On August 7, Rochester Hills voters will be asked to approve a millage to fully fund the cost of Police services for our City. The committee was formed in 2007 to analyze Police and Road Funding and propose short and long term strategies to City Council for review and deliberation. For the past four years, over 50 meetings, dozens of residents emails and facebook comments, several public hearings and town hall open discussions, the committee concluded with the current ballot question.
Our two current police millages are expiring and only fund 40% of the cost of policing. Their solution is a replacement millage that MAINTAINS current level of policing but does NOT raise taxes. This is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of the residential Police and Road Funding Technical Review committee and input from fellow residents.
As a current member of City Council, I am proud of these fully involved residents hard work and determination to proactively seek solutions to this decades old issue of police funding for our community. In our recent survey the vast majority of our residents support our current level of police and the service provided by the Oakland County Sheriff.
When you dial 911, what level of service and response time do you expect? If it is the current level, please join me in voting YES for the Police Millage ballot proposal.
Greg Hooper
President, Rochester Hills City Council