Dexter Township residents will be asked to vote on a three-year, 1.7 mill fire millage and a 1.4856 mill police levy on May 3, which combined would cost a homeowner with a $100,000 home about $318 per year. Following a unanimous vote Monday morning, the Dexter Township Board of Trustees approved ballot language that asks for a 0.2144 millage increase for fire protection and an extension of its current police millage.

In 2006, township voters approved a five-year, 1.5 mill levy each for fire and police protection, and with Headlee reductions, the original amount decreased over the years.

“This is a really small increase, 0.2844,” said Pat Kelly, Dexter Township supervisor.

Clerk Harley Rider said, "It’s always a tough balancing act to determine how much money is needed to provide public safety for township residents."

The last time around, voters passed the fire millage 60 percent to 40 percent and the police millage 55 percent to 45 percent, Rider said.

“The township has always supported us,” Rider said, adding that “we’ve been good stewards of the public’s money.”

Since the last millage vote, both Kelly and Rider said the township’s fire protection response time has improved greatly with the opening of the new Dexter Township substation in December.

“Fire service response times have improved for about half the township,” Kelly said.

Plus, she said, “The total cost for fire service is less than it was if we stayed status quo,” referring to a previous contract with the Chelsea Area Fire Authority.

Voters in the member municipalities of CAFA approved 1.8 mills last year, and Dexter Township was going to be charged the same amount for its fire protection even though it’s not a member of the authority.

Since then, the Dexter Township Board voted to have the Dexter Area Fire Department provide most of its fire service, and a new substation, which is manned around the clock on North Territorial Road, was opened on the Multi Lake Sewer Authority property.

If the fire millage is approved, residents will pay about $1.70 per $1,000 of taxable value, and the millage will raise an estimated $501,553 the first year the millage is levied. For a homeowner with a $100,000 home, it will cost about $170 per year. “The Dexter Township Board has thoroughly examined fire protection and emergency services within the township and determined the most acceptable method of providing high quality, cost effective fire protection and emergency services to township residents,” the resolution reads in part.

In fact, a public safety committee met weekly for almost a year to deliver a recommendation to the township board. It determined that the presence of the township’s three sheriff’s deputies was an adequate level for the population of about 6,600 residents, and said better fire protection would be provided by the substation, which is centrally located in the township.

The board agreed to renew up to a 1.4856 mil levy to provide police protection, and the resolution reads in part that the millage would be used for “contracting for police services; hiring police officers and related staff; purchase and or lease of police vehicles and equipment; construction, purchase and or lease of facilities for police operations; contracting for dispatch services; and any and all other services related to police activities within Dexter Township.”

If renewed, the police millage will raise an estimated $438,298 in its first year. It amounts to $1.4856 per $1,000 of taxable value for homeowners. For a $100,000 house, homeowners will pay $148.56 per year.

“The sheriff’s department is the best deal around,” Kelly said.

Dexter Township works in collaboration with Webster Township and the Village of Dexter for 24/7 police coverage. Dexter Township pays for three deputies, whose combined services cost $477,000 per year, and are projected to cost $558,000 in 2012, Kelly said.

Trustee Julie Knight was absent from the special meeting Monday with an excused absence, but she supported the motion that was put forth by Trustee Carl Lesser last week, which led to today’s final ballot wording.

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter with AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Dexter stories, visit our Dexter page.