Chelsea – Chelsea Mayor Cody Sumners has recommended that the City Council proceed with creating a Chelsea Police Department and pass a 5-mill property tax to fund it. The Council has scheduled a public hearing for October 6th to get public feedback on the idea.
State law gives city councils authority to levy up to 5 mills of property tax with a simple vote of the council. One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value, and it is estimated that it would raise about $1.5 million a year from a 5-mill property tax tp halp cover tha estimated $4 million to $4.5 million a year cost to for a city police department.
Sumner noted that the city is already paying Shelby County $1.7 million to $1.8 million a year to provide deputies to serve Chelsea. Along with the additional $1.5 million from a property tax, it would give the city $3.2 million or $3.3 million to form the police department, with the rest covered by sales taxes generated by the additional retail sales coming with new stores being added in Chelsea.
