City officials asked voters to amend the city charter to permit them to extend the current 1-mill tax dedicated to funding police and fire services for another six years. The current mill expires this year and the extension will keep the current property tax in the city at the same level. Voters agreed with 2,432 yes to 829 no votes on the question.
The yes votes will increase the tax rate by 1-mill or $1 for every thousand dollars of assessed property valuation which is usually about half the market value of the property.
Officials said that the millage was necessary to continue to provide adequate police and fire services in the struggling city which continues to face a projected budget deficit, according to auditors. The millage is expected to generate about $350,000 annually to support the police and fire departments in the city.
Voters were also asked to further amend the Wayne City Charter to extend the term of the mayor from two years to four years, beginning with the mayoral election set for Nov. 3.
That proposal was an extremely close vote with 1,639 in favor of the change and 1,632 opposed to the change. The vote total had not been officially certified by Wayne County at press time.
The third proposal on the March 10 ballot was also an amendment to the city charter to change the time of the regular meetings of the members of the Wayne City Council. Officials are proposing that officials be allowed to start the meetings between 6 and 8 p.m.
