WBS goes to voters for 1.5-mill sinking fund tax on Nov. 6

The West Bloomfield Schools Board of Education at its Monday, May 21 meeting approved a resolution for a building and site sinking fund millage proposal to be voted on by district residents during the Nov. 6 general election.

Pam Zajac, West Bloomfield Schools’ public relations and marketing coordinator, said that the district will be asking residents to approve a proposed millage of 1.5 mills.

The board vote was 6-1 in favor of the putting the issue on the November ballot, with board Trustee Matt Chase casting the lone dissenting vote.

A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value, which is generally equal to half the property’s market value. The owner of a property with a taxable value of $100,000 ($200,000 market value) would pay $150 in the first year of the new millage’s collection.

According to the resolution, the millage would be collected for a 10-year period, from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2023, and is needed to improve and repair the district’s school buildings.

The resolution also states that the millage would provide the district with estimated revenues totaling $1.63 million during the 2013 calendar year.

A public hearing on not only the proposed millage, but also the district’s 2012-13 budget, will be held at the board’s next meeting on June 25.

This comes three years after district voters approved a $24-million bond issue to pay for various building improvement and technology projects across the district in May 2009.

Out of the $24 million in total bond sale proceeds, $10.2 million was slated to go toward facility and site improvements; energy improvements for school buildings costing $6.9 million; acquiring and installing new technology in school buildings taking up $5 million; and the final $1.9 million in bonds going toward safety projects.