St. Clair County voters on Aug. 2 passed four countywide millages that will fund various services for residents.
Voter turnout in the county was 33.45%.
Parks and recreation
The St. Clair County Parks and Recreation millage renewal passed with nearly 73% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the St. Clair County Clerk’s Office.
The county will levy .4944 mills per year, constituting a renewal of a previously authorized millage of .4954 mills, for a period of six years from 2022 to 2027. The owner of a home with a market value of $200,000 and a taxable value of $100,000 will pay $49.44 per year.
The millage is estimated to generate tax revenues of about $3.32 million the first year. Funding will be used and disbursed for the purpose of acquiring, developing and maintaining parks and recreational facilities in St. Clair County.
Senior citizens services
A request to renew the county’s senior citizens millage passed with about 78% of the vote.
The county will levy .7983 mills per year for a period of four years from 2022 to 2025 to fund senior citizens services.
The owner of a home with a market value of $200,000 will pay $79.83 per year. The millage is estimated to generate about $5.37 million of revenues the first year.
The millage is allocated to 12 agencies to partially fund programs and services, including Area Agency on Aging 1-B, Blue Water Safe Horizons, Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, Council on Aging, Inc., Housing Matters Inc., Hunter Hospitality House, Lakeshore Legal Aid of St. Clair County, Life Skills Centers, Port Huron Housing Commission, Public Guardian, Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home and Visiting Nurse Association & Blue Water Hospice, thecouncilonaging.org states.
Library system
A proposal to levy 1.2 mills to support the St. Clair County Library System passed with about 61% of the vote.
The new millage, which replaces the .7 mill levy that was previously authorized and expired last year, will be in place for a period of 10 years from 2022 to 2031.
The owner of a home with a market value of $200,000 will pay $120 per year. The millage is estimated to raise about $8.07 million the first year.
Funds will be used exclusively for library purposes. The library system operates branches in Capac, Algonac, Marine City, Marysville, Memphis, Port Huron, St. Clair and Yale, as well as the townships of Clay, Ira and Kimball.
Prior to the election, St. Clair County Library System Director Allison Arnold said goals include expanding the library system’s collections and programing, purchasing a bookmobile, establishing makerspaces, adding docking and Wi-Fi stations and having a Library of Things. The millage will not fund a new main library.
Ambulance services millage
Voters passed a new ambulance services millage, with nearly 74% casting ballots in support of the proposal.
The county will levy a new millage of .5 mills per year for a period of four years from 2022 to 2025 to be used and disbursed to local municipalities to provide operating and capital funds for ambulance service.
The owner of a home with a market value of $200,000 will pay $50 per year. The millage is estimated to generate more than $3.36 million the first year to fund emergency services to Tri-Hospital EMS, Richmond Lenox EMS and the city of Marysville, the providers of ambulance services in St. Clair County.
At Tri-Hospital EMS, funds will be used to increase employee wages and add more resources with new hires and additional ambulances to meet the increasing needs of the public, said CEO Ken Cummings, before the election.
