Metro Detroit voters approve zoo, museum millages and police/fire funding; reject Flint name change

Metro Detroit voters on Tuesday approved a sweeping slate of tax measures that will keep the Detroit Zoo running, make three major museums free for residents, and rescue police and fire departments in six townships, while soundly rejecting a chance to rewrite Michigan’s 1963 constitution and turning down a Flint Township name change. Audacy reported that the results capped a busy election night across Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, where local questions drew decisive margins even as the statewide ballot split between reform and the status quo.

The story matters right now because these millages translate directly into household tax bills and daily services. A homeowner with a $200,000 market-value house in the tri-county area will pay about $10 a year for the zoo and roughly $30 a year for the museum millage, while township residents who rejected public safety levies in August reversed course after officials warned that police and fire funding would run out by spring.

Michigan Rejects a Constitutional Convention but Curbs Political Money

Voters resoundingly rejected Proposal 1, shutting the door on an elected convention to overhaul the state’s 1963 constitution. Every 16 years the question comes up automatically, and on this occasion a wide-ranging alliance of civil rights, labor, and voting advocacy organizations called on residents to keep the constitution unchanged, cautioning that rewriting it from scratch would spark political upheaval and endanger hard-earned safeguards such as voting rights and citizen ballot initiatives.

Detroit museums ask voters to approve 10-year millage

Proposal 2 went the other way. About 80% of voters supported the citizen-led “Money Out of Politics” initiative, which prohibits regulated electric and gas utilities and major government contractors holding more than $250,000 in state work from donating to state candidates, officeholders, or party committees. The measure also ends corporate-funded travel and meals for politicians, mandates clear “paid for by” labels on online political ads, and closes the “issue ad” loophole by forcing outside groups that mention candidates or ballot issues to disclose their donors.

That 80% margin, however, will not end the fight. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy announced it is filing a lawsuit in federal court to block the measure, arguing on free speech grounds that Proposal 2 steps on the speech rights of non-political entities.

A historic election, and Fall like weather in Metro Detroit.

Zoo and Museum Millages Win Broad Tri-County Support

The Detroit Zoo’s 10-year millage renewal passed decisively across all three counties, keeping a 0.1-mill property levy in place. Tallies Wednesday morning showed roughly 75% support in Wayne County, 71% in Oakland County, and 69% in Macomb County. Homeowners pay roughly $10 each year for every $200,000 of market home value, with no increase in tax rates, and the levy covers about one-third of the operating expenses for the Royal Oak zoo grounds and the Belle Isle Nature Center.

Detroit Zoological Society Executive Director and CEO Hayley Murphy said the renewal provides vital financial stability to safeguard daily operations and comprehensive care and conservation efforts for more than 2,000 resident animals.

Wayne, Oakland County voters decide on millage for Detroit museums

Voters also gave a green light to the museum millage that makes admission free for Oakland and Wayne County residents at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the Detroit Historical Museum, and the Dossin Great Lakes Museum. The measure passed with about 60% of the vote and is estimated to cost taxpayers about $30 per year on an average home with a taxable value of roughly $150,000 to $200,000. Beyond free admission, the funding helps cover operating costs so the museums can keep full staff and longer hours.

Police and Fire Millages Stage a Comeback After August Losses

Six Metro Detroit communities that struck down police and fire millages in the August primary put the questions back on the ballot Tuesday—and all six passed. Orion, Waterford, Highland, Independence, Brandon, and Sumpter townships all approved the renewals, plus a small fire equipment millage in Orion.

Wayne and Oakland County voters pass millage supporting Detroit museums

“The credit goes to the people that came out yesterday. We had record turnout. And, look, we’ve been working really hard since August to educate our residents, explain the importance of these public safety millages, and we are very grateful—that’s the word. Grateful for the support, grateful to be able to continue providing these great services, continuing being one of the safest communities in our state.” — Orion Township Supervisor Chris Barnett, to WWJ Newsradio 950

Barnett said that without the millages, Orion’s police and fire departments would have run out of funding by spring, leaving residents without services.

Veterans, Buses, Schools, and Roads Also Clear the Bar

The rest of the local ballot was equally decisive. Macomb County’s veterans’ millage passed overwhelmingly, about 79% to 21%, renewing a 0.069-mill property tax that funds services, financial aid, and administration for local veterans and their families. The county’s SMART bus millage also passed 65% to 35%, replacing an expiring levy with a five-year, 0.94-mill tax to sustain fixed-route, Flex, and paratransit services.

In Dearborn, voters in Dearborn and parts of Dearborn Heights approved a 20-year, 3.14-mill school bond by roughly 68% to 31% to fund infrastructure upgrades across district facilities. Pontiac voters authorized the city to borrow up to $75 million in bonds for new streets in neighborhoods across the city. The one notable defeat came in Flint Township, where voters rejected renaming the township to Oak Hills by about 2,000 votes; supporters had hoped the change would distance the community from the city of Flint’s water crisis and crime.

What remains unresolved is whether Proposal 2 survives its expected court challenge, since the Mackinac Center’s federal lawsuit could determine whether the new campaign finance restrictions ever take effect.