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November 7th, 2017 Election: All Ballot Proposals Pass In Washtenaw County

A countywide mental health and public safety millage passed by a comfortable margin. So did a special education millage renewal for the 9-districts in the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. There were several other local issues decided on Tuesday, all with the same outcome, though some were closed than others. 

Ballot Proposals

The Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and Public Safety Preservation Millage has passed by a comfortable margin. The 8-year, 1-mill countywide proposal will generate over 15-million dollars annually. Nearly 64-percent of participating voters stood in favor of the tax levy. 38-percent will be dedicated to mental health services, 38-percent to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s office for public safety initiatives and the remaining 24-percent will be distributed based on population to the communities in the county that fund their own police departments.

Voters in the nine public school districts in Washtenaw County gave overwhelming support to renewal of a special education millage renewal. Nearly 74-percent of votes cast were in favor of the 8-year, nearly 1-mill extension. Passage means more than 15-million dollars a year will continue to be pumped into the Washtenaw Intermediate School District for special education for nearly another decade.

There were a number of other ballot proposals being decided in individual communities throughout the county:

Sharon Township Voters approved a 5-year, nearly 5-mill renewal for fire protection and emergency medical services.

A public safety millage tax request in Webster Township won approval by a mere five votes with 1,355 total votes cast. That measure will allow the township to collect an additional 3.4-mills for a period of five years.

A request from the Chelsea Area Fire Authority for a new, 5-year, 2.4-mill tax won approval with over 53-percent of the vote.

The Lincoln Consolidated School District had two proposals on the ballot and both passed. The first was renewal of the districts operating millage for another six years, beginning in 2019 and running through 2024. The Voters in the Lincoln District also passed renewal of a 6-year, nearly one mill levy to provide funds for operations of a system of public recreation and playgrounds. Both measures passed with more than 65-percent of the vote.

Voters in the Saline Area Schools also passed the two measures before them.  A 10-year, .35 sinking fund millage will generate nearly 850-thousand dollars a year over the life of the levy. The money will be used for  construction and real estate purchases as well as repairs and improvements to existing facilities, technology  and school security. That measure won support from nearly 57-percent of participating voters. A second measure won by a narrow margin, collecting just over 51-percent of the vote. It is a 10-year, half-mill collection that generate funding for operation of a system of public recreation and playgrounds. 

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— David Fair is the WEMU News Director and host of Morning Edition on WEMU.  You can contact David at734.487.3363, on twitter @DavidFairWEMU, or email him at dfair@emich.edu

Contact David: dfair@emich.edu
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