Several Issues To Be Decided By Calhoun County Voters

Local municipal elections are scheduled in Calhoun County and around the state tomorrow.  Here in Calhoun County, there are a couple of issues facing decisions from voters. Emmett Township may have the most consequential in the county. A millage renewal is before voters to decide on covering the payroll and operating costs for township police.

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Department Director Ken Cunningham says the 10-year renewal would continue the existing levy of just under 1.7 mils to keep the department intact and maintain payroll for the departments more than a dozen officers.

Cunningham stresses this is a renewal, not an additional or increased millage request which would replace the previous assessment that expired last year. If the request is rejected by Emmett Township voters, Cunningham says he’d be forced to make drastic cuts in the department’s staffing levels and services. The current budget runs about $2.5 million annually.

The township, with 11,700 residents, has the second-highest calls for service in Calhoun County, behind the City of Battle Creek. The approximate levy for owners of a home valued at $150,000 would be about $125 dollars annually.

Also on some ballots in Calhoun County – two separate questions for voters in the Union City Community Schools district. An operating millage renewal and a sinking fund millage renewal.

A small number of voters in Bedford Township are going to help decide a bond issue request from the Hastings Area School System. Anyone with questions on in-person or absentee ballot use for that request should contact their local township office or the county election clerk.