MT. PLEASANT -- Isabella County has three millage renewals on the ballot for Tuesday but one proposed millage that would have saved 19 positions on the county’s road patrol is not one of them.
The road patrol is under threat of being eliminated after a 2.5 five mill general operation levy that would have generated $6 million failed during the February election, leaving them with a huge budget shortfall.
The county was expected to make cuts starting in October but voted to fund current operations to the end of the year, giving them more time to find the funding.
Tuesday night, county commissioners will be voting on the specific language for a special law enforcement millage for the November ballot.
County administrator Nicole Frost said that after their general operation levy failed back in February, the county went back and got more input from the public.
Now they have a new proposal that would cost taxpayers about $75 dollars a year per $100,000 in property value that they hope will garner the support of its voters.
“This is an attempt to come back to hopefully give the voters what they wanted. A specific special millage so they know exactly what it’s going for, exactly the mills, exactly the dollars, exactly the length of time,” said Frost.
Frost said after the levy failed and word got out that road patrol could be eliminated, the public weighed in asking for commissioners to do something.
“We had a lot of public comment, extensive I would say public comment, begging us to fund the Police Begging us to put an initiative on the ballot. If we couldn’t find the funds in the general fund,” said Frost.
She said it’s a tough position for the county.
“We employ people who provide services for the most part. So, our budget is largely wages and benefits. So,benefits.So when you want to cut, you can’t cut office supply budgets and get to the savings that you need. You have to cut positions and people,” said Frost.
She said it took some time to figure out exactly what the millage would look like.
“The hold off a little bit has been working through that zero-based budget, seeing how much reduced we can make the county general fund operations,” said Frost.
Frost said the funds would be just for law enforcement.
“Not just their salaries and wages and fringe benefits, but also for their vehicles. For the gas, tires and oil, for those vehicles, for their communications. For anything that the deputies might need. She said the picture of their community without road patrol is not a picture anyone wants to become a reality,” said Frost.
“I know the sheriff’s painted a picture of this county similar to other counties that that are close to us, who have who have had to lay off their road patrol in the past. And I know all the counties have struggled to regain footing even a decade later.” said Frost.
County commissioners are expected to vote Tuesday night at their 7 pm meeting.
It will be the last opportunity to hear input from the public before they approve the ballot language.
