Wednesday, August 8, 2012
"At the end of the day, the community spoke. Now we've got to work together," resident Marc Herron says of the Municipal Operating, Police and Fire Millage Proposal that received 69 percent approval at the polls Tuesday.
Berkley residents approved a 3-mill Headlee Override proposal Tuesday in resounding fashion, with 69 percent of voters saying yes to the request. The Municipal Operating, Police and Fire Millage Proposal equals $3 per thousand dollars of taxable value, which the city estimates will cost the average Berkley homeowner an extra $175 each year. The millage will raise $1.362 million, beginning with 2013 summer property tax bills, to cover operating costs for the Public Safety Department, Public Library, Public Works Department, parks, sanitation and other services. Of 4,467 votes cast in Berkley, 3,062 were in favor of the request and 1,405 were opposed. "The results tonight occurred because Democrats, Republicans, independents and …
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City of Berkley
3338 Coolidge Hwy, Berkley, MI
/articles/berkley-oks-millage-request
707395
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Tuesday, August 7, 2012
If you voted in Berkley or Huntington Woods, show off your "I Voted" sticker. Polls are open until 8 p.m.
Today is the day – Primary Day. The polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. Throughout the day, registered voters will cast their ballots for candidates for local, county, state and national offices and issues. We've got a handy app to help you find your polling place and sample ballot, courtesy of Publius.org. So, what are we asking for from you? Simple: Show us you voted today. Prove it to us! Snap a photo of yourself, your kid, your cat, anything with an "I Voted" sticker, upload it here and maybe even tell us why you think it's important to vote. You can upload a photo yourself to this gallery, or you can email it to leslie.ellis@patch.com. See you at the polls!
Stay tuned to Berkley Patch for more information and results from Tuesday's election.
Shortly after 10 p.m.: Berkley voters approved a 3-mill Headlee Override, with 69 percent of the 4,467 voters who went to the polls Tuesday voting yes and 31 percent voting no. Stay tuned for more information! 8 p.m.: The polls have closed. 7:45 p.m.: Ted Bratta, a 57-year resident of Berkley and an opponent of the city's millage increase proposal, said he'd been talking with voters outside Precinct 5 at Angell Elementary School since 7 a.m. "I don't know which way it's gonna go," he said. "It's a good school system and it's a nice community," he said. "But the thing that's been a tragedy is people all around me – on the four points of the compass – people have lost their jobs. It just tugs at my heart strings. So, I have a real concern…
Monday, August 6, 2012
Resident Daryl Benish explains why he opposes the proposal that will be on Tuesday's ballot.
- OPINION
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Monday, August 6, 2012
Berkley’s Mayor and City Council wants the residents to focus on Berkley’s financial expenses and struggles as if they are the only concerns to consider in the upcoming vote to increase taxes. The fact is, that’s only half the story. They refuse, in a very self serving manner, to equally consider the financial struggles of us the residence. Clearly, the economic downturn has seriously hurt every person and household everywhere, including here in Berkley. Frankly, I don’t give a darn about the City of Berkley’s problems because I’ve got enough of my own to worry about. Like nearly everyone, I’ve been forced to cut costs and live within my means. I’ve refinanced my house, I’ve reduced my car, house and medical insurance premiums, I don’t …
Tim Gaudet, chairman of Taxpayers for Berkley's Future, explains why he is supporting the proposal that will be on Tuesday's ballot.
- OPINION
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Monday, August 6, 2012
As Chairman of the campaign promoting a "YES VOTE" in the Tuesday, August 7th millage in Berkley, I am thankful for this opportunity, through the Patch, to encourage everyone to vote. This campaign has been a real education for me. Like my colleagues on the Berkley Citizens Advisory Committee, I took that task seriously. I came to understand the extensive cuts the city has already made; I saw the financial trends and concluded, along with 14 of the 15 members of that Committee, that a 3 mill increase was both reasonable and necessary. It is in fact essential if we are to avoid what has happened in other cities and if we are to preserve the quality of life we all value in Berkley. I believe our neighbors are reasonable and that they …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Participants in a town hall meeting Tuesday night to discuss the Municipal Operating, Police and Fire Millage Proposal agree its fate will shape the city's future.
Editor's note: Berkley Patch will follow this story with a more in-depth financial report, as well as stories focused on supporters and opponents of the millage request. There was one thing everyone could agree on Tuesday night during a town hall meeting to discuss the Municipal Operating, Police and Fire Millage Proposal: The city of Berkley is at a crossroads. Proponents of the millage proposal said the fate of city services and employees is in voters' hands Aug. 7, while opponents of the 3-mill Headlee Override said the measure's lack of a sunset provision would allow the tax increase to remain in place in perpetuity. The Headlee Amendment, approved by Michigan voters in 1978, prohibits local governments from adding new taxes — or …
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Berkley Community Center
2400 Robina Ave, Berkley, MI
/articles/berkley-meets-at-a-crossroads
1960952
/locations/7533894
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
'The case for the DIA millage is compelling ... for future growth in the arts and the economy. That is pretty good return for about $15 per year.'
This viewpoint essay by Royal Oak Patch photographer Rod Arroyo, who's also a certified planner and design consultant, is reposted with permission from his blog at cityphotosandbooks.com. Guest commentaries can be submitted to leslie.ellis@patch.com. Voters in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties will be asked Aug. 7 to approve 0.2 mils for 10 years, which is approximately $15 per year for every $150,000 of a home’s fair market value. This money will go to provide one of many sources of funding needed to support a world-class art museum: the Detroit Institute of Arts. As the vote nears for the Arts Millage in southeast Michigan, I feel compelled to share some of my thoughts. The Detroit Institute of Arts is an irreplaceable resource that …
Leave a comment on this story to tell us what you'd like to know about the Aug. 7 ballot measure and we'll do our best to find out!
Questions and comments have been pouring in to Berkley Patch about the Municipal Operating, Police and Fire Millage Proposal that will be on the Aug. 7 ballot for Berkley residents. The city will hold a town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Community Center, has sent an informational pamphlet to residents and posted the answers to frequently asked questions on its website, along with financial documents and the Citizens Advisory Committee report that prompted the request. But, if you still have questions, please leave a comment on this story and we'll do our best to answer them! What: The Municipal Operating, Police and Fire Millage Proposal would levy a 3-mill Headlee Override to cover operating costs for the Public Safety …
42.50244
-83.18388
City of Berkley
3338 Coolidge Hwy, Berkley, MI
/articles/berkley-send-us-your-millage-questions
707395
/locations/7473561
42.494643
-83.188567
Berkley Community Center
2400 Robina Ave, Berkley, MI
/articles/berkley-send-us-your-millage-questions
1960952
/locations/7473562
City officials will talk with residents about the Municipal Operating, Police and Fire Millage Proposal at 6:30 tonight at the Community Center.
The city of Berkley will hold a town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Community Center to address the Municipal Operating, Police and Fire Millage Proposal that will be on the Aug. 7 ballot. The informational meeting is open to the public and will address a 3-mill Headlee Override proposal to cover operating costs for the Public Safety Department, Public Library, Public Works Department, parks, sanitation and other services. City officials will be on hand to answer residents' questions during the event. The Headlee Amendment, approved by Michigan voters in 1978, spells out various restrictions that Lansing and local municipalities must adhere to regarding tax policy, one of which includes the prohibition by local governments …
42.494643
-83.188567
Berkley Community Center
2400 Robina Ave, Berkley, MI
/articles/town-hall-meeting-to-tackle-berkley-millage-request
1960952
/locations/7471063
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Tri-county proposals spur debates over Detroit-suburbs ties, museum finances and property tax levels.
Mary Cassatt, Vincent van Gogh and Diego Rivera are among candidates for local support in Metro Detroit's Aug. 7 primary elections. A millage request by the Detroit Institute of Arts – the museum displaying their art – will be on ballots in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties. Each county's elected commissioners this spring approved language for a 0.2-mill proposal to support the DIA as a regional resource. In addition to nominating candidates for congressional, state, county and local offices on Primary Day, voters will be asked to answer that yes-or-no DIA tax question. An impassioned debate has begun to intensify, as it always does when property taxes and city-suburban relations are involved. The political landscape also is shaped by …
Leslie Ellis
4:11 pm on Wednesday, August 8, 2012
FYI: Turnout in Tuesday's election was near 40 percent in Berkley, which is considered to be pretty good for a primary. http://patch.com/A-wL2V more ›