County Millage Proposals Ask Voters to Approve Taxes for Arts, Transportation

After Oakland County voters have nominated their picks for local, county and state offices Aug. 7, they will be asked to vote on two countywide millage proposals.

These proposals are known as the SMART Bus Millage and the Oakland County Art Institute Authority millage.

Although the top portion of the primary ballot is partisan, meaning voters must select all Republican or all Democratic candidates, the proposal section is separate. Even if a voter accidentally splits their ticket, thus invalidating the partisan portion, the proposals' section will still be counted. 

Here's a look at both of these county millage questions:

Public Transportation Millage Renewal

If approved, this proposal would levy .59 mills on Oakland County taxpayers in 23 "opt in" communities to provide regular bus service. Here's a schedule of routes. 

Cost: At .59 mills, a taxpayer owning a home with a taxable value of $100,000 would pay $59 per year. Across the SMART service area, the millage is expected to generate $16 million. 

Aug. 7 ballot language:

"If approved, this proposal will renew the .59 mills levied by the Oakland County Public Transportation Authority in 2010, for the years 2010 and 2011, and will allow continued support to the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) for a public transportation system serving the elderly, disabled and general population of Oakland County.

"As a renewal of the mills, which expired with the 2011 tax levy, shall the limitation on the amount of taxes imposed on taxable property in the Oakland County Public Transportation Authority area be renewed at .59 mills (59 cents per $1,000 of taxable value) for two (2) years, 2012 and 2013 inclusive, for the purpose of providing funds for the support of a public transportation system serving the elderly, disabled and general population of Oakland County? It is estimated that .59 mills would raise approximately $16 million when levied in 2012."

Arts Authority, or DIA Millage

Although you won’t see any reference to the “Detroit Institute of Arts” or even the word “museum” in the language of this proposal, this millage is intended to benefit the DIA.

The Oakland County board of commissioners voted to create an Art Institute Authority in April that would be responsible for submitting the millage question for the August ballot and monitoring the use of funds if it passes.

If approved, this proposal would levy .2 mills on Oakland County taxpayers for a period of 10 years. The revenue from this millage would in turn provide financial support for the DIA.

Cost: At 0.2 mills, a taxpayer owning a home with a taxable value of $100,000 would be expected to pay approximately $20 a year. This tax would begin with December 2012 property tax bills and end in 2021.

This millage is expected to raise approximately $4.9 million in its first year (2012). In exchange for supporting the millage, residents and school groups from Oakland County would be allowed to visit the DIA anytime without a general admission fee.

Members of the art authority, who are appointed by Oakland's commissioners and county executive, are tasked with ensuring the DIA uses the millage revenue only for museum operations. The DIA is required to submit an annual audit for this body’s review.

The following language will appear on the Aug. 7 ballot:

The Oakland County Art Institute Authority was established pursuant to Public Act 296 of 2010 and formed to allow for continuing support of art institute services for the students, residents and visitors of Oakland County.

The law allows the Authority to seek authorization from the electors to levy a tax of not more than 0.2 mill (20 cents per $1,000 of taxable value) on real and personal property to provide revenue to an art institute services provider for this purpose. Accordingly, to continue providing art institute services to benefit the residents of the County, shall a 0.2 mill on all of the taxable property located within the County be imposed for a period of ten (10) years, being years 2012 through 2021? It is estimated that if approved and levied, this new millage would generate approximately $ 4,877,863.36 in 2012.