board meeting, Trustee Jack Curtis pointed out these three positions are “underpaid” when compared to similar and surrounding communities that he researched.

He explained officials in other communities with things such as municipal water and sewer services and Michigan Department of Transportation thoroughfares running through them “make several thousand dollars more per year.”

In neighboring Orion Township, the supervisor earns $84,895 annually, while the clerk and treasurer each make $71,923.

In Independence and Milford townships, all three officials earn the same annual pay. Independence officials earn $82,200 and Milford officials make $78,957.

Oxford officials earn more than their counterparts in neighboring Brandon Township, which doesn’t offer water and sewer services, but does have M-15 running through it. There, the supervisor makes $58,801 annually, while the treasurer and clerk earn $51,580 each.

Oxford’s four elected trustees received no raises. They will earn $120 per regular and special meeting, plus $100 per committee meeting.