Atlas Twp.-On the Nov. 4 ballot township residents will be asked to renew 1 mill to provide police protection. A resident with a $200,000 home will continue to pay $100 per year for the service from the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department. The estimated revenue the township will collect if the millage is renewed is about $349,168.
‘Without this millage, the township will not have a police department,? said Paul Amman, township supervisor. ‘With the 1 mill and a special assessment we’ll be able to cover the sheriff’s new costs for 2008-09. We have the money in the township coffers to cover the new contract when we receive it. I’m a leader who plans ahead.?
The township established a contract with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department about 13 years ago funded by 1 mill from area property owners. The millage was increased in 2005 by a special assessment of $50 for every improved lot and $25 for unimproved lots. The contract includes four deputies assigned to the township area with a population of about 7,200. Township officials say the sheriff’s department has increased the cost of the contract by about 30 percent since 2001. The contract covers vehicles, detectives and administration.
‘The cost for police protection will continue to increase’every year it goes up’the deputies? wages, gasoline and insurance will go up,? said Jim Gage, Genesee Sheriff’s Department undersheriff.
‘However, for right now we are have the same contract with the township as in the past. There’s no cut in service and we’ll take a look at the contract later this fall.?