Local Street Millage Passes In Rochester Hills Election

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — Rochester Hills voted Tuesday to condense three separate local street millages into one new millage. The millage passed with 81 percent of voters, or 11,935, saying yes, compared to 18 percent of voters, or 2,655, casting ballots against it.

Rochester Hills has three separate millages that provide for the maintenance, repair, and reconstruction of local streets in the city. These three local street millages are expiring 2020 with combined total 1.0965 mill.

Michigan 2019 Election: Live Results

On Tuesday, residents were asked to renew the three expiring millages into one combined local street millage, effectively doing the same thing.

The new millage levied will be 1.0965 mill beginning in 2021 for the next 10 years.

City officials said the total amount will stay the same as it is now, and city officials promise locals’ tax bills will stay “exactly the same.” Instead, the millages are now combined as one.

Local Street millages are a vital source of funding for the City's Local Street system providing for approximately 40 percent of annual Local Street Fund revenues, the Rochester Hills Mayor’s Office said.
The Rochester Hills Public Safety and Infrastructure Committee studied and recommended the renewal of Local Street millages I, II and III into one new 10-year Local Street millage.

City officials like Mark Tisdel, president of the Rochester Hills City Council, supported the measure because it improves the community without raising taxes.

“In my eight years on the Rochester Hills City Council, serving the last four as Council President, I have heard, first hand, about our residents’ interest in good roads,” Tisdel said leading up to the election. “I have also read and analyzed the results of the City’s public opinion surveys that consistently rank residential road maintenance and reconstruction among the most important issues the City should address. And we have all heard the familiar statewide cry to “Fix the D----- Roads.”

Tisdel said the topic has been the discussion of countless City Council meetings, much correspondence, and animated conversations.

“And our residents have been heard: Infrastructure management — providing reliable, safe and effect roadways throughout the city — has been an ongoing strategic and economic priority for Council,” he added. “No doubt about it, our residents want great roads.”