Kalamazoo County wants to renew its law enforcement tax on May 3. If it passes, the levy would last for six years. The rate will stay at its current level - about 1.45 mills. That means a taxpayer whose home is worth $100,000 on the market would pay just over $70 a year toward the tax.
The money the millage raises helps to fund a range of county departments, from animal services to the prosecutor’s office to district and circuit court. Kalamazoo County sheriff Rick Fuller says everyone who pays toward the millage stands to gain from it, as it helps to cover services such as the Kalamazoo County jail.
“If you live in the City of Kalamazoo, if you live in Alamo Township or if you live in Waukeshma Township or Comstock or Oshtemo, you’re receiving roughly the same benefit as everybody else. Meaning, you get the same amount of protection from the sheriff’s office for different areas,” he says.
If it passes, the millage is expected to provide the county with close to $12 million when it’s first levied.
