Royal Oak Township weighs cuts after failed tax hike

Royal Oak Township considers budget cuts

Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

Royal Oak Township -- A failed millage last week means tighter times ahead, according to township officials, but residents will still receive basic services.

The township's 2,870 residents on Tuesday were asked to approve an increase of 4.5 mills for five years for general operations and capital purchases. In a hearing this summer, officials said the funds were needed for police, fire and public lighting.

The proposal, which voters turned down 128-103, doesn't mean residents are in jeopardy or left in the dark, Township Supervisor William Morgan said.

Morgan said approval of the increase would have been a start in raising funds necessary to bring back a township police department. Sheriff's deputies and State Troopers will still respond to police runs, and the Ferndale Fire Department will fight fires in the township, he said.

"But we will be o.k.-- small o and a small k," Morgan said. "The important thing now is to come up with a balanced budget.

"That might mean cutting into our (employee) insurance (policies). And pay. Maybe selling off some township property. But we'll do it."

Part of the reason the township will survive, he said, is that trustees declared the entire township a special assessment district, which permitted officials to assess -- without public vote -- a millage of 30.30 mills for three years beginning in 2006. This August, that was increased for an additional three years to 37.25.

Royal Oak Township, the poorest community in Oakland County, is also among the most taxed in the state.

The township's historically high tax rate reflects the difficulty of trying to fund government when there isn't enough of a tax base -- residential or commercial -- to support basic services. The city has only 17 businesses, the largest a grocery store.

State records show the township has the lowest taxable value per resident of any township in Oakland County at $17,003, and generates the least amount of taxes per person -- $634.

The township has a $1.2 million annual budget that also pays for 14 full- and part-time workers.