KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo County voters are supporting the countywide 911 millage to help fund the Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority, but it was still a close race.
As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, there were 35,131 yes votes and 21,717 no votes, with 107 of the 107 precincts reported, including absentee ballots. These are considered unofficial results as they are not final until they are certified by the Board of Canvassers.
The millage is an increase of .65 mils for 10 years in order to help raise money for the dispatch center for countywide 911 facilities.
Executive Director of the Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority Jeff Troyer says based on median market value of a house, the millage will cost residents about $47 dollars per year or a little less than 13 cents a day.
“9-1-1 is where every type of public safety requests starts,” Troyer said. “When an individual calls 9-1-1, whether that’s for their mailbox getting hit, or there’s a fight in progress or a house is on fire, everything that is a public safety-related request comes into our center and is dispatched from this single location. We are the first point of contact for all public safety, and our goal is to take the information and get it dispatched in the most time-effective way as possible.”
The funds granted will only be used for the 911 dispatch itself and they will not be used for any other emergency departments like providing equipment to fire, law enforcement, or EMS.
This comes as the 911 surcharge proposal did not pass back in 2017, but that is not the same as this 911 millage.
A further explanation on the passed 911 millage can be found here. More election results can be found here.
