Flint, MI— Multiple millage renewals for public safety, public transportation, 911 services, and mental health services are on the ballot for the special election on May 4.
The City Clerk’s Office, located in Flint City Hall, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through May 4, providing absentee ballots over the counter to Flint voters. Voters who register to vote, or update their address on election day, may vote using an absentee ballot in the Clerk’s Office.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 4. To find your polling location, click here.
For additional information about the May 4 election, you can contact the Flint City Clerk’s Office at (810) 766-7413.
Here’s what will be on the ballot for Flint residents:
Flint City Police and Fire Protection Millage Renewal
Residents will be asked whether or not they would like the City of Flint to renew the existing millage of 6 mills, or $6.00 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value, for the purpose of funding police and fire protection. Since this is a renewal, it will not result in any tax increase for residents.
This is how it will appear on your ballot:
“Shall Section 7-201(A) of the Charter of the City of Flint be amended to renew the existing millage of 6 mills ($6.00 per $1,000.00) on the taxable valuation as finally equalized, from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2026, for the sole purpose of funding police and fire protection? It is estimated that six (6) mills would raise approximately $4,728,900.00 in the first year of renewal.”
Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley has urged residents to vote in support of the millage.
“Supporting this millage is critically important. We cannot afford to lose this funding,” Mayor Neeley said in a press release from the City. “We are at the intersection of crisis and renewing this millage is absolutely essential to ensure funding stability for public safety.”
Police Chief Terence Green also urged residents to support the millage during a press conference last Thursday, and said it is used to fund approximately 18 positions.
“So if that is not renewed, it’s going to affect 18 police officer positions,” Green said. He said that wouldn’t be helpful for the department that is already working on filling vacant positions and dealing with understaffing.
Public Transportation Services Millage Renewal
Residents will be asked whether or not they would like the City to authorize the renewal of the existing millage of .60 mills, or $0.60 per $1,000, to be used to fund public transportation services in Flint by the Flint Mass Transportation Authority. This would not cause a tax increase for Flint residents.
This is how it will appear on your ballot:
“Shall Section 7-201(A) (a) of the Flint City Charter be amended to authorize renewal of the existing .60 mills ($.60 per $1,000) on the taxable value of all real and personal property in the City of Flint from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2027, with all revenue received being used solely for the purpose of funding public transportation services in the City of Flint by the Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA)? It is estimated that .60 mills would raise approximately $472,900 in the first year of the renewal.”
911 Surcharge Renewal
Residents of Genesee County will be asked to vote on the renewal of a surcharge used to fund 911 emergency call answering and dispatch services within the county. The current surcharge, which is a charge of $1.86 a month on all landline, wireless, and voice over the internet protocol service users in the county, is set to expire at the end of this year. This would not be an increase, just a renewal of the charge that is already in place.
This is how it will appear on your ballot:
“Shall the County of Genesee, Michigan, be authorized to assess a charge on all landline, wireless, and voice over the internet protocol service users located within Genesee County of up to $1.86 per month, for a period ending December 31, 2026, to be distributed exclusively for funding of 9-1-1 emergency call answering and dispatch services within Genesee County including facilities, equipment, maintenance, and operating costs?”
According to a release on the Genesee County 911 website, this surcharge funds everything for the Genesee County 911 Dispatch Authority, and is their only source of income.
They represent 31 local units of government and dispatch for all EMS, Fire and Police agencies within Genesee County except for Fenton, where they have their own city-run services.
Genesee Health System’s Community Mental Health Millage
Residents will be asked to vote on a millage of 0.94 mills, or $0.94 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value, for the Genesee Health System to fund more mental health services over the course of ten years.
The millage, which would bring in about $9.5 million annually, would begin in 2021 and extend through 2030.
This is how it will appear on your ballot:
“For the purposes of reinforcing the Genesee Health System with sufficient public health infrastructure to improve the treatment of people with mental health needs, to address law enforcement/first responders with crisis intervention teams and mental health response training, to address law enforcement/mental health co-response and jail diversion, to address court/corrections mental health supports and services, to address suicide and crisis prevention, to address schools crisis and de-escalation, to address crisis center and crisis stabilization, and to address health and wellness for vulnerable populations, shall the limitation on the total amount of taxes which may be levied against taxable property within Genesee County, Michigan, as provided for by Section 6 of Article IX of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, be increased up to the amount of $0.94 per thousand dollars of taxable valuation (0.94 mills) for a period of ten years, beginning with the 2021 levy and extending through the 2030 levy, which shall raise in the first year an estimated $9,595,118 to be used as follows: 100% shall be allocated to the Genesee Health System for mental health crisis, stabilization and prevention, and to meet mental health needs in an appropriate setting, thus reducing the burden on jails and improving care of all Genesee residents who seek help.”
According to the GHS website, there are seven focuses for the use of the funds which include law enforcement mental health response teams, court mental health services, suicide and crisis prevention, and crisis de-escalation in the K-12 community.
During a town hall meeting to discuss the millage, GHS CEO Dan Russell said that the need for more mental health services was already present before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic, he said those needs are only continuing to grow.
GHS receives a majority of its funding from Medicaid, so only individuals who qualify for Medicaid can use it for behavioral healthcare services. Russel said the funds from the millage will allow GHS to provide the services to people in the community who have “fallen through the cracks,” because they don’t have Medicaid.
Russell said the millage will cost the average property owner “less than the price of a gallon of milk” per week. If you know your taxable value, you can use this formula to determine how much it would cost you:
(Taxable Value) divided by 1,000 = X multiplied by 0.94(millage) = yearly cost/365 = cost per day
Here is the example given on the GHS website:
$25,000/1000 = $25 x 0.94 = $23.50/365 (days per year) = $.06 or 6 cents a day
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