Washtenaw County, Michigan, has two important issues on the ballot affecting people with disabilities and people with mental illness.
Voting Information
The Ann Arbor League of Women Voters website can provide you with the information you need to vote. Enter your address and zip code and follow the links to check on your voter registration, the exact wording of ballot issues, and more.
Millage Elections
A mill is a property tax of one tenth of a cent ($0.001) or one-thousandth of a dollar of taxable value. A tax rate of one mill raises $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. The taxable value cannot be higher than 50% of the State equalized value (true cash value) of the property.
[For easily distractible people, who need to know more about this now, here is a link to a paper from the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency.]
Washtenaw Intermediate Special Education Millage
This is a proposal to renew a special education millage for another 8 years. See the Ann Arbor News report on the millage election:
“The millage would provide about $15.2 million in 2018 to fund special education services provided by Washtenaw County's public schools. Because this is a renewal of the existing millage, there is no additional cost to taxpayers.
“In all, Washtenaw County schools spend $124 million each year on special education services for more than 6,500 students, according to a presentation on the millage request from the WISD.”…
Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and Public Safety Preservation Millage
This is an NPR program by Jorge Avellan on 11/2/17 about the CMH millage: “Washtenaw County Voters To Decide Community Mental Health And Public Safety Proposal On Nov. 7th”
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Washtenaw County supports the CMH Millage
“The millage would provide about $15.2 million in 2018 to fund special education services provided by Washtenaw County's public schools. Because this is a renewal of the existing millage, there is no additional cost to taxpayers.
“In all, Washtenaw County schools spend $124 million each year on special education services for more than 6,500 students, according to a presentation on the millage request from the WISD.”…
Washtenaw County Community Mental Health and Public Safety Preservation Millage
This is an NPR program by Jorge Avellan on 11/2/17 about the CMH millage: “Washtenaw County Voters To Decide Community Mental Health And Public Safety Proposal On Nov. 7th”
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Washtenaw County supports the CMH Millage
NAMI Washtenaw County supports the Community Mental Health and Public Safety Preservation Millage on the November 7, 2017 ballot. NAMI WC focuses on mental health issues and their intersection with public safety, but we also support the complete millage, including the need for reliable funding for public safety operations and the need to rebate funds to communities which have their own public safety agencies.
Washtenaw County faces several crises among people with mental illnesses who are not eligible for Medicaid and who are unserved as a result of state budget cuts. State funding for Community Mental Health (CMH) has dropped by 60%, from $6.5 million to $2.7 million. CMH has lost 70 staff members. CMH has discharged 350 people and has turned away others seeking help. CMH cannot use other funds to make up for the cuts.
Here are the results from these cuts to the CMH budget:
1. CMH cannot respond to the demands from the deadly and growing mental health crisis from suicides and opioid use.
2. Lack of CMH services has resulted in costly hospital stays. Other services in the community have been stressed because they cannot serve such serious problems.
3. We see its effects of budget cuts on the homeless population.
4. People with mental illnesses are being incarcerated in the County Jail unnecessarily.
The millage will raise $5.86 million to fund:
1. Better coordination with the Sheriff’s Office and services which will divert people with mental illness from unnecessary jailing and harm.
2. Four specific types of service
Washtenaw County faces several crises among people with mental illnesses who are not eligible for Medicaid and who are unserved as a result of state budget cuts. State funding for Community Mental Health (CMH) has dropped by 60%, from $6.5 million to $2.7 million. CMH has lost 70 staff members. CMH has discharged 350 people and has turned away others seeking help. CMH cannot use other funds to make up for the cuts.
Here are the results from these cuts to the CMH budget:
1. CMH cannot respond to the demands from the deadly and growing mental health crisis from suicides and opioid use.
2. Lack of CMH services has resulted in costly hospital stays. Other services in the community have been stressed because they cannot serve such serious problems.
3. We see its effects of budget cuts on the homeless population.
4. People with mental illnesses are being incarcerated in the County Jail unnecessarily.
The millage will raise $5.86 million to fund:
1. Better coordination with the Sheriff’s Office and services which will divert people with mental illness from unnecessary jailing and harm.
2. Four specific types of service
- Crisis services: including the suicide and opioid epidemics
- Stabilization services: for those who do not currently qualify for services—
- Prevention services: including mental health awareness, prevention, and early intervention programming with community partners, including schools, law enforcement and other first responders, and health care providers.
- Jail Services: Including mental health and substance abuse assessment and treatment inclusive of counseling and psychiatric services and prisoner re-entry.
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