Royal Oak voters face two millage questions on the Aug. 4 ballot
Royal Oak voters will decide Tuesday, Aug. 4, whether to approve two city millage proposals affecting public safety, trash collection, recycling and related services.
Both questions are proposals awaiting voter approval. One would renew and increase the authorized public-safety millage. The other would renew the existing sanitation millage without creating a new tax.
Quick ballot guide
- Public safety: Up to 4.6 mills for 10 years. The proposal would renew the existing 3.975-mill authorization and add 0.625 mills to the authorized rate.
- Sanitation: Up to 1 mill for five years. The proposal would renew the existing levy at the same maximum rate.
Public-safety proposal
The public-safety question would authorize Royal Oak to levy up to 4.6 mills for police, fire and emergency medical services for a 10-year term. City materials describe it as a renewal of the 3.975-mill authorization approved by voters in prior elections, plus a 0.625-mill increase in the authorized rate.
The current levy is approximately 3.5893 mills because of reductions under Michigan’s Headlee Amendment. The actual rate levied could also be reduced by future Headlee limitations, so the proposed 4.6 mills is a maximum authorization rather than a guaranteed future rate.
What it could cost
For a home with an estimated residential taxable value of about $118,435, Royal Oak estimates the current public-safety millage costs approximately $425 annually. Under the proposal, the city estimates the annual cost at about $544 — roughly $119 more per year, or about $10 per month.
That is the city’s estimate for the stated taxable value, not a fixed amount every homeowner would pay. Actual costs vary with taxable value and the rate ultimately levied.
According to city materials, public-safety revenue supports police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel, along with emergency response operations, vehicles, equipment, technology, protective gear, training, certification and communications and dispatch support.
The city says its fiscal year 2027 budget projects approximately $45 million in annual public-safety expenditures and estimates the proposed millage could generate about $18.1 million annually beginning in 2027. If voters reject the proposal, the city says it would have to evaluate public-safety funding and other municipal operations through the annual budget process. Potential consequences could include staffing reductions, longer response times, delayed vehicle and equipment replacement and deferred capital improvements. Those are projected or possible budget effects, not guaranteed outcomes.
Sanitation proposal
The second question would renew Royal Oak’s existing sanitation millage of up to 1 mill for another five years. City materials state that this is not a new tax because residents already pay the levy.
For the same example taxable value of approximately $118,435, the current sanitation millage costs about $106 per year. Approval would continue the existing levy rather than add a new annual charge.
The funding supports curbside trash and recycling collection, seasonal yard-waste and leaf pickup, bulk-item programs, household hazardous-waste disposal events, street sweeping, recycling education, composting and other sustainability-related operations.
Voting information
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. Absentee ballots must be received by the clerk no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.
Registered voters can check their registration status, polling location and sample ballot through the Michigan Voter Information Center. Royal Oak’s election page also lists absentee-ballot and registration procedures. Voters who need to register during the election period must do so in person at the City Clerk’s Office.
Sources
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