At last night’s City Council meeting, Council considered and ultimately rejected a resolution opposing the proposed Oakland County 1.5 mill Regional Enhancement Millage by a vote of 4-1, including my own no vote.
It would be easy to infer from that vote that Council was voting to support the proposed millage, but that’s simply not the case. Those who watched the council meeting or the preceding study session, know that the conversation around the motion was not about the merits of the millage. In fact, council members publically raised a number of concerns about the proposal, and several clearly stated their personal opposition to the millage.
However, the issue that gave some council members pause in considering the resolution was what precedent Council would be setting if it chose to create an “official City stance” on such matters. Indeed, when the resolution was discussed at previous council meetings, several residents specifically stated they were against “Council telling (us) how to vote.”
As a council member, I do think the City can and should share information with residents about this millage and how it will affect them. And personally, I think this millage proposal is poorly constructed and will move a fair amount of tax dollars from our area to the North Oakland school districts.
That’s a hard pill to swallow for many residents who feel they are already paying high taxes – and I wouldn’t be surprised if a majority of Lathrup voters vote against the millage in August. But some voters may believe that increased support for schools and students is worth paying an imperfect tax or even that the reallocation of local funds to more populous districts is still beneficial to the area as whole.
Which voter are you? Which voter should you be? I can’t tell you that. And I don’t believe Council should either.
[These notes are intended to explain City issues and decisions from my perspective as a council member. They are not official City communications, but an effort to provide context, explain my reasoning, and help residents draw their own conclusions.]