Northville and Novi homeowners would pay about $30 a year under a museum millage proposal on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The Southeast Michigan Public Historical Museum Authority (SMPHMA) is asking Wayne and Oakland county voters to approve a 10-year, 0.2-mill levy. The proposal must pass in both counties to take effect, as first reported by Bridge Detroit via The Oakland Press. The $30 estimate is based on a home valued at $300,000.

If approved, the levy would fund the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum. All Wayne and Oakland county residents would receive free admission to the three museums.

The official Oakland County ballot language estimates the levy would generate about $17.7 million a year from Oakland County property alone. Wayne County's share is estimated at about $12.2 million, according to the official Wayne County ballot language, putting combined annual revenue near $29.9 million.

15% of Oakland County proceeds stay local

Fifteen percent of Oakland County proceeds, after administrative costs, would flow back to the county to support smaller historical museums. Elana Rugh, president and CEO of the Detroit Historical Society, told The Oakland Press that share works out to roughly $2.5 million a year.

Eligible Oakland County recipients include the Oakland History Center at Pine Grove and the Birmingham Museum. In Wayne County, the Dearborn and Wayne Historical Museums would also benefit.

"Most of those are small museums, a lot of them are run by volunteers and a grant of $5,000 or $10,000 could really make a significant difference for them," Rugh said in a Sept. 26 interview with The Oakland Press.

Museums running deficit budgets

Both museums are running deficit budgets, according to Rugh. The Detroit Historical Society operates on a $2 million annual budget with 47 full-time and 31 part-time employees. The Wright Museum's budget is $2.7 million with 56 employees.

Detroit owns the museum buildings and artifacts but has not provided a consistent revenue stream, Rugh said. The Historical Society also lost $350,000 in federal grants as funding priorities shifted away from arts and culture, The Oakland Press reported in August 2026.

The effort to secure stable funding dates to 2019, according to Rugh. Three state House bills, sponsored by Reps. Tyrone Carter and Samantha Steckloff, passed both legislative chambers at the end of the 2023-24 term but were never transmitted to the governor.

When the bills finally reached Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's desk in July 2026, she vetoed them. New versions passed the Michigan Senate in September 2026 but stalled in the House. The Oakland County Commission and Wayne County Commission then created the SMPHMA to put the question directly to voters without full legislative approval.

What voters would get

Beyond free admission, the millage would fund free transportation for students and seniors, new curriculum and training for teachers, and permanent protection of the museums' nearly 300,000 publicly owned artifacts.

Neil Barclay, president and CEO of the Wright Museum, said at the campaign's Aug. 22 launch, as reported by The Oakland Press, that the levy would put programs "…in front of more students, more teachers in every community."

The proposal appears on the Oakland County ballot alongside the Oakland County Zoological Authority millage renewal. Voters cast ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 3.