FRANKFORT — Frankfort officials are asking voters to approve a 3.38-mill, 20-year tax proposal for road reconstruction and other capital improvements, including streetscapes, new sidewalks and water and sewer upgrades.
The sale of bonds will finance the project, with the tax bringing in $4.6 million over 20 years.
Frankfort Supervisor Joshua Mills said 3.38 mills is the most that will be needed to pay back the bonds, but that number could be as low as 2.79 mills, depending on interest rates. Residents this year also will pay 0.59 mills less as the debt for a 1998 water and sewer main and streetscape project has been retired, he said.
The largest piece of the project is a total reconstruction of about a six-block section of M-22 from Seventh Street to Lake Street. Water mains will be replaced and storm sewer upgraded and intersections will be made universally accessible. Widened and improved sidewalks will make the area more walkable and lights and other streetscaping will be added.
The M-22 project is being done with the Michigan Department of Transportation, with Frankfort’s share set at $1.2 million and MDOT’s at $900,000.
If the tax proposal is approved the M-22 project will be bid out in the fall, with construction beginning in spring. The rest of the upgrades will be done over the next two years, Mills said.
“We’re targeting a large residential area with this,” Mills said.
The project will also replace many of the galvanized water leads into homes, most of which were installed in the 1940s, Mills said. While testing for lead and copper in the city’s water has been negative, the older pipes are known to cause lead poisoning.
“It’s time to update the infrastructure,” Mills said. “This project takes care of a lot of issues at once.”
If the millage request is turned down, the project will be scaled back and put before voters again. It could also be funded by increases in water and sewer rates, though it would have to be a significant increase, he said.
Two Benzie County-wide proposals include the renewal of a 0.85-mill tax for senior services programs through the Benzie County Commission on Aging.
If the five-year proposal is approved, the property tax will be restored to its pre-Headlee amount. The Headlee Amendment requires a municipality to reduce its millage rate to keep property taxes from growing faster than the rate of inflation.
The tax pays for services for those 60 and older and is expected to bring in $1.157 million in its first year.
Voters will also see a request for renewal and restoration of a 0.9-mill jail operations tax. If the three-year proposal is approved, the tax will bring in $1.225 million in its first year.
Townships in Benzie also have several requests on the ballot.
- Almira Township: Two proposals on the ballot include renewal and restoration of a 1.5-mill tax for six years for operation and maintenance of the township fire and emergency services department. If approved, the tax will raise $245,000 in its first year.
Another is a four-year, 0.275-mill tax for maintenance, operations and improvements of township recreational facilities. The tax is expected to bring in $45,000 in its first year.
- Inland Township: Voters will see a request for a new 10-year, 1-mill tax for road repair, maintenance and improvements. The tax is expected to bring in $81,043 in its first year.
- Lake Township: The township is seeking renewal and restoration of a 0.3559-mill tax for five years for fire protection services. The tax is expected to bring in $91,558 in its first year.
- Platte Township: Officials are seeking renewal and restoration of a 0.5-mill tax for four years for fire equipment, and of a 1-mill tax for four years for maintenance and operation of the township fire department.
If renewed, the taxes will bring in a combined $29,986 in the first year they are collected.
