Wayne County Commissioners have approved placing a millage renewal request for county jail operations on the Aug. 2 primary ballot.
Voters will be asked to renew .9358 mills for 10 years, expiring at the end of 2031. The millage rate is based on the current rate, which was rolled back in 2021. If approved by voters, the millage is expected to generate about $45 million annually for jail operations, with a minimum one-tenth of the millage to be set aside for a new juvenile offender work and training institution.
The millage translates to roughly $70 a year for those living in homes valued at $150,000, according to county officials.
“These funds are especially needed to help in the operation of our jails and sheriff's department,” said Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell (D-Detroit). “This is a renewal, not a new millage.”
The millage funds will be used to finance operations at the county new jail, at I-75 and Warren on the east side of Detroit. The new jail is expected to be completed by the end of this year and begin accepting inmates in 2023.
The millage language on the ballot as Proposition J JAIL MILLAGE RENEWAL will be “To renew the millage authorized in 2012, shall Wayne County be authorized to continue to levy this millage at the 2021 rollback rate of .9358 mills (about 94 cents per thousand dollars of taxable valuation) for ten more years (2022 through 2031) for any of the following previously authorized uses: To acquire, construct, and/or operate jail, misdemeanant, or juvenile incarceration or detention facilities, and for adult penalty options such as work release, home detention and community restitution; with at least one-tenth of the millage used to acquire, build and operate a juvenile offender work/training institution? This renewal is estimated to generate approximately $45,074,507 in property tax revenue in 2022.”
Voters will be asked to vote yes or no on the question.
