Tomorrow is the day to vote on local initiatives in dozens of Michigan communities.
Not every community has an election scheduled for tomorrow. The full list of those that do is posted on the Michigan Secretary of State’s website here.
Click here to find what's on the ballot in your community.
The fastest way to find out what's on your ballot is to use this online guide, and select your community.
In most communities, the issues on the ballot come down to local property taxes, and whether to renew millages that pay for local services.
In the city of Monroe, for example, voters will decide whether to extend a levy for the next three years to continue paying for Lake Erie Transit, the city’s bus system. The amount of the levy is 1.00 mil, which is equal to one dollar per $1,000 in taxable property value. So, if a property is assessed at $100,000 in value, the owner would pay $100 for the millage.
Many of the millage renewals on tomorrow’s ballot are related to schools, but some cover police and fire services, while others cover libraries.
In Algoma township, voters will decide whether to leave the Kent District Library - a countywide system. If that measure passes, the township may pursueanother millage to fund its own local library.
And, in the city of Holland, voters will decide whether to give the city the authority to sell a large chunk of waterfront property for a new mixed-use development. The final price of the property hasn’t been set, but the city estimates the project could create nearly $20 million in annual economic impact.
But the deal can’t move through without 60% approval from voters.
“Our waterfront resources are really, really valuable — much more valuable than just about anything we have,” said Holland mayor Nathan Bocks at a city council meeting in February. “That’s why it’s instilled in our charter that we’re not allowed to just sell this property.”
The plans for the waterfront development are posted online here.
To see what’s on the ballot in your community, you can use the Secretary of State’s guide here.
