The Warren Sun

Shelby Township issued the following announcement on July 15.

As part of the partisan primary elections on Aug. 3, Shelby Township voters will vote on a renewal of the township's existing police services millage and its police and fire pension millage.

The millage proposals on the ballot maintain the current millage rates to fund general police operations and the police and fire pension fund. If approved, the township would not increase tax rates and keep the lowest tax rate among full-service Macomb County communities, including full-time police and fire protection.

"What sets Shelby Township apart from our peers in Macomb County is our ability to provide full-time police and fire protection to ensure our residents, families and property are as safe as possible," Township Supervisor Rick Stathakis said.

"When first elected in 2008, I made it very clear I would never support a tax increase. These ballot proposals are not tax increases. They maintain the 9.2999 local millage rates that fund all of our services and departments. Those rates have not increased since 2008, and they will not change while I am in office."

Township voters first approved 2.73 mills for police services in 2002. That measure completes its 20-year term this year. The renewal would take effect in 2023 and run through 2042.

"It is essential that voters remember these proposals as part of the partisan primary election," Township Clerk Stanley Grot said. "Even if they do not want to vote in the partisan primary election, voters can still cast a ballot for the millage proposals."

The renewal proposal for the police and fire pension millage maintains the fully funded pension fund for the township's police officers and firefighters. Shelby Township voters initially approved the .5 mills millage rate for the pension find in 2002. If renewed, the rate would take effect in 2023 and run through 2042.

"These rates show that Shelby Township remains the best bargain in all of Macomb County if not the state of Michigan," Stathakis said. "Despite building a new police station and adding police services like a fully-staffed traffic unit, a community services unit and our tactical response unit, we are holding the tax rate to the same level it was in 2002. This rate is the same as when the police department served roughly 13,000 fewer residents.

"We do this because of the hard work and dedication of our employees and the Board of Trustees. Together we make the most of every penny we collect and ensure we provide the best possible service at the lowest possible cost."

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