Title
Resolution for County Millage Rebate Use
Staff
Reviewed by: Atleen Kaur, City Attorney
Milton Dohoney Jr., City Administrator
Marti Praschan, Interim Deputy City Administrator
Kim Buselmeier, Interim CFO
Body
Whereas, The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners (the “Board of Commissioners”) has approved the placement of a proposal of a ballot question on the November 5, 2024, ballot to increase the tax limitation within Washtenaw County by one (1) millage point for eight (8) years to provide funding: (1) for Washtenaw County’s Community Mental Health Department for mental health crisis, stabilization and prevention efforts; (2) for the County Sheriff’s Office to ensure continued operations and greater cooperation with the Mental Health Community; and (3) for those local entities within Washtenaw County which maintain their own police forces (the “Millage”);
Whereas, The millage proposal would allocate: 37% of the total millage to the Washtenaw County Community Mental Health Department (whether constituted as an agency or an authority) to be used for mental health crisis, stabilization and prevention efforts and to prevent unnecessary incarceration of individuals with mental health needs; 38% of the total millage to the Washtenaw County Sheriff to ensure continued operations and greater cooperation with the mental health community; and 24% of the total millage (the “General Fund Rebate”) to those jurisdictions within the County that maintain their own police force (the Cities of Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Milan, Saline, and Ypsilanti, and Pittsfield and Northfield Townships);
Whereas, The Millage, as approved by the Board of Commissioners to be placed on the November 5, 2024, ballot, would return to Ann Arbor $3M+ per year beginning in FY26;
Whereas, The identification of Ann Arbor’s contemplated usage of a General Fund Rebate prior to consideration of the millage might prove useful to voters as they evaluate whether to support the Millage; and
Whereas, The provision of unarmed response, supportive services, and the promotion of pedestrian safety are goals that are important to the Ann Arbor community for which there are presently insufficient resources to bring municipal action in line with community aspiration;
RESOLVED, That if the voters approve the Millage on the November 5, 2024, ballot, City Council intends to use the General Fund Rebate it receives for the duration of the Millage in the following amounts, for the following purposes:
• 40% to fund, support, perform, evaluate, administer, and/or do all things useful to realize and provide a program to provide for the response by unarmed personnel to requests for assistance from members of the public, provided, however, that until such a program exists, the City may retain General Fund Rebate monies in anticipation of the creation of such a program;
• 40% to fund supportive services for residents of Ann Arbor Housing Commission properties, including but not limited to services related to mental health, physical health, finances, job skills, employment, daily living skills, crisis management and conflict resolution, youth programming, criminal legal system harm mitigation, addiction treatment, and community building; and
• 20% to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety through the installation, replacement, and/or maintenance of street lighting in accordance with approved plans, installation, replacement, and/or maintenance of pedestrian-activated signals, filling of sidewalk gaps, construction of protected and/or buffered bicycle facilities (in accordance with approved Transportation and Non-Motorized Comprehensive Plans), and funding of trail and other off-road active transportation connections.
Sponsored by: Mayor Taylor and Councilmembers Akmon, Harrison, Song, Watson, Disch, Ghazi Edwin, Eyer, Radina, and Briggs