Wayne County voters signed off Tuesday on one ballot proposal to sustain funding for Wayne County parks and another that removes a mandate on how long a financial auditor can serve the county.
About 74% of Wayne County voters supported Proposal P, a millage renewal to fund operations, maintenance and upgrades across the county’s 5,600-acre park system, according to unofficial Aug. 6 primary election results.
The millage is expected to generate $14.47 million in 2026. The levy, for just under a quarter mill, will cost homeowners with a taxable value of $100,000 $24.42 per year on their winter tax bills.
A BridgeDetroit analysis of county budget reports found that Detroit taxpayers paid over $2 million into the county’s parks fund in the last fiscal year alone, which is the most tax revenue generated out of all 43 communities in Wayne County.
A status report on millage-funded projects shows $900,000 contributed to the millage by Detroit taxpayers since 2021 has been invested in improvements in at least 15 city-owned parks, putting Detroiters at the top of the list for the most money put in and the most money returned.
Some of the parks that have been improved or will be in the future, according to the report, include Johnston, Sasser, Van Antwerp, Eliza Howell, and Voigt parks. In past years, millage funds have aided in upgrades at Perrien and Pingree park, among others.
Separately, Wayne County voters approved Proposal A, a ballot measure that removes a requirement in the county’s charter that it find a new financial auditor at least every eight years.
The proposal, which earned 54% of the vote, will permit any qualified firm to be awarded a contract for auditing services when the contract is competitively bid.
Voters approved a ballot question in 1996 that transferred the responsibility for hiring an outside firm from the Wayne County executive to the auditor general.
The mandatory rotation of audit firms was a reform to enhance auditor independence and audit quality.
“It’s really unusual to have a charter requirement that requires a rotation or a new auditor be selected every eight years,” Mark Abbo, former Wayne County chief financial officer, told Outlier Media.
Wayne County voters rejected a similar proposal by a slim margin in 2012.
A third proposal on the ballot, Proposal L, was widely approved by 85% of voters in Detroit. The millage generates the vast majority of the operating budget for the Detroit Public Library.
Here’s a list of results from Tuesday’s election. For more election news, check out BridgeDetroit.com.