Voters in Grand Traverse County will decide on funding for trails and conservation work this November.
A new millage would establish a county-run program to expand and improve the current network of trails. The millage — levied at 0.3 mills or $0.30 per $1,000 of taxable value — would generate about $2.6 million in taxpayer dollars annually for the new program over the next 6 years.
This story is made possible through a partnership between Interlochen Public Radio and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
Trail advocates said a county program with consistent funding would support maintenance for municipalities’ current trails and new ones.
“Our trails don’t really recognize city or township borders,” said Megan Motil, treasurer for the Friends of Grand Traverse Trails, a group advocating for millage approval. “So a county-wide approach means that trails would be better connected no matter which side of a municipal boundary line we live on.”
The Grand Traverse County Board approved the millage for the ballot in July in a 5-2 vote. Before the vote, Commissioner Rob Hentschel questioned how effective millages are at funding services that not everyone in the county uses. The millage was also reduced from the proposed 10 years to 6 years in order to “provide accountability on whether it’s working,” said Commissioner TJ Andrews.
Voters will also decide on a millage reset for the Grand Traverse Conservation District. The organization runs programs in conservation, education and agriculture.
The current millage, approved in 2018, funds about one-third of the conservation district’s budget.
If approved, the conservation district would receive about $800,000 annually for the next 10 years. Levied at 0.1 mills, it would cost the average owner with a market home value of $100,000 about $10 a year.
The current millage is the organization’s most reliable source of funding, which also includes various grants, fundraising and other community programs, said Sara Vaughan, director of conservation at the Grand Traverse Conservation District.
“We have a lot of people that depend on us, whether that's with our education and childcare services, whether that's helping to maintain the trails that people visit every day, and producing local agriculture to our community,” Vaughan said.
The Bay Area Transportation Authority is also up for a millage renewal in November, which will be on both Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties’ ballots. According to BATA, the current millage makes up 45% of its budget.
If approved, the renewal would levy 0.4589 mills, contributing more than $6 million in annual property tax revenue until 2034. This proposed rate is less than the voter-approved 2022 millage rate.
