Voters within areas served by the Inland Lakes School District will decide the fate of a proposal to restore the district’s non-homestead operating millage.
The Inland Lakes School millage proposal involves a part of Ellis, Mentor and Mullett townships and all of Koehler, Tuscarora and Walker townships in Cheboygan County.
“This proposal, if approved by voters on Nov. 4, would not raise taxes on a primary residence. It only applies to secondary homes and rental and commercial properties,” said Inland Lakes Superintendent Elizabeth Fairbanks.
The state requires school districts to levy 18 mills on non-homestead property to receive a full per-pupil state funding allowance.
“If the millage is not restored, Inland Lakes schools would lose nearly $115,000 each year in state aid,” Fairbanks said.
Money from the 18 mills will fund the district’s daily operations, including educational programs, classroom materials and student support programs, noted Fairbanks.
The millage proposal represents an override of a Headlee Amendment rollback, said Fairbanks. Ratified in 1978, the Headlee Amendment requires that if the total taxable value of a local government’s existing property grows faster than the rate of inflation, the government must reduce its millage rate. This is known as a “Headlee Rollback.”
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Inland Lakes asks voters to consider non-homestead operating millage on Nov. 4 ballot
Reporting by Paul Welitzkin, Cheboygan Daily Tribune / Cheboygan Daily Tribune
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