Local voters approved a millage request by the White Lake Fire Authority Tuesday by a margin of 57 to 43 percent, with 1,127 voters saying yes to the request.
The approval raised the base millage rate taxpayers will pay to the WLFA from 1.5 mills to 2.25 mills - from $1.50 to $2.25 per $1,000 in taxable property value - though in total, taxpayers will see a decrease from what they have paid the last few years. This is because a special 1.65-mill levy that helped pay for the construction of the new fire station on Duck Lake Road expires this year.
The new rate will be in effect for the next 15 years and along with helping keep pace with the rising costs of operating the department, chief Pete McCarthy told the Mirror in April that it will help fund two new full-time positions. This will enable the authority to staff both stations in the area around the clock; to date, only the station in the city of Whitehall had been staffed 24 hours a day.
