Clarkston voters will decide next month whether to approve a new 7-mill public safety millage that city officials say is necessary to keep police, fire and EMS coverage funded after years of tapping the city's fund balance to cover rising costs. The proposal, if approved, would still leave residents facing a net 1.5-mill tax increase even after a planned reduction elsewhere in the city's operating budget.
A City Too Small to Staff Its Own Department
The City of the Village of Clarkston covers just 0.44 square miles and counts roughly 928 residents, making it Michigan's smallest city by land area, according to Patient Moves. Because the city is entirely surrounded by Independence Township, it has no standalone police or fire department of its own; instead, the City of Clarkston subcontracts police, fire and EMS coverage through Independence Township and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, as reported by The Oakland Press. Independence Township provides fire and EMS response, while the Sheriff's Office handles police services, per the same report.
That arrangement means Clarkston's public safety budget rises and falls with contracts it doesn't directly control. The Clarkston City Council voted 6-0 on August 10 — with Councilmember Erica Jones absent — to place the 7-mill public safety proposal on the November ballot, according to Clarkston News. The rate works out to $7 for every $1,000 of taxable property value and would run for five years starting in 2027, per the Oakland Press account, with Clarkston News previously citing a four-year structure running from July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2031 — the two reports differ on the exact term length.
Fund Balance Running Low, City Manager Warns
City Manager Jonathan Smith told the council that using the fund balance to cover public safety costs is not sustainable because it will eventually be depleted, the Oakland Press reports. Smith said rising police and fire costs have made it impossible for the city to keep funding those services through its regular operating budget, and he added that the city plans to supplement the seven-mill levy with additional city funds even if voters approve it.
The math behind the proposal is tight. The new millage is projected to generate $457,116 in its first year, but the council must also approve a 5.5-mill reduction to the city's current 11.4-mill operating millage during the 2027-28 budget process — a swap that nets out to a 1.5-mill tax increase for residents. City Attorney Gerald Fisher told the council that the operating-millage adjustment has to be made during formal budget proceedings and cannot be locked in ahead of a public budget hearing, per the Oakland Press.
Projected Surplus Shrinks Fast
Even with the new levy, officials don't expect smooth sailing. Rana Emmons told the council on August 10 that seven mills would not be enough to avoid dipping into general-fund dollars for four of the five years, according to the Oakland Press. The millage is projected to produce only a $12,000 surplus in 2027 before turning negative in the years that follow, with the general fund expected to cover shortfalls beginning in the third year.
Councilmember Al Avery said the proposal is necessary despite likely opposition, the Oakland Press reports. If voters reject the measure, the city manager said Clarkston would have two options: place the same or a revised proposal before voters again in a special election next May, or establish a city-wide special assessment district to cover police, fire and emergency services costs instead.
The Special Assessment Alternative
That fallback option exists because Michigan Public Act 33 of 1951 gives local governments the authority to create a Special Assessment District for police and fire services through public hearings and council resolutions, without needing voter approval at the ballot box, according to Texas Township. Special assessments still require annual public hearings to adjust funding levels, per the same source, but they sidestep the up-or-down vote that millages require.
Clarkston's current arrangement already means city residents pay more in property taxes than their township neighbors. In 2025, homeowner tax rates inside the city stood at roughly 36.26 mills for principal residences, compared to about 32.73 mills in adjacent Independence Township, according to Patient Moves. That 3.5-mill gap reflects additional municipal services provided within city limits, the same source notes — though many property owners with Clarkston mailing addresses actually live in surrounding township jurisdictions with different tax levies entirely.
Why Costs Keep Climbing
Part of the pressure traces back to a three-year law enforcement services agreement between Independence Township and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, running through 2027, that raised regional policing expenses by more than $1.3 million, Hoodline previously reported. Clarkston's city council separately voted unanimously on June 23 to renew its own Fire Services interlocal agreement with Independence Township to maintain emergency medical and fire response coverage, according to the Oakland Press.
Michigan's 1978 Headlee Amendment compounds the squeeze. The amendment automatically rolls back local property tax millage rates whenever annual property tax value growth outpaces inflation, limiting how much revenue municipalities can collect relative to rising operational costs, per the Michigan Legislative Council. That structural rollback is part of why general operating millages like Clarkston's gradually shrink over time and fail to keep pace with rising service contracts, forcing local governments to periodically ask voters to restore rates or approve dedicated levies.
Clarkston isn't alone in facing a skeptical electorate this cycle. Independence Township, which wraps around Clarkston, is putting its own 3.2-mill police protection proposal back on the November 3 ballot after voters rejected an earlier version in the August primary, Clarkston News reports. That failure left the township operating without long-term, voter-approved police funding, underscoring a broader pattern of hesitation toward property tax increases across Oakland County even as public safety costs keep climbing.
