News Photo by Steve Schulwitz From left to right, Alpena County Commissioners Robin LaLonde, Bill Peterson, and John Kozlowski conduct business at a meeting on Tuesday.

ALPENA — Voters in Alpena County will decide whether to pay more in property taxes or face the realization that county employees could lose their jobs and county services could be cut.

The Alpena County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday voted six-to-zero to seek a property tax increase in November that would help the county recoup tax revenue it loses from what’s known as a Headlee rollback.

A provision in the state constitution known as the Headlee Amendment automatically lowers local governents’ property tax rates — in what’s known as a “Headlee rollback” — if property values climb too fast, making it so property tax revenue growth cannot exceed the rate of inflation.

Governments can ask voters to override that automatic rollback so they can levy their full property tax rate.

Alpena County will ask voters to approve a 0.7-mill increase, which would help the county recapture about $800,000 a year.

The proposal would cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $35 a year and the owner of a $200,000 house about $70 a year.

Commissioners at an earlier Budget Committee meeting decided to move forward with what they are calling a “Headlee roll-up” instead of a proposed public safety millage that would fund the county Sheriff’s Office.

Commissioner Bill Peterson called it wise to seek the smaller tax increase first. If the Headlee rollup proposal fails, then the county could see if the public safety millage garners more support next year. If voters shot that down, commissioners could be forced to make decisions they don’t want to make and job loss will be in the cards.

“The only cuts we have left to make are people, and it takes our people to provide services,” Peterson said. “Our people are our most valued assets, and I’m not ready to make any job cuts, yet.”

The county is struggling with a budget deficit that has ballooned to about $1.6 million. Covering that gap between income and expenses with the county’s cash savings would sharply dwindle that account.

County Treasurer Kim Ludlow said the county could make up between $700,000 and $800,000 of the red ink by the end of the year by limiting spending and reaping more revenue, but that would still leave a shortfall between $800,000 and $900,000.

The Headlee roll-up would help make that amount back.

If the proposal in November fails, commissioners may ask voters next year to approve a public safety tax of between 1.5 mills and 2 mills. That would cost the owner of a $100,000 house between $75 and $100 a year.

The money from that millage would fund the county’s Sheriff’s Office, which takes up the largest portion of the county budget each year. The revenue from the tax would rake in enough funds to pay for the police department, which would help put the budget on the straight and narrow.

Peterson said that, if that were to fail, the decisions would become much more severe and there would likely be significant fallout.

“We would have to go to option three, which will not be pretty,” he said.

Commissioner Burt Francisco said the county doesn’t want the public to think the board is making a threat to get a tax proposal to pass. He said the county would face real consequences if Commissioners can’t find a new revenue stream, and the only way to really do that is to raise taxes.

To show the voters the severity of the county’s finances, department heads, Ludlow, and county Clerk Keri Bertrand will create two draft budgets for the next fiscal year, which begins on Jan. 1. One budget will include revenue from the Headlee roll-up and the other would not.

Commissioners hope that will paint a clear picture for voters and help them realize the severity of the situation.

The budget without the tax increase would include a proposed cut of 10% from each department. After years of having to make cuts, the next round would likely involve personnel.

“There is no way I can cut 10%,” Ludlow said. “There is nowhere left to cut in my office. I would have to let go of someone, and there would have to be change for when the office is even open.”

Large budget shortfalls are not new to the county. The issue has been kicked down the road from board to board for many years.

The current board knows that is not an option.

“We can’t keep continuing to go where we’re going,” Commissioner John Kozlowski said.