KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Voters participating in the August 4 Primary election will be help decide whether a 9-1-1 millage proposal will be passed.
The proposal is listed on the election ballot and written as follows:
“For the purpose of funding a central public safety communication system and 9-1-1 service system, shall the constitutional limitation upon the total amount of taxes which may be assessed in one (1) year upon all property within the County of Kalamazoo, Michigan, be increased in an amount up to but not to exceed 0.65 mills ($0.65 on each $1,000 of taxable value) for a period of ten (10) years (2020-2029 inclusive), to be distributed to the Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority for countywide 9-1-1 facilities, functions and services as provided in the Kalamazoo County Emergency 9-1-1 Service System Plan? If approved and levied in full, this millage would raise an estimated $6,111,513 in the first calendar year of its levy based on taxable value.“
To better help explain the proposal to voters, Executive Director for the Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority Jeff Troyer recently spoke with WKZO to clarify what the millage proposal will do.
“Voters will be asked to consider a 9-1-1 millage that is equal to 0.65 mills,” Troyer said. “That will be dedicated funding for 9-1-1 and public dispatch safety service.”
Troyer says that the number is deduced from the median market home value throughout the county.
“The median market value of home in Kalamazoo County is the most accurate reflection because it takes out the very far top end and the very far bottom end,” Troyer said. “Based on that, those dollar figures are $145,900. That will cost residents an average of $47 per year, which equates to a little less than 13 cents a day.”
Troyer adds that there are currently no millages that have been established for such purposes. The proposal itself is a new millage altogether.
“We have not pursued a millage prior to this ballot proposal,” Troyer said. “There was, in 2017, a 911 surcharge proposal that did not pass, but that is not the same thing as a millage.”
Troyer further explains that this millage is important in the interest of public safety, regardless of what type of emergency is being reported.
“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.”
If this millage were to be approved, the funds granted would only be used for the 9-1-1 dispatch itself, and not used for other emergency departments.
“This millage proposal is specific to 9-1-1 and public safety dispatch service,” Troyer said. “We do not provide equipment or anything to fire, law enforcement or EMS. The agencies that we serve, we obviously partner with them, but our priority, this funding will cover from the time somebody calls 9-1-1 until the public safety resource has been dispatched. Of course, we provide support for them during the incident too, but none of this funding goes directly to a police department, fire agency or EMS.”
Speaking on the nationwide movement to defund police departments, Troyer also spoke about possible misconceptions into this millage and what it funds.
“It is very easily mistaken that sometimes people think, naturally, when I call 9-1-1, I’m gonna get the police department. You’re actually not getting the police department,” Troyer said. “The dispatch authority is a completely separate entity that is ran by a 13-member board of directors that is representative of the municipalities that worked together and created the dispatch authority. Our sole purpose is 9-1-1 services, we do answer non-emergency calls for service as well, and then public safety dispatch.”
Troyer hopes that voters will take these factors into consideration before going to the polls or returning an absentee ballot.
“The key to this proposal is to recognize one 9-1-1 and public safety dispatch is,” Troyer said. “It is that first link in any resident or visitors time of need here in Kalamazoo County. Recognizing that and knowing that this money is dedicated to 9-1-1 and public safety dispatch, that’s it. It can’t be used for things outside of that realm.”
On the possibility of the proposal not being passed, Troyer says the dispatch board will meet to decide further steps.
“We have some special meetings set up already for election results review on Wednesday and Thursday,” Troyer said. “They will evaluate the results and take whatever steps they feel are appropriate as they move forward.”
Should the proposal fail, Troyer said it’s still a possibility to see it again later down the line, since there is currently only a short-term funding plan in place.
“The whole goal from day one has been to come up with an equitable funding solution so that all residents are paying the same, regardless of where you live in Kalamazoo County,” Troyer said.
The election will take place on Tuesday, August 4, and all ballots must be returned by 8 p.m. However, voters should note that there may be up to two days of a delay on final results.
Voters who have not mailed in their ballot by this point should instead return them directly to their local Clerk’s office or local ballot drop box.
