The St. Joseph City Commission has formally come out against a proposal to eliminate property taxes in Michigan.
At Monday’s regular meeting, commissioners unanimously approved a resolution opposing Ax MI Tax. The resolution was presented to them by City Manager Emily Hackworth, who said Ax MI Tax would leave funding local government services up to the state and only cover things like public safety, courts, roads, and water infrastructure. That would eliminate the city millages for the library, DDA, and rubbish collection.
Hackworth told us at issue is local control.
“Ax MI Tax would significantly reduce the services that we can provide and really sort of hollow out what we can offer to just what is deemed in this proposal to be essential services,” Hackworth said. “We think that there’s a lot more than that that is essential.”
The resolution approved by the commission Monday originated with the Hagar Township Board of Trustees and has since been approved by the New Buffalo City Council and the Chikaming Township Board of Trustees.
St. Joe Mayor Brook Thomas told us the city needs to be responsible with taxpayer money, but taxes are needed to get things done for residents.
“Nobody loves paying property taxes, but when you strip it down to something where we aren’t able to meet people’s basic needs as far as just public safety and rubbish and the library and all the things that we all rely on on a regular basis, then we realize how important taxes can be for communities,” Thomas said.
Commissioner Michael Sarola said he strongly supports property tax reform, but Ax MI Tax is not the way to go.
The Ax MI Tax campaign is seeking petition signatures now to go to a vote in 2026. If approved, it would eliminate property taxes in Michigan, make it difficult to reinstate property taxes, and require that a portion of state-collected taxes be given back to municipalities and counties.
According to the Michigan Municipal League, the proposal would eliminate $17.5 billion in taxes statewide for counties, schools, townships, cities, and villages.