It seems like government at all levels these days is either talking about, asking for or implementing tax increases.
But not Oakland County.
Last week, county Executive L. Brooks Patterson proposed cutting the county’s property tax rate by 0.15 mills over the next two years.
County Commissioner Mike Spisz (R-Oxford) is all for it.
‘Anytime we can reduce taxes we should,? he said. ‘It’s always good to put money back in the pocket of the people and then they can decide how to use it.?
Patterson pitched the proposal as part of his annual State of the County Address on Feb. 4.
He proposed a 0.10-mill reduction in the county rate on the July 2015 tax bill followed by a 0.05-mill cut on the July 2016 bill.
One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.
It’s estimated the proposed tax cut would save property owners $75 million over the next decade.
Spisz said cutting taxes is possible is because the county’s been ‘very fiscally responsible? with regard to the expenditure of its funds. He noted Patterson’s administration has done ‘a lot of things that have helped save county taxpayers a lot of money.?
Examples include long-term management of the county’s finances via multi-year budgets as opposed to traditional single-year budgets and switching county employees from defined benefit to defined contribution retirement plans.
It’s these types of measures that helped the county stay afloat during the economic downturn spanning 2008-10 and avoid going into bankruptcy like some other governments, according to Spisz.
‘Now that the market’s starting to turn around slightly, it’s good to be able to give back to the community the funds that are rightfully theirs,? he said. ‘It’s kind of ironic that Oakland County is able to be in this position when there’s still multiple municipalities out there trying to recover (and asking for millage increases).?
Spisz is not a proponent of government collecting more money than it needs and then just sitting on it.
‘Instead of banking money, it’s better to give it back to the taxpayers,? he said. ‘If you have extra, you should be giving it back.?
Spisz believes putting this money back in people’s hands helps ‘drive the economy.?
‘They’re going to go out and hopefully, spend that money ? and hopefully, spend it in Oakland County,? he said.
The 21-member county Board of Commissioners must vote on the proposed tax cut. It’s expected to do so at the March 18 meeting.
Spisz doesn’t foresee any problems.
‘I would expect it to pass unanimously,? he said.
If it’s possible to cut the county tax rate even more in the future, Spisz would like to see it happen.
‘We always should strive to keep our taxes as low as we can,? he said.