Ferndale interim City Manager James Krizan reviews the options for a restoration operating millage at the Jan. 27 City Council meeting.

Ferndale interim City Manager James Krizan reviews the options for a restoration operating millage at the Jan. 27 City Council meeting.

Photo by Patricia O’Blenes


Ferndale sets millage restoration proposal for May election

By: Mike Koury | Woodward Talk | Published February 4, 2025

Advertisement

FERNDALE — The city of Ferndale officially has put forth a millage restoration proposal for residents to consider in May.

The Ferndale City Council approved at its Jan. 27 meeting the ballot language for the restoration of its operating millage, with the council deciding to set a proposal of 5.445 mills, which was the same millage restoration voters approved in 2015. This proposal will be on the May 6 election ballot.

The official ballot language reads, “This proposal will restore a portion of the City’s operating millage which has been reduced by application of the Headlee Amendment and revenues collected from the millage would be used for general operating purposes.

“Shall the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be imposed on taxable property in the City of Ferndale, County of Oakland, Michigan, be increased by 5.4452 mills ($5.44 per $1,000 of the taxable value) for a period of ten (10) years, from 2026 to 2035, as new additional millage in excess of the limitation imposed by Michigan Compiled Laws section 211.34d, to provide funds for general operating purposes? It is estimated that 5.4452 mills would raise approximately $5,398,746.73 when first levied in 2026,” the proposal continues.

The current Headlee override will expire Dec. 31. The city previously went to the voters in November to reset the millage to 20 mills to fund not only its general operating millage, but also to be used for public safety and recreation purposes.

Voters rejected that proposal, voicing their opposition to the amount of the millage and how there was no term limit on the override. The new millage proposal set forth would expire after 10 years and bring the rate back to 16.3 mills.

“We wouldn’t be able to levy a new millage for tax year 2025,” interim City Manager James Krizan told the Woodward Talk. “So this July, we would still levy about 15.4 mills. And then the first year of the new millage, because of rollbacks, we’d be looking at about 16.3 … assuming that the economic conditions continue the way they’ve been and assuming we see a rollback of about 2%. … Once it gets adopted, we won’t be able to levy it the first year and we end up getting rolled back by the Headlee amendment.”

Mayor Raylon Leaks-May told the Talk that she thought going with the 5.445 mills gives the city the best chance to maintain the services it currently provides, though she admits that some concessions are going to have to be made.

“I love our city services and when I go out to other communities, I witness that they don’t have the services that we do, and I don’t want that to be jeopardized,” she said. “I know that with the last ballot initiative, it didn’t pass — astronomically — and I think that what the community said is that they wanted us to come up with something better. I think this is. I think it will provide us with the services that we need, and for the 10 years.

“I specifically went with the 10 years because I think that that will give us time to maybe levy certain mills each year to kind of help that stretch,” Leaks-May continued. “It’s less than what we’ve had before, but I feel like this is the way to go and hopefully when we have our May election, the community will think the same.”

Leaks-May also said the council could choose in the future to not use the entire amount of the millage each year.

“I think what kind of got us over the hump on Monday’s council meeting to get everyone at a consensus was that option to, maybe we’ll come up with the resolution at some point, to decide maybe we use 4.7 for the first year, and then maybe we’ll go and kind of balance it out over the course of 10 years,” Leaks-May said.

The week prior to the council meeting, the city held a meeting Jan. 21 where the public was invited to share final thoughts and the council could discuss its final Headlee override options.

Jim McLuckie, a 17-year resident of Ferndale, shared his feelings that he’s seen the city grow over his time in the city with improvements such as better infrastructure, new sidewalks, additional bike lanes, improved parks, a new lower elementary school and new parking structure, and he doesn’t want a lack of funding to reverse any progress that’s been made.

“All this is possible because we’ve chosen to invest in the city,” he said. “It’s been a positive feedback loop and Ferndale is thriving with more growth on the way. Some people don’t see it that way. Some people think all this or some of this is unnecessary waste and mismanagement by the people who run the city, and they want to punish and defund the city over their negative perception. At the bare minimum, I’m interested in renewing the current override to continue supporting and investing in the city. I’m not interested in defunding the city and kicking off into a negative feedback loop of disinvestment. I think that’s shortsighted and malicious and I do not want to go down that path.”

For more information on Ferndale’s proposal, visit ferndalemi.gov.

Advertisement