By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS – Cass County voters will be asked a third time on the Nov. 7 general election ballot for millage to support their parks system, the Board of Commissioners approved Thursday.
There are a couple of wrinkles compared to the other two requests, which lost by margins of 54 percent to 46 percent both times, according to Parks Director Scott Wyman.
First, the half-mill of property tax support is twice as much as the previous quarter-mill proposals sought.
But that's because the county parks department will receive only half – $360,083 – of the $720,166 a 0.5-mill levy would generate.
The other half would be locally controlled through population-based allocations countywide to the 15 townships, four villages and the City of Dowagiac for recreational programming.
Dowagiac, with 6,009 of Cass County's citizens, for example, would be due a $42,340 share of the $720,166 distribution if the millage passed Nov. 7.
That's second only to the most populous township, Howard, and its $44,489 based on 6,314 inhabitants.
The decision to place the proposal before the electorate came on a 13-2 vote, with Edwardsburg Democrat David Taylor and Cassopolis Republican Dixie Ann File opposed.
"I strongly feel that if a very effective sales job for our voters isn't done on this proposal, it's doomed to fail," Commissioner Jack Teter, R-Edwardsburg, said. "Without education and a good presentation for the public" comparable to the E-911 campaign, "I don't believe this stands a chance," although "I will support this."
Dowagiac Commissioner John Cureton moved to put the question on the ballot because it will certainly be defeated if denied consideration.
Taylor stressed he supports parks but, like File, thinks funding should be removed from county reserves.
"I believe we are over-reserved in Cass County's general fund. Not enough to reduce our general fund millage, but enough that I do not feel we should ask our taxpayers for more money for parks. They've rejected two prior parks millage proposals and this is twice the size of the last one. I don't want to be misunderstood. I'm in favor of parks. And I'm in favor of expansion of the parks … I will support using the existing reserve balances in the county general fund" rather than ask for park millage.
"We have, in my opinion, excessive reserves," Taylor said. "At the time we last closed our books on Sept. 30 last year, we had almost $13 million in reserves consisting of $8.2 million in the delinquent tax revolving fund and another $3.5 million in our general fund and an additional $1.3 million of reserves spread among our budget stabilization fund, our self-insurance fund and our public improvement fund.
"More importantly, we added a total of $1,126,000 to our reserves in that nine-month period ending last Sept. 30. If I knew for sure that we were continuing to add to our reserves at the rate we did the last short nine-month period – over $125,000 per month – I would not be voting for this 4.7524 mills of general fund taxes today. Unfortunately, we will not know how we are doing this year until well after the books are closed at the end of next month. We have spent 77.8 percent of this year's budget as of the end of last month, and we were then 10 months, or 83.3 percent, of the way through the year. It would appear that we are 5.5 percent ahead of where we said we'd be when we planned this year's budget. We projected we would use about $1 million of reserves in the present $15.7 million to $16 million budget. If calculations hold true, we will take virtually nothing out of our reserves this year, rather than taking out $1 million. But I cannot be certain because our Legislature just eliminated the Single Business Tax with no replacement, preferring perhaps to eliminate our revenue sharing."
Taylor indicated next spring he would probably be lobbying the board to reduce citizens' tax burden.
Considering Cass County's other townships and towns holding more than $7 million in reserve, "When coupled with our own $13 million, this makes about $20 million of government reserves in this county – almost $400 per person. When I walk my district and talk to my voters, some of them are hurting badly and I believe we're getting very close to being over-reserved," Taylor said.
"I think Commissioner Taylor's remarks have a great deal of merit to them," Cureton said. "In fact, yesterday in a two-hour meeting, the ad hoc committee discussed this at considerable length, then decided to promote the issue on the ballot. The one thing that's certain is that it's going to lose if it isn't on the ballot. I think we ought to let the people make a choice."
"You can't really compare this to others that have failed in the past," Commissioner Johnie Rodebush, D-Howard Township, pointed out, "because this is a program St. Clair County has been using for 20 years. Half of the millage goes back to the units of government and the parks department keeps half."
"You're right, it's going to be a hard sell," Rodebush commented. "I know that. But, if we don't put it on the ballot now, it will be two years before we could put it on the ballot again unless we pay for a special election, which runs countywide in the neighborhood of $20,000 to $30,000.
"A lot of people said we couldn't raise $1 million in Cass County (to match Edward Lowe) for the Council on Aging. It took us four years, but we did it. You can't put a new roof on the town hall or buy a new firetruck. It's got to be for recreation," whether it's a soccer field, skateboarding, public access for a lake swimming beach or local match to leverage a larger grant.
"I'm for it," said Commissioner Alan Northrop, R-Marcellus. "But what's going to happen if we put this on the ballot and get shot down for a third time? If people aren't properly educated on this it's going to be a mess."
"I agree with Commissioner Taylor," said File, who chaired the committee appointed April 20 to study the issue. The panel also included Cureton, Rodebush, Robert Ziliak and Carl Higley.
"I don't think the taxpayers are going to pass a millage." Rather than put the question on the Nov. 7 ballot, she favors extracting stable parks funding from reserves.
Her Ad Hoc Committee on the Proposed Parks Millage Distribution and Accountability also recommended that the Board of Commissioners appoint a Recreation Enhancement Committee when the millage passes consisting of: a commissioner; the commission liaison to the county parks trustees; a member of the Parks Advisory Committee; a member of the county parks trustees; a member of Friends of the Cass County Parks; Parks Director Scott Wyman; and a member of the Board of Public Works as appointed by the Board of Commissioners.
The ad hoc committee also recommended that the Recreation Enhancement Committee: accept annual applications from the city, villages and townships of Cass County; review the applications and make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners on which applications should be funded and at what level; and require written reports from the city, villages and townships on how they use the funds confirmed by a copy of their annual audit.
The Board of Commissioners would make annual appropriations to the city, villages and townships.
County Treasurer Linda Irwin would distribute the appropriated amounts to local treasurers of the city, villages and townships to deposit the checks in local special revenue funds.
"If this millage is approved by the voters, it's county millage," County Administrator Terry Proctor said. "It will not be spent by either county parks or any of the individual townships unless it is appropriated by this board."
"One of the optimum words in this is 'recreation,' " observed Vice Chairman Ron Francis, R-Cassopolis. "Not all townships have parks, but many of them have lakes."
County Administrator Terry Proctor "celebrated" Aug. 8 approval of the surcharge that funds the Emergency 911 central dispatch center.
"It's really impressive when something passes in every precinct in the county, as that did," Proctor said. "My compliments to the sheriff (Joe Underwood) and undersheriff (Rick Behnke)," who were both in the audience, as was Animal Control Director Pat Fetherston, who was responsible for a video "that told the story very well. These people ought to really be complimented for taking it out to the community, township by township, city by city, civic group by civic group, and telling the story of what 911 is all about and why it's so important that that vital public service be continued."
"The results really speak for" that open approach, Proctor added.