Imlay Twp. Board considers fire millage

Issue could appear on August 2026 ballot

 

IMLAY TWP. — Earlier this year, Imlay Township and the Imlay City Fire Department reached an agreement on fire protection services for the township.

As a way to help cover the costs of fire protection, the township board is considering their options for revenue, including the potential of putting the issue on the ballot next year.

At their October 1 meeting, township board members discussed the issue and a concept of possibly letting township residents go to the polls and decide if they want to pay a fire tax to support the service.

According to draft minutes from the township, the board had discussion, “regarding putting a millage proposal on the August 2026 state ballot for fire protection in the township.”

Earlier this year, officials with Imlay City and Imlay Township finalized a new five-year contract for fire protection for township residents.

The two municipalities are currently working under a three-year contract which expires in 2027.

In February of this year, Imlay Township Supervisor Rick Farkas said “Personally, I really feel like it’s fair (new agreement) to everyone if we have a residential rate of a certain amount and then another slightly higher rate for the other (385) properties. It’s not fair at all to have it based on property values. Everyone should pay either the residential rate or the other.”

According to Farkas, there are 1,700 residential parcels within the township.

One change in the new contract is the amount of money it will cost township residents, if the agreement is approved. The township currently is charged around $127,000 annually by the city, according to Farkas. The new amount would ballon the payment to roughly $160,000, or an additional $40,000.

“Right now, we aren’t raising enough revenue to cover that cost,” he stated. “We are taking funds from the general fund to help cover the shortfall. We’ll have to do something.”

The new agreement is based on the fire department responding to no more than 50 calls per year in the township. They currently average between 40 and 50 calls for service per year.

While nothing has formally been decided with the issue, Farkas said the board needs to have discussion about a possible fire millage.

“This is all part of our planning that I feel we need to do,” he said. “We need to get this out there. Let the people know up front what it’s going to cost and be straight with them. We’re not going to hide or keep anything from them.”

The possibility of a fire millage, according to Farkas, could be a one mill for five years proposal that would generate $178,000 per year, if it was approved by voters.

Clerk Carla Jepsen said if there were to be a fire millage, the board would need to get ballot language approved in the coming months.

“I would think we could vote on this in 2026. Maybe in August,” Jepsen stated earlier this year.

“If that were the case, we would need to get the information to the County by April of next year. I would think it is better for us to have it on the August ballot instead of the November ballot.”

Farkas suggested in his opinion, the residential rate could be in the neighborhood of $100 per parcel while the other larger remaining parcels could be a different amount. “There’s still a lot of details to work out and we’ll talk more about it later,” Farkas said. “We just need to have more money brought in to cover this (contract). It’s that simple.”

In other township news, at the October 1 meeting:

2. Chair Discussion – Discussion was held regarding the need to replace the audience chairs in the meeting room; cost estimated at $1,700.

3. Park Discussion – The splash pad has been closed for the season. The netting on the west side of the pickleball court needs to be replaced. An estimate for replacement along with netting for the north side of the court was given at $1,500. The court will need repainting. Looking for a contractor to do the work.

4. Cemetery Discussion – Discussion was held regarding rising costs in the cemetery and needing to increase fees to cover the costs. Other concerns in the cemetery include a keypad for the mausoleum door, headstone maintenance and tree maintenance.

5. FOIA Discussion – FOIA fees have not been updated in over ten years. Suggestion was made to raise the fees to $20 an hour for research plus $.25 per page for copies. Will be brought to next board
meeting.

The township board meets every first and third Wednesday of the month.