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WARREN — Residents in the Warren Woods Public Schools district are being asked to vote May 2 on a replacement operating millage proposal.
The non-homestead replacement operating millage proposal, if passed, will not increase the tax rate on homesteads, which is the primary residence in which a homeowner resides. The non-homestead tax only applies to businesses, second homes and rental properties.
The proposal is being placed before the voters because all school districts in Michigan must levy 18 mills ($18 on each $1,000 of taxable value) on non-homestead property to receive their full share of state aid.
According to Warren Woods district officials, the non-homestead levy in the district has been rolled back to 16.1889 mills. Because of that, the district lost over $400,000 in state aid for the 2022-2023 school year.
“The levy has been rolled back due to the Headlee Amendment as part of the Michigan Constitution,” District Deputy Superintendent Neil Cassabon said via email. “The Headlee Amendment requires that if the assessed value of a local tax unit’s total taxable property increases by more than the inflation rate, the maximum property tax millage must be reduced so that the local unit’s total taxable property yields the same gross revenue, adjusted for inflation.
“Each year that passes and we don’t ask the voters to restore the non-homestead levy back to the full 18 mills, the district will not receive our full share of State Aid,” Cassabon said. “The district is still required to operate without those funds.”
The May 2 proposal, if passed, will restore the 18 mills approved by the taxpayers back in 2005 and will eliminate the $400,000 shortfall the district is currently facing. While the non-homestead tax does not apply to taxpayers who live in their primary residence, they vote on the non-homestead millage proposal because that is the law in Michigan.
In 1994, the Michigan legislature adopted a school funding law that required all Michigan homeowners to pay 6 mills in property tax. In addition, the law required all Michigan school districts to levy 18 mills on non-homestead property to get their full share of state aid. The law allows all taxpayers in a school district to vote on the non-homestead millage.
Levying the full 18 mills on non-homestead property would generate approximately $4,280,000 per school year, Cassabon said. In the Warren Woods Public Schools district, the non-homestead millage tax provided 9.7% of the district’s operating budget, also known as the general fund.
According to Cassabon, rental property owners (landlords) can decide how, when and if they wish to pass on all or portions of their non-homestead tax liability to renters. Some landlords pass on some or all their tax liability to renters while others do not. It is the landlord’s choice.
If the proposal passes May 2, it will go into effect on the summer 2023 tax bill and be authorized for 10 years. According to school officials, if the proposal does not pass, the district will have to continue to build its budget, and operate without receiving its full share of state aid.
State aid funds are distributed to public school districts across the state and are placed into the general fund budgets of the districts. The general fund is the chief operating fund of the school district, which pays for staffing, curriculum, utilities, school supplies, buses, supplies and more.
For more information on the proposal, log on to the district’s website at warrenwoods.misd.net and click on the school millage proposal link. Questions also can be directed to Superintendent Stacey Denewith-Fici at sdenewith@mywwps.org or (586) 439-4417. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 2.
