The White Lake Fire Authority is returning to voters next months with a scaled-down millage request for a new fire station.
The fire authority is asking voters to approve a 1.65-mill property tax increase for four years. That is a year less than a similar measure that was narrowly defeated in November 2019. Voters defeated a similar measure in 2015.
The new request seeks money only for a new fire station that is more centrally located in the fire authority’s service area, said Capt. Pete McCarthy with the White Lake Fire Authority. The previous five-year request had also sought funds for two new firefighting vehicles. Voting in the election are the same as those served by the fire department: residents of Whitehall, Fruitland Township and Whitehall Township.
The tax request, which amounts to $1.65 per $1,000 taxable value, would raise an estimated $781,302 for the first year. Owners of a home with a $150,000 market value, and taxable value of $75,000, would pay an additional $123.75 per year in property taxes.