(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/27/2024) During Tuesday night's presidential primary, 30 of the 161 local tax issues failed, including the boldest proposal on the ballot, a $58.4 million bond for Almont Community Schools, which serves Lapeer, St. Clair, Macomb and Oakland counties.
Tuesday was a bad day for bonding proposals, in general, as seven of the nine on the ballot failed. A $4.1 million bond in Bear Creek Township in Emmet County and a $22.79 million bond in Midland County's Bullock Creek School District passed, and that was it. School bonding uestions in Boyne Falls, Gladwin, the Macomb ISD, Kingston Schools and Vassar all failed, along with a road bond in Isabella County's Rolland Township.
Of the 31 millage increase proposals, 20 passed and 11 failed. Only three of 70 millage renewals failed and eight of 39 millage restorations failed. Among sinking funds for schools, 10 of 11 proposals passed.
The unofficial results show on the MIRS local election spreadsheet, that a pair of fire department and road millage increases in Monroe's London Township also failed for the second time in two years, after the Bureau of Elections' ballot language for the municipalities had the measures raising $263 million and $197 million a piece, which isn't possible considering the community of about 3,000 people only spent $229,000, total, on its roads in 2022.
The biggest millage restoration that failed would have raised more than $5.64 million for Gladwin Community Schools serving Gladwin and Clair counties.
The one sinking fund to fail was proposed to raise $34,491 or Fulton Schools serving Gratiot and Clinton counties.
In all, 16 of 73 school issues failed, along with six of 23 road proposals and five of 36 public safety/fire/police/EMT ballot questions.
Anything dealing with insect control, libraries, health services, parks and recreation, emergency 911 and senior services all passed.
Some unique tax proposals that passed included snow removal services in Houghton County in the Upper Peninsula and a $200 special assessment charged to the residents of Hazelton in Shiawassee County, so they can have ambulance services.
The city of Pontiac passed a marijuana amendment that would create a point system for the permit application process. The point system would determine who would get the 17 conditional permits and five microbusiness conditional permits.
Algonac in St. Clair County repealed their opt-in for marijuana businesses, and Caro failed to pass an ordinance that would have opted in to the marijuana business.
Custer Township in Sanilac County passed an ordinance that would set some definitions for the solar energy systems that would be built in the township, including size and the barriers that would enclose them.
