Operations for the Brownstown Police Department are currently funded by a total of 6 mills on your local property tax bill. Millage funding for Police operations has remained unchanged since residents authorized this rate in 1986.
The proposed 2 mill increase is being requested to address the following factors:
- Improve police staffing level. Currently, Brownstown Township has the lowest number of police officers (per 1000 residents, or per square mile) of any of our neighboring communities.
- Local millage funding is still recovering from the Great Recession. After the housing collapse in the mid-2000s, Brownstown did not return to its pre-recession taxable value until 2021 due to Headlee and Proposal A, even though our assessed values increased significantly because of increased home values and the development activity in our community.
- Due to this slow economic recovery, we have operated – over the past decade – within a very constrained fiscal framework. We did so by eliminating and reducing the number of police personnel, delaying capital improvements, relying more heavily on transfers from the general fund, and applying for grant funds.
- The 2 mill increase we are requesting will allow Brownstown to hire more Police officers and support staff with the goal of providing good service to our growing population base with a focus on community policing with better communication, more transparency and accountability to the public.
If approved, the additional 2 mills will not change Brownstown Township's status as having the lowest tax rate of the Downriver Communities.
If residents approve the proposed 2 mill police millage increase, it will allow us to continue providing you with the Gold Standard of Public Service, which translates to:
- Excellent response times for calls for service and emergencies
- Increased neighborhood patrols throughout entire community
- Additional community outreach programs
- Re-establishing a K-9 Program
- Excellent emergency response times
- Increase training in de-escalation, mental health, substance abuse & defensive tactics
- Improve ability to recruit and retain good officers
- Improve officer morale
- Reduce the need to transfer general funds away from other township services
- An inability to increase staffing to keep pace with growth of the Township.
- A negative impact on employee retention and recruitment
- A negative impact on crucial training programs for police officers
- Extending equipment and vehicle lifespan beyond accepted best practices and standards
- A negative impact on the ability to provide additional community outreach programs
- Potentially longer wait times for both emergency and non-emergency responses.
Brownstown Township has the lowest millage rate of any Downriver Community (11.9971 mills). Even if this millage is approved, Brownstown Township will continue to maintain the status as having the lowest tax rate of any Downriver Community.
Brownstown Township has not increased any taxes for more than a decade, and in fact, the police millage has not changed since 1986.
Source: https://www.brownstown-mi.org/government/township_departments/public_safety/2021_public_safety_millage_request.php
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