Introduction
The current 1.95 public safety millage, approved in 2011, expires this year. The 1 mill increase (for a total of 2.95 mills for public safety) is being requested to address the following factors:
- When we requested the 1 mill increase in 2011 we did not project that the recovery from the Great Recession would take nearly an entire decade. In other words, Pittsfield Township did not return to its pre-recession taxable value until 2017 due to Headlee and Proposal A even though our assessed values increased significantly because of the development activity in our community.
- Due to this slow economic recovery, we have operated – over the past decade – within a very constrained fiscal framework. We did so by depleting fund reserves, eliminating and reducing the number of public safety personnel, relying more heavily on transfers from the general fund, and applying for grant funds.
- The 1 mill increase for the next five years that we are requesting will allow Pittsfield to hire more public safety personnel to meet the dual goals of serving a higher population base and doing so within the context of equity and social justice.
- The request is for 5 years because the current countywide public safety & mental health millage expires in 2026 (5 years). By requesting a 5-year Township public safety millage, we will be able to align with the county’s timeline so all future taxes – Township and other – are imposed in context of each other and no one feels like they are being double-taxed for the same service.
For more details, please view the presentation we have compiled for the public forums.
If approved, the additional 1 mill will not significantly alter Pittsfield Township's status as having one of the lowest tax rates in Washtenaw County while being one of only two full-service municipalities providing water, sewer, rubbish, parks and recreation, Public Safety (police and fire), assessing, and building services to its residents.
If you approve the proposed 5-year, 1 mill Public Safety millage increase, it will allow us to continue providing you with the Gold Standard of Public Service from your Public Safety team, which translates to:
- A response rate of 5 minutes or less
- A nearly 90% rate for solving major crimes
- Increased traffic safety and neighborhood patrols
- Systematic inclusion of racial and socio-economic equity outcomes in all our Public Safety work processes and products
- Improved coordination with social workers and mental health professionals to improve Public Safety services' effectiveness
- Improved neighborhood engagement and community event participation
Failure to approve the Public Safety millage will require Pittsfield Township to, among other things:
- Reduce police officer staffing
- Reduce fire fighter staffing
- Maintain or cut salaries that may impact the quality of our workforce
- Defer many of our racial equity initiatives and programs
- Eliminate some essential training programs for police and fire personnel
- Extend equipment and vehicle lifespan beyond accepted best practices and standards
- Reduce attendance by police and fire personnel at community education and safety awareness events including opioid crises, domestic and sexual assault, and active shooter
- Require longer wait times for both emergency and non-emergency responses by police and fire