Ypsilanti Township officials make their case for police millage increase

Ypsilanti Township officials know their task won't be easy: Before this fall's election, they need to convince voters the millage just approved in May won’t be enough to maintain the same level of police protection for the next four years.

Their strategy is blunt. Without the influx of $3.2 million raised immediately by a proposed 2-mill increase, 10 of the current 38 deputy positions contracted through the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department will be eliminated, they say.

So until the Nov. 3 election, residents can expect community-wide newsletters and mailings, presentations at their local Neighborhood Watch meetings, and door-to-door visits from township officials or even off-duty deputies trying to convince them to support the tax hike, officials said.

If approved, the owner of a $200,000 home with a taxable value of $100,000 would pay $200 a year.

In May, about 70 percent of voters agreed to renew the current millage rate of 3.49, which maintained the township’s police budget at about $5.4 million.

A survey conducted since then preliminarily showed more than 58 percent of township voters would back the tax levy.

But Mike Radzik, the township’s director of police services, said he has no illusions of how difficult it will be to ask for an increase so soon.

“That election was a renewal of services they expect. This time we’re asking for an increase when everyone is hurting,” he said. "It was not a decision that was made lightly.”

Budget projections the Township Board of Trustees received in July told the story.

The taxable value of residential real estate fell for the second consecutive year in 2009 by 9 percent; it's projected to fall another 15 percent in 2010, township documents show. That number could get between 30 percent and 40 percent by 2013.

The closing of the GM Willow Run transmission plant alone could have a $215 million impact on tax valuations over the next two years.

In addition to decreased tax revenue, the township is getting less funding from the county for police services and less from the state through revenue sharing. On top of that, the cost per deputy will increase by 2 percent in 2010 and by 4 percent in 2011, Radzik said.

Still, the township contracts for the largest number of deputies, is densely populated and has some high-crime areas.

If passed, the increase would take effect in December and would generate roughly $3.2 million in the first year. It would expire in 2013.

Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said the ballot language is flexible, and it’s possible to not levy the full 2 mills if ongoing economic development projects build revenue.

“It’d be best to not levy it all,” she said. “The only purpose of this is to maintain the 38 deputies we have now, and our hope is to turn the local economy it around. You simply can’t cut your way out of this.”

The township has avoided layoffs but has kept 26 positions unfilled since 2007 to curb costs, Stumbo said.

Also on the ballot is a countywide enhancement millage proposal for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and Van Buren school board positions.

Township Clerk Karen Roe estimated the election would likely cost the township at least $25,000.

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach our news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.