News photo by Steve Schulwitz. Employees in the Alpena County Clerk’s office process election information Tuesday evening. Voters rejected a property tax proposal to help bolster the county budget, and now there’s a possibility some employees could lose their jobs.
ALPENA – Alpena County’s proposal to impose a new property tax to bolster the general fund failed to gain enough support to pass, with a vote of 4,070 to 3,882.
The Commissioners are now planning their next steps, which may include drastic cuts (including job cuts), voting on the proposal in November with different wording, or requesting a tax reduction for public safety.
The county had asked voters for a 0.7 percent increase, which would have helped the county recoup about $800,000 annually but would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $35 annually.
The additional revenue would have helped the district balance its budget, which is more than a million dollars short.
The ballot proposal asked about the amount of money the county loses each year due to the “Headlee repossession.”
Headlee is a provision in the state constitution known as the “Headlee Amendment” that automatically lowers local governments’ property tax rates – in what is known as a “Headlee Rollback” – when property values rise too quickly, preventing the growth of property tax revenues from exceeding the rate of inflation.
Governments can ask voters to override this automatic rollback so they can collect the full property tax rate.
Commissioners said if the tax proposal failed, it could lead to layoffs and benefit cuts.
County Administrator Jesse Osmer said he believes the wording on the ballot is unclear and difficult to decipher. He said some people have expressed concern that there is no cap on how long the tax will last before it must be put before voters again for renewal. Osmer said the budget committee will meet soon to decide what to do next, as the deadline to put a proposal on the November ballot is Tuesday.
“I think many of the ideas and discussions we’ve had over the past year are now becoming a reality,” Osmer said. “Once we know the recommendation from the Budget Committee, we’ll know which direction we can go.”
Osmer said it was possible that some county employees would lose their jobs because of the failed proposal.
The county already has a hiring freeze in place, except for needed correctional officers. He said the state dictates how many correctional officers the county needs to adequately staff the county jail.
Commissioner John Kozlowski said commissioners can no longer put off the issue. He said layoffs had been put on hold to wait and see how the election turned out, but now the county can no longer wait because the 2025 budget is already in the drafting process and the gap between revenue and expenses needs to be narrowed.
“We have been cutting back everywhere and now we simply have no room to maneuver,” he said. “I really don’t want any layoffs, but there aren’t many other positions that are possible.”
If the county puts another proposal on the ballot in November, jobs could be saved if passed, Osmer said. He said changing the wording of Tuesday’s proposal to make it easier to understand is an option, as is setting a four-year deadline.
The county is also considering implementing a public safety tax that would cover some or all of the operating costs of the sheriff’s office and other public safety needs.
The millage missed by about 200 votes, and Commissioner Burt Francisco said the commissioner’s decision to begin the process of replacing library board members last month may have caused some voters who originally supported the millage to change their minds and vote against it.
“There are people who may have viewed the commissioners in a bad light,” Francisco said. “Perhaps there were some who decided to support the library and not the county.”
Reach Steve Schulwitz at 989-358-5689 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.
