Bloomfield Township's $11 million public safety millage renewal goes before voters Tuesday, August 4, with early voting already underway. Fire Chief John LeRoy is making a public push for approval.
LeRoy laid out his case in a video interview posted Tuesday, July 28 by the Bloomfield Township Government account on X. The full interview is available on YouTube.
The millage is not a new tax. It renews an existing levy that has been in place since 1976 and expires in December 2026, according to the township's Summer 2026 newsletter. If approved, it would authorize up to 1.8428 mills for 10 years beginning with the December 2027 levy, generating an estimated $11 million in its first year.
That money funds a significant share of the township's public safety operation: 55% of the Police Department and dispatch budget and 45% of the Fire Department budget, as we reported July 27. The operation includes 67 police officers, 14 dispatchers, and 67 firefighter/paramedics.
The average homeowner pays about $542 per year under the levy.
What's at stake
Township Supervisor Mike McCready warned at the Monday, May 11 Board of Trustees meeting that failure of the public safety millage would "most likely" require reductions in the department. At that same meeting, the board voted to place the renewal on the August 4 ballot after Clerk Martin Brook presented the proposal, according to the meeting synopsis.
No residents spoke against either millage renewal at the township's public hearings, according to a C&G Newspapers report dated Monday, June 29.
The public safety millage was last renewed in 2016 with 84% voter approval.
How to vote
Early voting is underway at the Bloomfield Township Public Library, 1099 Lone Pine Road, through Sunday, August 2. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except Thursday, July 30, when hours are noon to 8 p.m.
On Election Day, Tuesday, August 4, polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The township consolidated its precincts from 18 to 12 in 2025, reducing polling locations to 10. Voters should confirm their assigned location before Election Day at bloomfieldtwp.org.
