800 MHZ Millage Language vs Capital Improvement Plan

The 800 MHZ ballot language as approved by the Emmet County Board of Commissioners is as follows:

“Shall the total taxable property rate limitation in Emmet County be increased by .31 of a mill (31 cents for each $1,000 in valuation) and levied for five (5) years, beginning in the year 2019 and continuing through the year 2023, inclusive, for the purpose of financing facility, equipment, maintenance and operating costs of the Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet County 911 (CCE) public safety call answering and dispatch services? If approved and levied in its entirety, this millage raises an estimated $896,565 in the first calendar year after its approval “

Emmet County already has millions of dollars of debt. Please note the use of the word "financing ..." in the above proposal. 

The 800 MHZ ballot language as approved by the Charlevoix County Board of Commissioners is as follows:

"Shall the tax limitation imposed under Article IX, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution on the amount of ad valorem taxes which may be levied by the County of Charlevoix, State of Michigan, against taxable property in the County be increased by up to .5 mills ($.50 per $1,000 of taxable value) for a period of three (3) years, 2018 through 2020, inclusive, for the purpose of providing Charlevoix County's share of the funds needed by the CCE 911 Central Dispatch Authority(CCE) to purchase, install, maintain, and replace upgraded radio equipment for use by CCE and emergency service providers within Charlevoix County, and shall the Charlevoix County Board of Commissioners be authorized to levy such millage for these purposes?  If approved and levied in its entirety, this millage would raise an estimated $1,074,742 for Charlevoix County in 2018."

Charlevoix County stated they have funds sufficient to pay for needed 911 infrastructure and the millage spread over 3 years will pay for upgraded radio equipment.  

The 800 MHZ ballot language as approved by the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners is as follows:

"Shall the tax limitation imposed under Article IX, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution on the amount of ad valorem taxes which may be levied by the County of Cheboygan, State of Michigan, against taxable property in the County be increased by up to .5 mills ($.50 per $1 ,000 of taxable value} for a period of four {4} years, 2018 through 2021 , inclusive, for the purpose of providing Cheboygan County's share of the funds needed by the CCE 911 Central Dispatch Authority {CCE} to purchase, install, maintain, and replace upgraded radio equipment for use by the CCE and emergency service providers within Cheboygan County and to upgrade radio system infrastructure, including tower and tower equipment, required by the upgraded radio equipment, and shall the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners be authorized to levy such millage for these purposes? If approved and levied in its entirety, this millage would raise an estimated $717,761 for Cheboygan County in 2018."

Cheboygan County has millions of dollars in reserve funds, exceeding both the recommendations of the State of Michigan and the County's own fiscal policy. Only Cheboygan County has the excess cash reserves to pay now and not delay the radio upgrades. If the upgrades are needed, they should be prioritized and funded now, from the millions of dollars the County has in unassigned reserve funds. There are no good reasons  to spread the cost of the improvements over 4 years. Will Administrator Jeff Lawson and the County Commissioners be held accountable if a First Responder or Law Enforcement Officer is endangered or killed 2, 3, or 4 years from now because the millage is still trickling in? Vote no now and prioritize this needed upgrade.   

From Cheboygan County's current Master Plan:

Emergency 911 telephone service is provided to Cheboygan County through a multi-county 911 system for Cheboygan, Emmet and Charlevoix Counties. It is a state-of-the art enhanced 911 system, which provides emergency dispatch for all calls to the police, fire departments and ambulance service for the entire three county area. Police cruisers are equipped with laptop 107 “mobile data terminals” for direct communications between the 911 dispatch and the officers in the field. The mapping system used by the 911 system was developed through the use of satellite technology through a GPS (global positioning system) unit.  

Introduction: 

The Michigan Planning Enabling Act (Act 33, 2008) requires local municipalities that have adopted a master plan to annually prepare a Capital Improvement Program, a planning tool that can coordinate community planning, financial capacity and physical development. A Capital Improvement Program may be considered a blueprint for planning capital improvement expenditures, and seek, in part, to improve quality of life and achieve a community’s long-term goals. The Act provides that the Capital Improvements Program show those public structures and improvements in general order of their priority that in the judgment of the Planning Commission will be needed or desirable and can be undertaken within the ensuing 6-year period. 

The inclusion of a project in a Capital Improvement Program will not require any public entity or County department to fund or complete the project. This report has been prepared and projected on a one-time cash basis that lists the potential project and its estimated cost as provided by various agencies and departments. This cash method of reporting may suggest a substantial one-time cost for many improvements. Not considered are such factors as debt amortization or shared expenses such as grants or other sources of financial aid. 

The projects listed in this report should be identified or prioritized as needed or desirable by the Planning Commission and determine that they do not conflict with the adopted Master Plan. 

Definition: Capital Improvements for the purposes of this Capital Improvement Program shall be defined as additions to County assets which are the result of construction or purchase of land, buildings or facilities or renovations of the same, with an estimated useful life of five (5) years or more and exceed an estimated cost of $15,000.00.

Project Prioritizing Projects are presented in a general order of priority in consideration of factors listed in the following categories: 

 2 a) Needed (essential; should do): 

 Addresses an objective of the Master Plan. 

 Satisfies a legal obligation. 

 Corrects a condition dangerous to public health and safety. 

 Reduces future operating and maintenance costs. 

 Leverages local, state or federal funds. 

 Prevents irreparable damage to a valuable public facility. 

 Stimulates economic growth and private investment. 

b) Desirable (important; could do): 

 Provides a new or expanded level of service. 

 Provides a facility improvement that would enhance efficiency or use with minimal or no increase in operating costs. 

 Enhances cultural or natural resources.

Public Safety Emergency 911 services are part of the Cheboygan County Master Plan. The County Administrator, Planning Commission, and Board of Commissioners annually prepare a Capital Improvement Program to plan and prioritize capital improvement expenditures over $15,000.  All of these proposed "projects" are on the 2019 Capital Improvement Program. The 800 MHZ radio upgrade is not one of County Administrator Jeff Lawson's "pet" projects. Administrator Jeff Lawson and the County Commissioners know the public would vote no to additional taxes for most of these projects. The 800 MHZ radio upgrade is a hot button issue. It should prioritized and funded now, from the millions of dollars the County has in unassigned reserve funds, and the need to spread the improvements over 4 years will be avoided. 

Project Description

Project Title: Fuel Tank and Fuel Dock Replacement and Upgrade    $800,000

Agency: Cheboygan County Marina 

Project Title: County Building Security Windows and Doors                $100,000

Agency: County Building Maintenance Department

Project Title: County Building Trim Panel/Window Replacement         $550,000

Agency: Cheboygan County 

Project Title: County Building Elevator Replacement                           $250,000

Agency: County Building Maintenance Department

Project Title: County Building Court Room,                                          $100,000

Treasurer’s Office Remodel and Indigent Defense Meeting Rooms 

Agency: Cheboygan County 

Project Title: County Building Parking Lot Seal Coating                        $50,000

Agency: Cheboygan County 

Project Title: County Building Drive                                                     $200,000

Agency: Cheboygan County 

Project Title: Sand Road Senior Center                                                $35,000

Central Air Conditioning Upgrade 

Agency: Cheboygan County Council on Aging

Project Title: Sand Road Senior Center Parking lot                              $50,000

seal coating and paving 

Agency: Cheboygan County Council on Aging

Project Title: Wolverine Senior Center Parking lot resurfacing             $50,000

Agency: Cheboygan County Council on Aging

                                                                                                         _________

                                                                  Sub-Total                        $2,185,000

Project Title: Terminal Ramp Rehabilitation (2022)                             $635,000

Agency: Cheboygan Airport Authority

                                                                                                         _________       

                                                                    Total                             $2,820,000

Cheboygan's Countywide Emergency Service Radio Proposal-Is It Truth or Fiction?

I know many of us have already cast absentee ballots for the November 6th election. Others will remain undecided in the booth until they check the box beside their chosen candidates. There are many factors in our personal and private decisions to cast that secret ballot choosing our best candidates to both represent and serve us. I do know old dogs never change. Give them a treat and they will still piddle on the floor. I will clean up after an old dog, but old politicians should just be retired. The incumbents in almost every case will deliver the same old stuff. You reward them with your vote, and they piddle on your foot. Do you want more of the same names, same old ideas, and more wrong decisions? Cheboygan County has a history of making the wrong decisions, time after time. It is time to break that mold and cast our new future.

Remember, the ballot is not a test. You do not have to select a candidate for every available seat. When the section for State Board of Education, Regents, Trustees, of Governors for a University says select not more than two, do not go eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Educate yourself on the candidates and make a wise decision or just skip that section.

The ballots for the November election have a backside with ballot proposals and solicitations for more taxes. Three statewide ballot proposals appear because concerned citizens circulated petitions gaining hundreds of thousands of signatures of support. These grass-roots initiatives placed the decision on the ballot of legalizing and regulation of recreational marijuana, a more apolitical re-districting of congressional, state, and house districts, and a proposed State Constitution reform promoting simpler voting registration and straight party voting. Those are proposals 1, 2, and 3 and the people will decide.

There is a very important countywide ballot proposal seeking .5 mills, 50 cents per $1,000 taxable value for four years to pay for a needed 800MHZ radio upgrade for our first responders. If the need is real, the raise in your property taxes is not.  I sat through county meetings at Mackinaw City, two CCE-911 meetings, and additional meetings back in Cheboygan County. County Administrator Lawson and County Commission Chair John Wallace stated repeatedly that we needed to fund an 800 MHZ radio upgrade for the CCE-911 dispatch service. There was much discussion of telephone surcharges or an extra millage. Employing fuzzy math, the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners, with Commissioner Cal Gouine the only no vote, proposed .5 mills additional taxes on every taxable parcel in Cheboygan County to raise an estimated $717,761 in the first of four years. Commissioner Gouine stated added millages never seem to go away.

You should know that Cheboygan County has a surplus of unassigned funds totaling $8.035 million dollars. On page five of the 2017 annual audit: “At the close of the current fiscal year, the County’s governmental funds reported combined fund balances of $10,163,232, an increase of $487,404 in comparison with the prior year. Approximately 79%, or $8,035,234, of this amount is available for spending at the government’s discretion (unassigned fund balance).”

The Cheboygan County Policy of 30% unassigned funds exceeds the State of Michigan recommendation of a 15% to 25% “rainy day” fund. The $8.035 million dollars as reported by the auditor is 69% of the annual budget and exceeds the County own fiscal policy by over 100%. Fiscal responsibility should mandate the County Commissioners stop over-taxing us, asking for more millage, and instead spend part of the more than $4 million surplus dollars, our tax dollars they already have stuffed into money-market accounts. Unlike our CCE-911 partners, Emmet and Charlevoix Counties have debt on the books; Cheboygan has been over-taxing us and socking away surpluses, $487,404 in just the last audit year.

When you vote no on the “Countywide Emergency Service Radio Proposal", the Commissioners can go to Plan “B”. Spending part of that $4 million dollars surplus directly funding the CCE-911 800 MHZ Radio improvements will speed the needed upgrades. Taxpayers deserve truth in advertising. The need for the additional millage is instead a bald-faced lie. 

The incumbent County Commissioners, excepting Commissioner Gouine who voted no, are complicit in the deceit. Commissioner Gouine runs unopposed. You can vote the others out on the same ballot that bears their millage proposal. Vote for your new County Commissioners and vote NO to new taxes.