Local Millage Support Remains Strong with Some Headwinds for Public Safety

Southeast Michigan voters broadly supported local millage and ballot proposals in this month’s election, with 84% of 110 millage proposals passing in the seven-county region. Local millages were successful statewide, matching our region with an 84% success rate.

This August’s primary results were consistent with August 2025, which saw millage proposals pass at a slightly higher rate of 86%. There were some noteworthy takeaways based on the type of millages considered by voters.

Universal support for road millages

Statewide, road millages had a big night, with 84% of proposals passing. In Southeast Michigan, all 11 millage requests (including renewals and increases) were successful.

Support for public safety in Southeast Michigan

Public safety millages are typically some of the most popular millage requests among voters, and this remained true across the state, with renewals passing at a rate of 97% and 88% of increases passing.

While the majority of our region’s public safety renewals and increases were approved by voters, support was much softer than what would normally be expected. Police and fire millage renewals were approved at a rate of 81%, while increases for these services succeeded at a rate of almost 65%.

Mixed responses to school millages

Statewide, voters split on two requests to increase taxes for intermediate school districts. Voters turned down the Southeast Michigan’s sole ballot question on the topic in Oakland County, an Oakland Schools proposal for a regional enhancement millage for local school districts.

The region’s school operations millage renewals were approved at a rate of nearly 85%, with Washtenaw Community College’s operations increase – the region’s only school operations increase – being approved as well.

Southeast Michigan shows universal support for library millages

Library millage proposals nearly swept statewide, with 23 of 24 passing. Southeast Michigan voters approved all library millage renewals and increases.

Other Southeast Michigan takeaways include: 

• All 4 Parks and Recreation millage renewals passed 

• Senior Services millage renewals passed in all 3 instances 

• “Other” millage renewals passed universally, including millages for mosquito control, public safety pensions, refuse collection, and farmland preservation 

• Increases in this category passed at a rate of 75%, including a 10-year millage by the Wayne County Transit Authority to fund operations, maintenance, improvements, and expansion of transit services through SMART

Data resources to champion millages and support storytelling

Local governments enjoy a higher level of trust among Americans than the state or federal levels of government. This trust was evident in Southeast Michigan’s millage election results this August. 

With federal and state funding streams in flux, local governments and education institutions may need to turn to taxpayers increasingly to support critical services, infrastructure, and facilities improvements. 

Last year, SEMCOG and Munetrix presented a webinar “Using Data Storytelling to Champion Millages” to educate local leaders on effectively including data to support millage requests in their communities. The webinar can be viewed below. 

If there are other resources your community needs to make your millage proposals more successful, please let us know!