What would incorporating the Village of Oxford into the City of Oxford mean for residents?
Maybe lower taxes, but no one can say for sure, and control over the municipality’s destiny, but no voice in township affairs.
In an effort to inform the public about the Aug. 5 vote on cityhood, the Oxford Village Council brought in cityhood attorney Thomas Ryan to talk about the issue and answer some questions from officials and citizens.
Ryan was hired by a previous council in December 2003 for $165 per hour. To date, the village has paid the Sylvan Lake attorney $25,053 to handle all the legal aspects regarding cityhood.
During the Tuesday, Aug. 5 primary election, village voters will go to the polls to decide whether or not the cityhood process should continue.
A ‘yes? vote next week means the process goes forward and village voters will be asked at some point to elect a nine-member commission to draft a city charter, which must be approved at the ballot box within two years of Aug. 15. Voters only get two chances to approve a charter. If they don’t okay one, the village remains a village.
A ‘no? vote next week means the whole cityhood process ends immediately where it is.
A new petition would have to be circulated and approved in order to start the incorporation process over again. This petition could be filed with the state Boundary Commission at any time. It was incorrectly stated at last week’s village meeting that there’s a two-year waiting period to file again.
Right now, the village is geographically and politically part of the township and has been since 1876. Village residents are township residents, who pay township taxes, vote in township elections and can serve on township boards.
If the 1.4-square-mile village were to become a city, it would break away from the township and become its own separate, primary unit of government. City residents would not be township residents.
Ryan touched on a number of issues from taxes to services during his informational presentation to council.
‘It’s not my job to say how to vote,? Ryan said. ‘It’s up to you folks to make your decision.?
Taxes and services
Everyone wants to know whether cityhood will make property taxes go up, down or stay the same. Looking at the ‘short-term? view, Ryan believes taxes ‘should go down,? but not by an ‘appreciable degree.?
‘I don’t want you to imply to our residents that our taxes are going to go down,? said Councilman Tony Albensi to Ryan
‘I don’t know that for certain,? Ryan replied. ‘It appears that it will.?
Because they’d no longer be township residents, city residents would no longer be obligated to pay the 0.95-mill tax for township operations. ‘We don’t get anything (for that tax),? according to former village President George Del Vigna.
On the contrary, the new city would have to take over a number of duties the township used to perform for the village such as assessing real and personal property for tax purposes, conducting elections (national, state, county and schools), collecting taxes for the county and schools, and taking over the maintenance and care of the old township cemetery on the north side of W. Burdick St.
Right now, the only thing the village does is collect its own property taxes and conduct village elections.
Make no mistake, Ryan said taking on these additional services will not be free. ‘There will be some increase in cost,? he said.
However, the village has operated in a fiscally conservative manner for years, according to Ryan, so ‘there’s no reason to think because you put a city in your name that now you’re going to go out and spend like there’s no tomorrow.?
‘That’s not how you operate,? he noted. ‘That’s not how any government, especially in this state, operates.
How much more these additional services would cost depends on how and by whom they’re provided.
If, for instance, the city contracted with the Oakland County for assessing services, the municipality could expect to pay $22,000 to $28,000 a year based on a ballpark estimate from Dave Hieber, manager of the Equalization Division.
At the meeting, Ryan estimated assessing could cost about $30,000 a year.
Currently, the township collects $125,563 from village taxpayers as a whole to provide all of the aforementioned services through the 0.95-mill tax.
‘You probably won’t have $125,000 worth of costs,? Ryan told council. ‘Maybe you will, but you probably won’t.?
Based on the math, Ryan said cityhood’s ‘net (effect) should be lower taxes, not dramatically (less), but lower.??
Del Vigna suggested the $125,000 that the township collects from the village could be used by the new city to help pay for the new $2.4 million water treatment plant the municipality’s planning to build.
‘I feel we’re spending money that we can use ourselves,? Del Vigna said.
Because properties in the downtown business district would no longer be paying the 0.95-mill township tax, the Downtown Development Authority would lose $16,521 in annual revenue.
However, as village President Chris Bishop pointed out, the businesses and property owners would no longer being paying that township tax, so while the DDA would lose, they would save.
As a city, the municipality would be required by state law to take ownership of the old township cemetery on the north side of W. Burdick St. because it’s located within village boundaries.
This year the township budgeted $56,110 to take care of its three cemeteries, which doesn’t include the recently-acquired Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on Baldwin Rd.
Oxford Township Deputy Treasurer Deanna Burns said at least one-third (about $18,700), most likely more, of that budget is spent on the old cemetery.
Burns said the old cemetery costs more than the other two because its advanced age requires additional maintenance, i.e. repairing deteriorating headstones, managing the large trees, etc.
Because the old cemetery has no lots for sale, the new city could not count on any additional revenue from it.
However, Ryan noted the city would be entitled to a ‘pro-rata share? of the cemetery trust fund used to help pay for maintenance.
The township currently has two Certificates of Deposit for $28,000 and $15,240, the interest from which used to help pay for cemetery upkeep. The balance comes from the township general fund.
As a city, the former village couldn’t escape its township millage and debt obligations incurred with the previous approval of village voters. City residents would have to keep paying these millage until they expire.
These township taxes include 2.5 mills for fire/ALS services, 0.83 mill to retire the fire bond debt and 0.8538 to support the parks and recreation department.
The parks and rec. millage is up for a 10-year renewal on the Aug. 5 ballot.
Once these expire, some type of agreement would have to be worked out between the city and township to allow continued access to these services and payment for them.
Or Ryan suggested the city could pass a ‘mirror millage? to pay for these services, meaning a millage equal in amount to whatever the township’s levying.
Because the Oxford Public Library’s two operating millages (which total 1.3982 mills) were previously approved by township and village voters without expiration dates ? meaning they can be levied in perpetuity as long as there’s a library ? it appears city residents would continue paying those indefinitely.
In a letter to council, Ryan suggested perhaps the perhaps the library could be reconstituted as a district library to encompass the city and township as well as other communities. Such a library would have the authority to levy up to 4 mills.
City residents would also continue paying the 0.41-mill tax to retire the bond debt on the Pontiac St. library built in the 1990s.
Should the township’s 0.25 mill for safety paths be approved Aug. 5 by village and township voters, it would be levied for the next 10 years. However, the township board previously voted to rebate the village’s portion (about $36,760) back to the village government for use on its sidewalks and safety paths. Because it’s a dedicated millage it could be used for nothing else.
Former village President Steve Allen, the man who’s name is listed as the official petitioner for cityhood, raised the specter on city income tax.
Michigan law allows cities, with the approval of voters, to levy an income tax of 1 percent on residents and corporations, and 0.5 percent on nonresidents employed in the city.
Allen said the new city could eliminate that taxing power in the charter.
‘Charging an income tax is possible, not very probable,? he said. ‘But you can completely wipe it off by putting it in your charter that it will never, ever be charged here.?
Ryan told council and the audience approval from the state Legislature was also needed to allow a city to levy an income tax.
Representatives from both the Michigan Municipal League and Citizens Research Council of Michigan indicated Ryan’s statement was false.
Cost of becoming a city
Albensi questioned how much it would cost to become a city when you add up expenses such as writing a new charter, legal fees, and administrative costs.
‘That type of stuff adds up,? he said.
Ryan said the incorporation process could cost between $10,000 and $15,000, maybe less.
‘There will be some administrative costs. There’s no question about that,? he said. ‘That’s the cost of doing business.?
However, in former village Clerk Christine Burns? 2006 research paper on cityhood, for which she earned her master’s degree, she estimated there would be $63,500 in onetime costs associated with incorporation.
These costs included attorney fees, changing municipal signage and stationary, and printing a new charter and updated ordinance book. Post-incorporation attorney costs would be incurred from the state-mandated division of assets and liabilities between the township and new city, according to Burns’s paper.
Controlling our destiny
For some people, cityhood is about more than trying to save a few tax dollars.
‘I don’t think we should look upon cityhood as just a matter of taxes and dollars,? said resident Merle Smith, who noted taxes are going to increase regardless of whether Oxford stays a village or becomes a city. ‘It’s a matter of controlling our own destiny.?
This was a theme Ryan repeatedly stressed. ‘The village really governs itself very nicely ? has for many years,? he said. ‘You’re actually functioning as your own entity at this time.?
Ryan pointed out how the village is an urbanized area with its own sidewalks, street lights, sewer and water services, and police department. It shares fire/ALS, parks and library services with the township.
‘Nothing needs to change if you become a city,? he said. ‘Your life should not change at all.?
The Aug. 5 vote on whether or not to continue the incorporation process will simply allow village residents to vote on ‘how you want your future to be decided,? Ryan explained.
However, turning the village into a city would cause residents to lose their right to vote in township elections, run for township office and sit on township boards.
Bishop noted the loss of township resident status could mean something in the future when it comes to issues ‘that will directly impact this village.?
Should the township ever decide to put in another big store like Kohl’s or a ‘nuclear plant? or a ‘landfill,? Bishop said voicing your opinion as a township resident ‘stands for something? as opposed to just speaking as a ‘concerned person in the area.?
Bishop suggested the township could do more to bring the village ‘into the fold? such as putting council members on its planning commission.
Will cityhood mean prosperity?
‘Are properties more valuable in cities than in villages or townships,? asked Councilwoman Teri Stiles.
‘It depends on the city,? Ryan said. ‘There are a lot of cities in this state that aren’t successful. There’s one 20 miles south of here.?
However, Ryan noted the village has done a good job of managing its finances over the many years of its existence.
He cited the City of the Village of Clarkston as an example of a community that made the ‘historic village concept? work for them as a marketing tool.
Relations with the township
Ryan claimed the village ‘can still have a good working relationship with the township? as a city. He noted that villages all over the state and across the nation become cities ‘all the time? and it doesn’t mean there has to be ‘adversarial relations? with the township.
Premature vote
Some council members expressed the opinion that the Aug. 5 vote on whether cityhood should continue is premature because the public doesn’t have enough information to know what they’re voting on.
‘I don’t feel that this vote is appropriate only because the charter hasn’t been created and without that charter . . . there are too many variables for anyone to do a study that tells us exactly where we would be financially,? Bishop said.
Stiles encouraged residents to visit the Michigan Municipal League website (www.mml.org) and read an article edited by Sue A. Jeffers entitled ‘Impact of changing from a village to a city.?
Although informative, Stiles admitted the article is biased toward cityhood.
This article was reprinted with the MML’s permission in the Nov. 9, 2005 issue of the Leader and can also be found at www.oxfordleader.com.