Howell doesn't need tax increase

I missed this guest column from Bill Johnston June 12 in the Argus. Bill's the President of the Concerned Taxpayers' Group of Livingston County and does a good job making the case for a no vote on August 8.

Howell doesn't need tax increase

If you live in the Howell School District and reside in the city of Howell or in Genoa, Marion or Oceola townships, the Howell Area Parks and Recreation Authority millage request will be on the Aug. 8 ballot. Residents will be asked to approve a new millage of 1 mill to operate the newly formed Howell Area Parks and Recreation Authority. This will increase taxes $100 to $300 per year for most homeowners in the authority if the millage passes.
Recreation in the Howell area is currently taxpayer-funded with about a $600,000 contribution from the city of Howell, along with subsidies from township budgets amounting to about $81,000, $54,000 and $65,000 from Oceola, Marion and Genoa townships, respectively. The balance of the current recreation budget comes from family user fees.

The city of Howell's past Parks and Recreation Department has become too expensive for Howell to operate.

I encourage eveyone to click on the link and read the rest of the article.