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Taylor council approves 2026–27 budget, sets millage at 24.8402 mills
Summary
The Taylor City Council adopted the proposed 2026–27 budget April 23, approving a corrected tax levy of 24.8402 mills, a one-time 1% property tax administration fee, and an omnibus appropriation amendment after a brief procedural amendment to correct the published millage figure.
Taylor City Council voted April 23 to adopt the city's proposed 2026—27 budget, approve a corrected tax levy of 24.8402 mills and authorize a one-time 1% property-tax administration fee on 2026 bills.
The council opened a public hearing on the budget and received a public comment praising staff transparency: "I was very surprised and pleased with the openness and the ability of the directors, department heads, and others to answer all of the questions," a council member said during the hearing. After closing the hearing, councilmembers moved and carried an amendment to correct the millage figure on the agenda from the published 24.8392 to 24.8402 mills to match updated county equalization figures, then voted on the amended motion and carried the budget measures by voice vote.
Why it matters: the millage rate funds general city operations and the council also approved an omnibus General Appropriation Act for fiscal 2026—27. Staff said the published discrepancy was caused by the county updating its equalization factor and accounting for certain veteran exemptions that changed the calculated reduction fraction by 0.0001, prompting the procedural amendment before final approval. The council also approved a one-time 1% administrative fee for tax collection that, according to staff, is charged on the total tax liability and is permitted under the Michigan Property Tax Act.
What the council approved: the package included (a) the corrected tax levy at 24.8402 mills, (b) a motion to receive and file the director of budget and finance's memorandum on truth-in-taxation concepts (Headlee rollback and Proposal A), (c) authorization to assess a one-time 1% property-tax administration fee on 2026 bills, and (d) the General Appropriation Act omnibus budget amendment for fiscal 2026—27.
Staff explanation and legal context: city budget staff explained the legal and technical background behind the action, describing how the Headlee rollback and the millage-reduction factor limit how much tax revenue the city may levy without voter approval. Council was told the county provided final equalization numbers after the agenda was posted; the change was purely numeric and small (0.0001 on the factor) but required the council to amend the motion so the official action matched the county's figures.
Votes at a glance: the transcript records voice votes on the amendment and the main motions. For each recorded motion the chair called for "all in favor" and declared the motion carried with the statement "Yeses have it." The transcript does not list a roll-call tally for these votes.
What comes next: staff will proceed with administrative steps to certify the millage and to include the 1% administrative fee on the 2026 tax bills. The appropriation documents and related budget files were adopted as part of the omnibus motion and will be filed with city records.
