Share Your Thoughts on Ballot Questions for Rochester Hills Police Millage

Rochester Hills voters will likely be faced with some serious questions about police funding when they head to the polls this fall.

That's because the property tax levies that help pay for police services are set to expire next year. And the commitee charged with finding a way to continue this funding is seeking residents' feedback on possible long-term solutions.

Rochester Hills contracts with the for police services, which cost $8.7 million in 2011. The city's general fund supports about 47 percent of police services. Property tax millages fund 43 percent; 10 percent of the funding comes from other, smaller sources. The millages, which expire next year, are a seven-year 0.4260 millage and a 20-year 0.7823 millage.

“With the current police millage expiring soon and general fund revenues decreasing, doing nothing isn’t an option,” said committee chairman Don Cline. “Having adequate police services is crucial to maintaining the high quality of life we enjoy in Rochester Hills.”

The Police and Road Funding Technical Review Committee was formed in 2008 to study funding strategies for police services and roads. They have drafted possible ballot language, which Rochester Hills City Council is expected to review later this month (the proposed langauge is attached to this story).

The possible solutions

According to data compiled by the technical review committee, Rochester Hills has maintained the lowest costs and lowest ratio of police officers per capita of most Oakland County cities. Rochester Hills has 57 officers, which amounts to 0.81 officers per 1,000 residents. By comparison, Troy, which has a $27.5 million police budget, has 123 officers — a 1.54 ratio per 1,000 residents.

The technical review committee has identified two possible ways to continue funding the services:

The first would be to ask voters to support 3.7 mills, which would renew the police millages (1.2 mills combined) and also replace the general fund contribution (2.5 mills). 

A second option would be an amendment to the city charter that would add 3.7 mills for police funding.

Cline said he wanted residents to understand this would be an offset millage and not a millage increase.

However, regardless of which option is chosen, voters would also potentially be asked to approve .4 mills that would fund up to eight additional officers.

“That added funding would be used to fund positions like a school liaison officer and community policing, which has been eliminated due to reduced funding,” said Cline.

A mill equals $1 per $1,000 taxable value.

How to provide input

Send your thoughts to the committee to webberm+prtrc@rochesterhills.org before April 16. The committee will present the proposed ballot language to City Council on April 23.