Milan Considering New Tax to Offer 24-Hour Fire Staffing

Milan officials are considering a one to two mill tax to fund around-the-clock staffing for the fire department. The council could approve the tax or send it to voters to decide.

A house fire in Uptown Village on the city’s north side highlighted the issue. The fire occurred on March 6 while the department was on-call. Police were dispatched at 10:37 p.m. and arrived two minutes later, said Milan Police Chief Don Tillery. Milan Area Fire Department was dispatched at 10:39 p.m. and arrived at the scene at 10:52 p.m., just ahead of Saline crews, said Milan Area Fire Department Chief DJ Carpus. By then the house had extensive damage.

Carpus said staffed coverage could cut response times to five or six minutes and improve outcomes for both fire and medical emergencies.

“For a cardiac arrest, for instance, a five-minute earlier CPR response … can be the difference between life or death,” Carpus told city council, adding, “That goes with fires, too. They grow so fast.”

Public Safety

The Milan Area Fire Department has been ramping up service since December 2022 when it moved from being entirely paid on-call to having two firefighters on duty for 10 hours five days a week. The next year, in July 2023, they started staffing two firefighters seven days a week. In July 2024, the fire department moved to the current model, staffing two firefighters working 12-hour days seven days a week.

“The plan was to adjust as needed for coverage,” said Carpus.

At the council meeting, Carpus proposed staffing the fire station with two firefighters around the clock all week long.

Currently, Milan has 26 paid-on-call firefighters and the fire department has mutual aid agreements with Augusta, Saline, Dundee, Pittsfield and several other fire districts.

Budget proposals

Public safety takes 42 percent of the general operating budget for Milan City, said City Manager Jim Lancaster. Of that, Milan City spends approximately $365,000 annually for fire services. 

The increased staffing would bring Milan’s cost to about $398,000, plus $5,000 for building repairs and maintenance. The other members of the Milan Area Fire Department, including York Township, London Township and Milan Township would also pay an increase.

To stay with the current level of services provided, Milan would pay $372,000, Carpus said, not including the $5,000 for building repairs and maintenance.

Options

With costs for fire services increasing 40 percent over the last four years, the city is considering creating a special assessment district and collecting a public safety special assessment. It can be created either by council action or a vote. 

A third option to increase city funding would be a Headlee Rollback, to reset the tax rates back to the charter allowable 20 mills from the current number of 16 mills, Lancaster said.

Mayor Ed Kolar said he would favor a one mill tax and taking the remaining one mill spent on fire services from the general fund. He favors bringing the matter to a vote.

However, Lancaster recommends a two mill tax, in order to allow the city more money to tackle road repairs.

Currently, Milan road funding is only one mill from the general fund, and then the bulk of the amount is generated through Act 51 from the Michigan Transportation Fund, Lancaster said.

Council Response

Councilmember Jesse Nie said when the city council approved staffing the fire station one of the questions was knowing how much was enough.

“We are going to continue to grow as a city,” Nie said. “We’ve been talking about the safety millage for five, six years. It’s clear to me it’s appropriate to bring it to the public. I don’t think any of us want any downgrade of our safety.”

Councilmember Dave Snyder asked about the Headlee Rollback, allowing the city to obtain more funding without a public safety special assessment. 

Councilmember Marie Gress asked Carpus if he had statistics on when most fires happen. He said they are more common at night, but added that Milan’s staffing from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. matches the balance between when they get the most medical and other emergency calls and have the least availability of volunteers.

Gress also asked how well the millages renew in the future.

Councilmember Shannon Wayne said the council has a responsibility to look at the overall tax rate before making a decision.

“I’d certainly want to go to the voters before I’d want to do a special assessment of that size,” said Wayne.

Kolar told council members to talk to those in the community and send their feedback to Lancaster. City clerk Lavonna Wenzel said April 28 is the deadline to submit the ballot wording to the county for the August election. Lancaster added that July 6 is the deadline to submit the question for the November election ballot.