Alpena County voters to decide veteran’s services millage renewal

ALPENA - Alpena County voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to renew the property tax that pays for the county’s Department of Veterans Affairs, an office its director says helped bring more than $40 million in veterans benefits and services into the county last year.

The proposal would renew a 0.21-mill levy for four years, starting with the Dec. 1, 2026, levy. The rate would stay the same, costing property owners about $21 a year for every $100,000 of taxable value.

“The purpose of the millage is to fund, equip, operate, maintain, and provide support and assistance services to veterans and eligible family members throughout Alpena County,” said Dan Perge, director of Alpena County Veterans Affairs.

Perge said the millage is the office’s only source of money.

“The Veterans Office does not utilize any monies from the county general fund and is solely funded by millage dollars,” he said.

If approved, the renewal should bring in about $276,004 a year, based on 100% collection, Perge said. The ballot language puts the estimate for the first year at $274,291.27.

The office has two staff members, Perge and assistant veterans service officer Kevin Morgan. According to the county’s website, the staff is nationally accredited by the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers. The office is in the Harborside Mall on North State Avenue in Alpena and is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Perge said the office handles a wide range of needs for local veterans and their families.

“The Veterans Office assists veterans and eligible dependents with claims, document requests, health care applications, education referrals, burial benefits, financial assistance, housing referrals, and transportation,” he said. “The office makes an average of 2,300 veteran/claimant contacts per year.”

Perge said the return on that work is far larger than the cost of the tax.

In fiscal year 2025, he said, the office “was integral to bringing in” more than $20 million in direct benefits, meaning payments to veterans, and $22 million in indirect benefits, meaning services to veterans, into Alpena County.

Combined, those benefits are more than 150 times what the millage is expected to raise in a year.

The Alpena County Board of Commissioners placed the question on the ballot.

The ballot question asks whether the county board should “be authorized to levy a tax not to exceed 0.21 (21/100) mill ($0.21 on each $1,000.00 of Equalized State Taxable Value) for a period of four (4) years starting with the levy made December 1, 2026 for the purpose of providing funds to equip, operate, maintain and provide support and assistance services to Veterans through the Alpena County Department of Veterans Affairs.”

A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value, which is often lower than a home’s market value. At 0.21 mill, the owner of a home with a taxable value of $50,000 would pay about $10.50 a year.

The veteran's renewal is one of several money questions on the Nov. 3 ballot in Alpena County. Countywide, voters will also decide on a 10-year special education renewal for the Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Educational Service District and whether to let the county spend $20,452.65 left over from a former Alpena General Hospital millage. Long Rapids Township voters will decide on a fire and first responder millage, and Sanborn Township voters will consider a fire equipment renewal.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 3. Voters can view a sample ballot and find their polling place through the Michigan Voter Information Center at michigan.gov/vote.

Josh Jambor can be reached at jjambor@thealpenanews.com.