Novi residents can pick up absentee ballots starting Thursday, Sept. 24, ahead of a Nov. 3 vote on the city's capital improvement millage. The first of three public information sessions runs the same evening at the Civic Center.
The proposal would renew the existing 1-mill Capital Improvement Program (CIP) levy for another 10 years at the same rate. It is not a tax increase. The millage, first approved by voters in August 2016, is set to expire after its final collection in summer 2026.
If approved, the levy would generate an estimated $5.4 million in its first year, starting with the July 2027 collection, according to official ballot language posted by the City of Novi. The money can pay for parks, land acquisition, pathways and fire trucks and equipment. It cannot be used for city operations or payroll.
The tax costs $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value, according to the city's CIP renewal page. A homeowner with a $200,000 market value home, which carries a $100,000 taxable value, pays $100 a year. A $400,000 home means $200 a year.
Mayor Justin Fischer told WXYZ 7 News Detroit the renewal "gives myself and the city council the opportunity to do those things, like invest in our public safety, preserve woodlands and wetlands, add to our parks, build new ones."
Fischer said previous millage dollars helped add land at ITC Community Sports Park and that future funds could develop those 80 acres. He also pointed to drainage problems at athletic fields and rising fire apparatus costs as priorities.
City Manager Victor Cardenas told the Novi City Council at its Feb. 9 meeting that a single fire engine can cost more than $2 million. Council Member David Staudt estimated at the same meeting that $20 million of the next 10-year fund could go toward ITC park alone, out of a projected $50 million to $60 million total.
The first CIP millage funded Lakeshore Park building renovations, Bosco Fields soccer complex, Jessica's Splash Pad, the ITC trail, pickleball courts, boardwalk repairs, three fire engines, one ladder truck, a Department of Public Works expansion, and more than 160 acres of new parkland, according to city council records.
Parks Director Jeff Muck told the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Commission at its March 19 meeting that the 2016 millage "barely passed" and urged commissioners to spread the word in their neighborhoods.
No organized opposition to the renewal has surfaced in public meetings as of Sept. 23.
Three public information sessions:
- Thursday, Sept. 24, 6–7 p.m., Novi Civic Center, 45175 Ten Mile Road
- Tuesday, Oct. 6, 6–7 p.m., Lakeshore Park, 601 South Lake Drive
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 10–11 a.m., Novi Public Library, 45255 Ten Mile Road
Voting dates:
- Absentee ballots available in person at the Novi City Clerk's Office starting Thursday, Sept. 24. First mailing to voters on the Permanent Ballot List goes out the same day.
- Early in-person voting runs Saturday, Oct. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 1, at the Civic Center, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (noon to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29).
- Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Residents with questions can call the city's Community Relations office at 248-735-5628 or email [email protected].
