News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Staff at the Alpena County Clerk’s office process election information on Tuesday night. Voters voted down a property tax request to help bolster the county’s budget and now it is possible some employees could lose their jobs.

ALPENA — Alpena County’s request for a new property tax to help bolster its general fund failed to garner enough support to pass, as it fell to defeat 4,070 to 3,882.

Now, the commissioners are plotting their next course of action which may include deep cuts, including jobs, putting the request on the ballot with different language in November, or seeking a public safety millage.

The county asked voters for a 0.7-mill increase, which would have helped the county recapture about $800,000 a year and cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $35 a year.

The added revenue would have helped the county balance its budget which is underwater to the tune of more than $1 million.

The ballot proposal asked for the amount of money the county loses each year from the “Headlee rollback.”

Headlee is a provision in the state constitution known as the Headlee Amendment that automatically lowers local governments’ 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.

Commissioners said if the tax proposal failed, it could lead to layoffs and reduction of services.

County Administrator Jesse Osmer said he believes the ballot language was unclear and difficult to decipher. He said some people expressed concern that there wasn’t a cap on the amount of time the tax would be in place before it would have to go before voters again for renewal. Osmer said the budget committee will meet soon to determine what to do next because the deadline to get a proposal on the ballot for November is on Tuesday.

“I think a lot of the ideas and discussions we have had over the past year are now going to become a reality,” Osmer said. “Once we know what the budget committee’s recommendation is, then we will know what direction we can go in.”

Osmer said it is possible some county employees will lose their jobs because of the failed proposal.

The county is already under a hiring freeze, except for needed corrections officers. He said the state dictates how many corrections officers the county needs to properly staff the county jail.

Commissioner John Kozlowski said the commissioners can’t kick the can down the road any longer. He said layoffs have been put on the back burner to see how the election played out, but now, the county can’t wait because the 2025 budget is already in the draft process and the gap between revenues and expenses needs to be narrowed.

“We have cut everywhere up to this point and we just don’t have any wiggle room now,” he said. “I really don’t want to have any layoffs, but there aren’t a lot of other places to look at.”

If the county were to put another proposal on the ballot in November, it could save jobs if it passes, Osmer said. He said changing the language to Tuesday’s proposal to make it more understandable is an option, as is putting a four-year cap on it.

The county is also considering a public safety tax, which would cover a part or the entire cost of operations at the sheriff’s office and other public safety needs.

The millage fell short by about 200 votes, and Commissioner Burt Francisco said the commissioner’s decision to begin the process of replacing members of the library board last month, may have led some voters who supported the millage initially, to pivot and vote against it.

“There are people who could have been looking at the commissioners in a poor light,” Francisco said. “There may have been some who decided to support the library and not support the county.”

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