by Graham Sturgeon, co-editor
Shiawassee County residents will have the chance to vote on a Senior Citizens Services millage ballot question in the Aug. 8 primary election, which, if approved, would renew the county’s Senior Citizen Services .50-mill tax levy for a period of four years. The rate had been reduced to .43 mills due to the Headlee Amendment, and approval of the ballot question would reset the rate to its original .50-mill level.
The millage is expected to generate $864,410 for senior citizen services in the first year, based on estimated taxable values. The funds would be dispersed to the county’s three Shiawassee County Council on Aging facilities that are located in Durand, Morrice, and Owosso. Also, a significant portion of the funds would be used to operate the county’s Meals On Wheels program, which serves residents all over Shiawassee County.
None of the funds generated by this millage will be used to finance construction or operations of the Pleasant View facility that is being constructed in The Commons medical park off M-21. Shiawassee County voters approved a ballot question in 2016 that renewed Pleasant View’s two-mill tax levy for four years.
