Orion Township — Orion Township officials will go back to voters in November to get their approval of two public safety millages after similar measures were rejected earlier this week.
At an emergency meeting Friday afternoon, the Orion Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to put a 3.41-mill police service tax renewal and a 2.92-mill fire tax renewal on the ballot.
Both measures will be smaller than what voters cast ballots on on Tuesday. The township had sought 3.75-mill police protection millage and 3.85-mill fire and EMS millage, both of which failed.
Without dedicated taxes, money for police and fire will run out in June 2027, said Township Supervisor Chris Barnett.
“We have to certify language before Tuesday to get to the county in order for this to be on the ballot in November. And just to reiterate: if we don’t do that, we run out of money. We do have some fund balances in police and fire, but we will run out of money,” said Barnett.
Friday’s meeting, which was attended by about two dozen people, comes just days after at least seven police and fire millages in five Metro Detroit communities failed in Tuesday’s election. Most of the communities where measures failed are in northern Oakland County.
In Orion Township, its proposed police operating millage failed 59% to 41%. A separate fire and EMS millage renewal failed narrowly, 51% to 49%.
Orion Township does not have a police department; it contracts with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office for police services. Their contract with the sheriff’s office costs $7.1 million in 2026, according to county records.
Lt. Darrin Zehnpfennig said his deputies’ service to Orion was apparent in their response to a May carjacking in the township.
“That was due to a lot of the free services Orion Township provides,” said Zehnpfennig.
The township passed a 1-mill fire tax increase in 2020 after community said it would like more full-time fire service that included EMS services, said Barnett.
Orion Township voters will actually vote on three millage proposals in November. The township board also unanimously voted to place a separate 0.4-mill increase for fire on the ballot to fund capital needs.
Orion Fire Chief Ryan Allen said his department’s $6 million fund balance quickly shrinks when things like auditing and vehicle purchases are factored in.
“One of the things I was challenged with when I came into the department was to kind of set an account aside to have that fund balance available so that (in the) future, we didn’t see these large increases or have to ask for large increases moving forward,” Allen said. “While this is a large increase and I don’t disagree with that, we’re trying to hedge the increases that we’re being given.”
In explaining the 0.4-mill fire tax, Barnett said the proposed increase would pay for three additional personnel, firefighting outfits and oxygen tanks.
Barnett and Sheriff Mike Bouchard have described the rejection of the two millages on Tuesday as a broad anti-tax sentiment. Multiple residents at Friday’s meeting said they’ve been “millaged to death,” citing a county-wide millage for public schools that was also on the ballot Tuesday.
But some residents cited other reasons for their disapproval of the two millages. Resident Paul Cassise spoke against the fact that a small percentage of public safety taxes go toward parcels overseen by the township’s Corridor Improvement Authority and Downtown Development Authority if they live in the designated areas. Roughly 5% of township residents live in these areas.
“They have these on the fire and police for a reason — because they know they can get those things passed because people get scared of losing police and fire,” said Cassise, 55.
Barnett said there’s nothing the township board can do about the taxes in the authorities’ districts because the mechanism is governed by state law. Trustee Carrie Hilgendorf called on state lawmakers to change the mechanism so the taxes for the districts aren’t tied to public safety millages.
But several residents said they were pleased with how the township’s plan for the November ballot. Scott Gabriel said it was “a good choice” to split the fire increase from the renewals.
“Give the residents a choice,” said Gabriel, 62.
mbryan@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Orion Twp. sends police, fire millage renewals to November ballot after failed vote
Reporting by Max Bryan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Max Bryan, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
