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ALPENA - Alpena County voters on Tuesday renewed the property tax that pays for the county’s Department of Veterans Affairs.
The 0.21-mill renewal passed 5,862 to 1,613, or 78.42% in favor, according to unofficial results from the Alpena County Clerk’s office. Results are unofficial until certified by the county board of canvassers later today.
The renewal keeps the rate the same for four years, starting with the levy made Dec. 1, 2026. Property owners will see no change in what they pay for the office: about $21 a year for every $100,000 of taxable value. A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value, which is often lower than a home’s market value.
The ballot language estimated the levy will raise $274,291.27 in its first year. Dan Perge, director of Alpena County Veterans Affairs, said before the election that the renewal should bring in about $276,004 a year, based on 100% collection.
The money will continue to fund the office’s work, which the ballot describes as providing funds to equip, operate, maintain and provide support and assistance services to Veterans through the Alpena County Department of Veterans Affairs.
Perge said in an interview before the election that 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.
The office has two staff members, Perge and assistant veterans service officer Kevin Morgan, who are nationally accredited by the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, according to the county’s website. The office is in the Harborside Mall on North State Avenue in Alpena.
Before the election, Perge described the range of help the office provides.
“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.”
In fiscal year 2025, Perge 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 proposal on the ballot. The first levy under the renewal will be made on Dec. 1.