ALPENA – The Alpena Township Board of Trustees is considering a public safety special assessment as a way to help adequately fund the township’s fire department.

A public safety assessment for a township is a specialized, annual, or multi-year fee placed on property tax bills, authorized by state law to fund police, fire, and emergency medical services. This assessment, often called a Special Assessment District (SAD), provides dedicated, adjustable revenue to maintain public safety services.

Township Supervisor Abbi Kaszubowski began the meeting by providing an update to the board.

“When I was at the Michigan Township Association Supervisors Convention in October there were some discussions regarding special assessments and other ways to bring in revenue,” Kaszubowski said. “It was brought up briefly at a recent fire committee meeting. We are looking at any and all options, I do not have all the answers yet, but I am working on it.”

With the current fire department millage running out and another on the ballot in August, all options are being considered, should the tax request fail.

“My thought process for this is, we know our millage is running out, and we have failed at 3 mill millage votes twice, so I think we need to look at other options other than a millage,” Kaszubowski said. “If the special assessment is the route we take it would replace the millage.”

“I am not sure how it would be broken down into districts yet,” Kaszubowski added.

Township Clerk Michele Palevich then brought up the fact that to have the millage on the ballot in August the board needs to have all the necessary information to make a decision.

“We are on a deadline because if we want to put the millage on the ballot for November we have until April 10 or April 11,” Palevich said. “We have less than a month to get fully informed on this.”

Kaszubowski said she should have more information about the assessment soon.

“The attorney advised me they will have deliverable information on it by March 10.”

Time is precious for the township board to fund its fire department as the township attorney works to prepare the millage language and present it to the board.

“We can still go through with the millage, it’s at the board’s discretion but all of us sitting at this table know the millage has failed the last two times, and now we are asking for more than we previously did,” Kaszubowski said.

Palevich responded by saying, “I don’t even know what we are asking for because we haven’t really discussed it as a board.”

At which point Kaszubowski consulted with Alpena Township Fire Chief Tim Baker to advise the board that Baker presented the board with a 3.6 mills tax.

For a house valued at $100,000 and a taxable value about half that amount, it would cost a property owner about $180 a year for the new fire millage.

That is not the number put forth by the board, as any number would have to be approved by the board prior to being placed on the ballot in August.

The set amount for any special assessment regarding the fire department has not been established yet as Kaszubowski continues to investigate the idea. The board was uncertain whether they would have to schedule a special meeting to go over the information or if it would be presented at the next board meeting on March 23.