- In Eaton County, the tax limitation proposal failed, aiming to support county services such as road patrol, sheriffs office and animal control.
- In Jackson County, a jail operations millage rejected by voters leaves the County short-changed after a previous millage funding jail operations expired in 2022.
- Watch the video above to see what county officials are saying about the failed millages.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
According to Jackson County, the ballot question here in my neighborhood would have increased the average property tax bill for neighbors by $19 per year for a $150,000 house. With all precincts reporting, the question failed.
That's right Darius. I'm your Eaton county neighborhood reporter Will Lemmink. according to Eaton county, the ballot question here in my neighborhood would have increased the average property tax bill for neighbors by $18 each month. with all precincts reporting, the question failed. so what happens next in my neighborhood?"
IN EATON COUNTY.......
We took that question to chairman Jim Mott of the Eaton County Board of Commissioners. That board has the job of deciding on the future budget.
"Well I'm disappointed, we worked really hard to get the message out to residents." Said Jim Mott, Chairperson, Eaton County Board of Commissioners.
The message was that money for public safety could be at risk. in previous interviews with the re-elected Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich, he said cuts could affect his department.
"Now if it should lose, I'm gonna lose a bunch of people on the road, they are in jeopardy of losing road patrol and I'm very concerned about that." Said Tom Reich, Eaton County Sheriff.
that previously led us to ask, who's available to answer a 911 call for help? My fellow Eaton County neighborhood reporter Travis Hicks previously asked Michigan State Police about the possibility of handling additional calls for service.
"If it needs service, we're gonna be there to provide the troopers to take calls for service." Said Rene Gonzalez, Michigan State Police.
Back with county chairman Mott, I asked what cuts they would consider first.
"Well the biggest part of our budget is public safety and the sheriff's department is a big part of that, unfortunately, and the sheriff is aware a lot of the cuts are going to come from his office." Said Mott.
While cuts to the sheriffs may come first Mott emphasized that public safety is still a top priority for the county.
"We're going to look at every option available to us to try and keep as many deputies and prosecuting attorneys in the courts, up and running and keep them going." Said Mott.
As for the county's next move, Chairman Mott says voters may see another similar question on the ballot in a future election.
"I believe we need to go to the voters again and get the message out there even more because the county needs revenue." Said Mott.
Going back to voters, looking for a different answer in the future.
Now I want to send it over to my colleague and your Jackson County neighborhood reporter Darius Udrys, because, as we mentioned, a ballot question failed in his neighborhood, too.
IN JACKSON COUNTY.....
Thanks, Will.
Jackson County’s third attempt to secure additional funding for the County Jail was rejected by voters. County officials now have to decide, what that means for the budget.
Sherrif Gary Schuette is not hiding his disappointment. That said, he told me he respects the decision of the voters, including those he says told him they felt “millaged out.”
But decisions are now coming that will impact law enforcement in Jackson County.
“There will be some cuts, the extent of which I don’t know until the County Commission informs me," says Schuette. "As I said before, I was told to prepare for $1 million in cuts, and I’m in the process of doing that right now.”
Schuette says he plans to balance cuts between road patrol and corrections divisions.
“We will try to do some capital cuts, as well," he says, "to absorb as much as we possibly can. But that certainly won’t carry the day. We will definitely have to make cuts to personnel.”
County Commissioner Corey Kennedy is Chair of the County’s Public Safety and Transportation Committee. He did not confirm $1 million in cuts to the Sheriff’s budget. But he did say this: “The reality is about $1.5 million is going to need to be cut throughout budgets throughout the County. It is nearly impossible that the Sheriff’s budget won’t be affected to some extent.”
But Kennedy’s words did seem to strike a gentler chord:
“I can only speak for myself, but I think the majority of the Commissioners want to spread it out as much as they can so that one department doesn’t feel all the burden.”
Sheriff Schuette says a meeting is planned for Friday to talk with County officials about how much money he will have to cut from his budget. I’ll have any updates on what it could mean for public safety here in my neighborhood.
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