It’s all or nothing in Addison Township when voters go to the polls Nov. 4 to decide the fate of the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA) millage.
‘I just hope the people understand how important this is,? said Addison Supervisor Bruce Pearson. ‘It’s important to me because I have a child who’s disabled and I hope that someday he won’t be totally dependent on me (for rides). This is one way of affording him some independence.?
For the second time this year, Addison voters will be faced with a five-year, 0.25-mill property tax request to support NOTA. If approved, levy of the millage would begin with the December tax collection and it’s expected to generate $70,000 in its first year.
Addison voters rejected this same millage proposal 557 to 531 in the August primary election. Oxford and Orion voters approved the millage request.
If Addison fails it a second time, the township will no longer be part of NOTA or receive services from it.
‘The other two townships are going to move forward without us,? said Pearson, who’s chairman of the NOTA board. ‘They’ve given us an ultimatum ? either we continue on with them . . . or they’re going to move forward without us.?
Formed in 2001, NOTA provides low-cost, publicly subsidized transportation for senior citizens (age 60 and older), permanently or temporarily disabled individuals and low-income folks. Residents living in Oxford, Addison and Orion townships, along with their respective villages, are eligible for this service.
Of the 37,427 rides NOTA gave last year, a total of 2,189 were for Addison residents.
From January to September of this year, NOTA’s given 1,566 rides to Addison residents.
Pearson pointed out NOTA is the only form of public transportation available to his residents.
‘There is no other way of transporting people in Addison Township,? he said. ‘There’s no taxi service. People don’t understand, out in the country, there is no other way of getting around (without owning a vehicle) unless you’ve got a really nice neighbor (to drive you).?
If the millage fails, Addison doesn’t have a backup plan.
‘I don’t what we’ll do,? Pearson said. ‘I have no idea how we’d help our elderly without a bus service.?
No more NOTA would be devastating for riders like Eleanor Hamilton and Alissa Britt.
‘I don’t know what I’d do without it. I’d be lost,? said Hamilton, a 94-year-old Leonard resident. ‘I hate the thought of having to stay home all the time.?
Hamilton relies on NOTA to take her to the senior center in Lakeville and the grocery store in Oxford. She uses the service everyday Monday through Friday.
‘I sold my car several years ago,? she said. ‘I didn’t want to be tempted to drive because I know I shouldn’t be driving.?
Overall, Hamilton is quite pleased with the service she receives from NOTA and its friendly, helpful staff of drivers.
‘I enjoy riding the bus,? she said. ‘The drivers are awfully nice. They come right to your door and they carry your bags for you. They help you (get) on the bus and see to it that you’re buckled up. They take me right to my door when I get home to be sure that I get inside okay.?
Hamilton urged her fellow Addison and Leonard residents to ‘please vote for NOTA.?
‘They have no idea what it would do to us seniors if we didn’t have it,? she said. ‘I’m so grateful to have the bus. I hope everybody votes for it.?
Britt, a lifelong Addison resident, uses NOTA to transport her to the grocery store, medical appointments, baby-sitting jobs and the Addison senior center, where she does volunteer work.
‘I would be lost if I didn’t have NOTA to rely on,? she said.
Britt cannot drive herself due to a mild case of cerebral palsy.
She said NOTA drivers always treat her ‘with respect.?
‘They are really nice to me,? Britt said. ‘I have no problems with them. They’re like my family, really.?
Britt urged Addison’s electorate to approve the NOTA millage because without this service, she’d have ‘no transportation whatsoever.?
The dedicated millage ? the first-ever in NOTA’s history ? is meant to make up for the loss of $425,000 in annual federal and state funding that won’t be available starting next year; implement an on-going program that replaces three aging NOTA vehicles annually for five years; and keep 13 vehicles per day on the road Monday through Friday.
Even though the millage request is exactly the same as it was in August, Pearson said the consequences are different because ‘the whole dynamic has changed now? in light of Oxford and Orion’s approval of the tax.
In August, voters were told if the millage failed in all three townships, then there would be an across-the-board reduction of NOTA services. Instead of having 13 vehicles on the road each day, the authority would cut it down to seven.
‘They just thought it would continue on at a reduced (level), but it would always still be there and there would always be service,? Pearson said.
But given the millage passed in the other two townships, the NOTA board made it clear at its Aug. 8 meeting that Addison must pay its share, too.
‘If we don’t contribute, then they’ll consider us out of the whole system, which, to me, is a shame because we have so much sweat equity into this,? Pearson said. ‘It’s the best operating transportation system, I think, in all of Oakland County and now, we’re going to be out of it if we don’t contribute our fair share.?
To Pearson, the millage proposal is no longer just a tax question; it’s now a referendum on whether or not Addison wants to remain part of NOTA.
‘That’s basically what this vote is about,? he said.
The supervisor was adamant he wouldn’t want the township to use money from its general fund to stay in NOTA should voters choose to reject the millage request again.
‘I wouldn’t do that,? he said. ‘If they vote it down this time, I certainly wouldn’t go behind their backs and take the money out anyhow. If they vote it down this time, I’ll abide by their vote. I certainly won’t override their vote.
‘However they vote on it this time is how (the township) will go. It would be wrong of me to say, ‘Your vote doesn’t matter because I’m going to fund it whether you like it or not.? That’s not how I operate.?
Pearson is encouraged by the fact there seems to be more active support for the NOTA millage this time in Addison.
‘I’m getting an awful lot of people that are coming in and asking for (campaign) signs,? he said. ‘I have not heard any opposition to be honest with you.?
‘They realize that if we don’t pass this . . . there will be no service,? Pearson continued. ‘They understand the service is valuable and they certainly don’t want to lose it is what I’m hearing.?
Pearson met with about five or six ‘prominent people in the township? who told him they didn’t vote in the primary election because they were ‘just too busy.? He said they couldn’t believe the NOTA millage failed because the service is ‘so important.?
‘They said they’ll certainly be there to vote for it this time,? Pearson noted.
Ultimately, Pearson believes a community is judged by how it cares for its disabled and elderly members.
‘If you don’t look after them, then I think it speaks very loudly (about) what your priorities are in life,? he said.