Reader supports upcoming Isabella County millage vote
In the Jan. 24 edition of the Morning Sun, a Letter to the Editor criticized the 2.5 mills proposal from the Isabella County Board of Commissioners, stating that it shows a lack of fiscal responsibility. I disagree.
The County Commission is in a tough spot. Imagine being a homeowner on a fixed income who just replaced their roof, only to have their furnace and AC die. You have no extra funds, so your last resort is a loan from the only bank in town. Imagine how you might react when the loan manager informs you that your request will be forwarded but suggests that you should have planned for such an event beforehand. And the manager says that you have been fiscally irresponsible.
The County Board of Commissioners has been responsible fiscally. However, “stuff” happens. After several years of planning for the new jail, the Board used various uncommitted funds and began construction. Then asbestos, a known cause of a variety of cancers, was discovered in the County Building. To safely remove the asbestos, the building has to be gutted.
The homeowner in the illustration and the County need to take out a loan: the homeowner goes to the bank, and the County goes to the residents with a 2.5 millage proposal. By the way, this is the County Board of Commission’s first increase since 1978, 46 years ago.
The 19th-century Prime Minister of England, Benjamin Disraeli, said there were three kinds of lies: lies, “darn” lies, and statistics. As expected, naysayers have misused statistics to alarm county citizens by stating the millage is a 38% increase, which sounds exorbitant. The question is: 38% of what?
Signs have been placed around the county claiming that the 38% is based on your total tax bill. This is not correct. County operating expenses are a part of the entire tax bill, and the increase is only for the county operating expenses, not for your total tax bill.
The current millage (the county portion of your taxes) on a home assessed at $50,000 is $330.50. The requested 2.5 mill adds $125.
Without the approval of the millage increase, the county residents will lose an essential function of the Sheriff’s office: the county patrol. Until now, Sheriff’s deputies have patrolled Isabella County 24 hours, seven days a week. The Sheriff’s Department is responsible for maintaining the jail and associated duties. Having deputies patrol throughout the county is not required by law.
The Sheriff has clarified that recruiting and retaining deputies is challenging due to low wages. A new deputy’s hourly pay scale is barely higher than fast food workers despite the risk involved in the job. If the millage is voted down, the Sheriff will be forced to reduce personnel to only those needed to operate the county jail. Most of the deputies currently on road patrol will be dismissed, and State Police will be responsible for patrolling, likely resulting in much longer response times.
However, even if all the patrol deputies lost their jobs, that would only make a dent in the deficit. Every department in the county would have to reduce staff.
No one likes to pay taxes or millages, but this is how we provide for our schools, have paved roads, enjoy potable running water, maintain our public buildings, and keep our families, properties, and ourselves safe.
The Isabella County Board of Commissioners continues a decades-long tradition of being good stewards of our money and living within our collective means. This is why I ask that you join me in voting “Yes” on the millage proposal.