Two County Millages on August Ballot – East Lansing Info

Voters in East Lansing will play a role in determining the fate of two millage proposals on the August ballot. Both proposals were approved by the Ingham County Commissioners and are up for renewal after last being approved by voters in 2020.

One tax rate is used to fund essential services for older Ingham County residents, while the other rate is earmarked for health care and mental health services for low-income residents.

ELi spoke with provincial officials and representatives of the organisations that coordinate the work of the tax authorities.

Jared Cypher is the deputy controller for Ingham County and works with the county commissioners in their efforts. He has been in county government for 24 years and in his current position for 13. He explained how the millages are determined.

“So generally,” he said, “these agencies that we contract with come to the commissioners and talk to them about what the needs are in the community and what they would need to meet those needs. What resources do they have? They need to have funding to meet those needs. And it’s a conversation that they have with the Board of Commissioners and with us, frankly.”

The authorities differ per tax rate.

Tax #1: Ingham County Senior Citizens Tax

The initiative, which first passed in the 2020 budget and received more than 76% of the vote, was created to “eliminate waiting lists” and “expand critical services such as home health care, home-delivered meals, crisis services, and senior center support to support the growing population of individuals sixty (60) years of age and older living in Ingham County,” according to the ballot proposal.

The extension is for 0.3 mills, meaning residents with homes valued at $100,000 will still pay about $30 in annual taxes if this millage is extended.

The Tri-County Office on Aging is the agency that receives the largest portion of these funds. ELi spoke with Mary Alban, chair of the Elder Services Millage Campaign Committee, to learn more about the millage and how the funding is used. Alban previously worked for the Office on Aging.

“The county commissioners,” she said, “in their wisdom, they looked at the growing senior population in Ingham County and it’s over 20%. We seniors are the fastest growing age group. And during Covid, they decided it was time to pursue a tax rate for senior programs. The vast majority of counties in Michigan have one. We were one of the few counties that didn’t have one.

“A lot of people were on waiting lists (at the time) for crucial services, like meals on wheels and home care. These are people who are vulnerable by definition. They are people who are not well off financially. And they need help to stay in their home, or they go to a nursing home. And studies have shown time and time again that the vast majority of elderly people would rather not go to a nursing home. They would rather stay in their own home and get help.”

Alban said Meals on Wheels served more than 100,000 meals to more than 800 people each year, eliminating the waitlist for services that existed before the tax.

In addition to these services, tax funds have also helped prevent seniors from being evicted, left without electricity or gas, or receiving other, more isolated, unique forms of support.

“I know a guy who didn’t have a working refrigerator,” Alban said. “In the winter, he kept his food in his van. What was he going to do in the summer? The IRS stepped in and bought him a refrigerator. I can tell you there’s no other source of government funding that would do that.”

Other forms of support include snow clearing, helping with showering and helping with hygiene.

Millage #2: Primary Health Care in Ingham County

The second tax, enacted in 2012, provides “basic health and mental health services to lower-income Ingham County residents, including assistance with paying for doctor visits, generic medications, mental health visits, and essential care such as preventive testing and treatment for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other serious illnesses, as well as community mental health support for at-risk populations,” according to the ballot measure.

The .63 mills renewal means that residents with homes valued at $100,000 would pay about $63 in taxes annually.

Ingham Health Plan and the Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties share the funds.

Lori Noyer is the CEO of Ingham Health Plan.

“We provide a community-based health care service for low-income Ingham County residents who would otherwise be uninsured,” she said. “They don’t qualify for Medicaid. They may not have employer-sponsored health insurance, so we are that safety net option for people.”

Residents are connected to Ingham Health Plan through community partners, Noyer said.

“They may show up to a doctor’s appointment and not have health insurance,” she said. “They may show up to a pharmacy looking for a prescription (and) they don’t have health insurance. They may go to a community agency looking for food or housing, and through those conversations they find out they don’t have health insurance. And so, again, we’re really looking to our community partners to connect those folks with us so they can receive those services.”

The organization precedes the tax levy, Noyer said, because other funding was originally available to support this effort.

“We’ve already served over 2,000 people this year,” she said, adding that the numbers have increased since residents were removed from Medicaid rolls they were added to during the height of the pandemic.

“Supporting health care improves the community,” Noyer said. “Having someone uninsured increases their costs and impacts the community. If someone has some of their basic health coverage, they can go to the doctor, get their medications, dental care, behavioral health support.”

Community Mental Health Authority (CMHA) of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties is the second major beneficiary of the millage. Sara Lurie is the CMHA of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties chief executive officer.

“We are truly a safety net that is bound by the Michigan Mental Health Code and serves severely, persistently mentally ill individuals with severe intellectual developmental disabilities, youth with emotional disturbances and adults with substance use disorders,” she said. “We are also a certified community health clinic.”

CMHA was also hit by a funding cut, this time a 60% cut to the state budget, before the tax levy was first introduced in 2012. The tax levy was initially passed to help make up for some of this lost funding.

“We had to stop providing services to about 500 uninsured and underinsured people that we had been serving for a while,” Lurie said. “So Ingham County was very generous and proactive, and included us in the millage. It’s allowed us to maintain care. Maintain care for people who are uninsured or who are on Medicaid spend down, which means they have to spend a large portion of their personal income every month before they qualify for Medicaid coverage.”

The tax enabled CMHA to serve 408 individuals in 2023, and Lurie expects that number to more than double by 2024.

“We have a 24/7 walk-in crisis service area,” she said. “It also includes just regular intake assessments for services, some of our home-based treatment for at-risk youth and their families, a spectrum of different community-based treatment teams for vulnerable individuals.”

For both the millages and all community partners, only Ingham County residents are eligible for treatments and supports provided by the millage.

The Michigan primary election will be held on Tuesday, August 6. Michigan residents can check their voter registration and polling place hereEarly voting for the election has already begun via mail-in ballot, at any of the city’s polling stations or at the Early Voting Center at 405 Grove Street.