Residents of Wayne County Approve Funding for Parks and Auditor Term Limits Changes

Great news for the residents of Wayne County! On Tuesday, voters gave the thumbs up for two ballot proposals – one, providing continued funding for Wayne County parks, and the other, shaking up the rule on how long a financial auditor can serve the county.

Proposal P, a millage renewal proposal, received a 74% approval from the Wayne County voters. The money will go towards operations, maintenance, and upgrades for the 5,600-acre park system. Expected to generate a whopping $14.47 million by 2026, this levy will cost homeowners with a taxable value of $100,000 merely $24.42 per year on winter tax bills.

To put it into perspective, Detroit taxpayers alone added over $2 million into the park’s fund in the last fiscal year. In return, a solid $900,000 for park improvements, earned through Detroit taxpayers since 2021, has been pumped back into their city’s parks. That’s a handsome return on investment!

Among the parks that will benefit or have already received a makeover from this pool of money are Johnston, Sasser, Van Antwerp, Eliza Howell, Voigt, Perrien, and Pingree park, to name but a few.

While Proposal A was a close call, garnering 54% of the vote, it nevertheless passed as well. This proposal lifts an old requirement in the county’s charter that a new financial auditor had to be appointed at least every eight years. Now, any qualified firm can bid for the auditing services contract.

Why is this a big deal you might ask? Well, according to Mark Abbo, a former Wayne County chief financial officer, “It’s really unusual to have a charter requirement that requires a rotation or a new auditor be selected every eight years.” Interestingly, a similar proposal was narrowly rejected back in 2012.

A third proposal, Proposal L, was a massive hit among Detroit voters, with 85% of them in agreement. This millage feeds the lion’s share of the operating budget for the Detroit Public Library.

For more information and other election results, you can always check out various online sources.

So to round off, it’s clear that Wayne County residents are geared up and ready to make some high-impact changes in their community. Good job on making your voice heard, folks!