GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — When West Michigan voters go to the polls Tuesday, they’ll be asked to choose city leaders and decide on millages and bonds.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the biggest races in West Michigan:
CITY LEADERS
In Grand Rapids’ 3rd Ward, Commissioner Senita Lenear is running for re-election. Kent Boersema is running against her. Boersema previously ran for a 3rd Ward commission seat in 2011. Seats in the 1st and 2nd wards were decided during the August primary, when Kurt Reppart and Joe Jones won seats outright by getting more than 50 percent of the vote.
In Kalamazoo, Mayor Bobby Hopewell is running for re-election. His name will be the only one on the ballot, but community activist Chris Wahmhoff is running as a write-in candidate.
Also in Kalamazoo, three city commission seats are up for election. The top three vote-getters will serve 4-year terms. Commissioners Erin Knott and Jack Urban are running for re-election. Commissioner Matt Milcarek is not running again, leaving an open seat. The other candidates include former commissioner Eric Cunningham, who was appointed to the board but was not elected to a seat in 2015; Leona Carter; and Charley Coss.
OPERATING MILLAGES
The Rapid bus service is asking voters to renew the operating millage for an additional 12 years. The millage makes up about 35.5 percent of the Rapid’s budget. In 2011, voters approved the measure by 136 votes, raising the millage rate for bus operations for seven years. The money was also used to help build the Silver Line and increase service. The millage is set to expire at the end of the year. The proposal before voters Tuesday would continue the current millage rate for 12 more years. The Kent County Taxpayers Alliance has come out against the proposal.
A millage proposal for the Grand Rapids Public Library would continue a tax rate approved by voters in 1997. However, that millage was to fund brick-and-mortar upgrades to library buildings. If the new millage is approved, the money would be available for library operations and other items, not just library buildings. The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce has come out against the proposal.
In Muskegon County, a new millage would fund and expand the Youth Program. The goal is to give kids more options and keep them out of trouble. Critics say the millage is a shell game intended to free up general fund money to pay for the county jail, which is over budget.
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