News File Photo A fire truck is set to pull out of the Alpena Township southside station in this December 2020 News file photo.

ALPENA — For the second time in three months, voters in Alpena Township nixed a tax increase for fire services.

On Tuesday, voters declined a 3-mill tax increase 2,537 to 2,085 — roughly the same margin that the tax failed in August — that would have fully funded the township Fire Department, added needed staffing, equipment, and helped the township save for future plans like a new south side fire station.

The tax would have cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $150 a year and would have raised about $1.1 million a year for the township.

The millage failing forces the township Board of Trustees to formulate a plan for the department into the future. The board has had meetings to discuss its options should the tax fail, but nothing concrete has been considered.

Township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe said the voters have spoken and now it is up to the board to come to an agreement on what the path forward is.

“The board will have to finally have an open and realistic dialogue moving forward now, knowing the results of two elections,” he said.

The township has suffered a staffing shortage and relied on money from the township general fund to fund operations.

The six-year proposal was voted down during the August primary election by a vote of 1,446 to 1,191.

Township property owners already pay 1.5 mills — about $75 a year for the owner of a $100,000 house — for firefighting operations and will pay that tax through 2027. Another 0.65-mill tax for firefighting equipment — costing the owner of a $100,000 house about $32.50 per year — ends at the end of the year.

Last year, the township negotiated a contract with the Alpena Fire Department that would have had the city handling emergency response calls for the township. The contract, however, was defeated in a four-to-three vote of the township board, bringing fire services back in house.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.