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ALPENA – Alpena County is likely to make a second attempt to get voters to approve a property tax increase.
At a special meeting Monday, county commissioners voted 6-0 to approve new ballot language on a tax proposal that would allow the county to raise its tax rate to offset annual losses incurred by a portion of state law that caps local governments’ tax rates when property tax revenues exceed the rate of inflation.
The district council still has to give its final approval for the proposal to be placed on the November ballot. Tuesday is the deadline for the nominations to be placed on the ballot.
The county asked voters for a 0.7 percent increase, which would have helped the county recoup about $800,000 annually and cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $35 annually. Voters rejected this proposal by a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent.
The new voting language is easier to interpret than last week’s voting language, say the commissioners.
The county also set a four-year cap on the increase. The tax proposal voted on last week would have raised taxes indefinitely.
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