BENZIE BUS ELECTION ON MAY 3, 2011
Please mark your calendar and be sure to vote Yes in the Benzie Bus funding election on May 3, 2011. It’s important to VOTE YES in order to keep the Benzie Bus Rolling!
BALLOT LANGUAGE & COST TO AVERAGE HOMEOWNER
Benzie County voters will consider the following proposal, summarized here (not the exact language):
• Proposal: Do you approve 0.50 mills (a “half mill” just like in 2006 ) to renew and restore operating funds for the Benzie Bus system for five years?
(Note: The proposal would renew the current tax rate and restore the small tax increment rolled back by the Headlee Amendment since the initial election in 2006.)
• If approved, this measure will raise about $541,000 in the first year & cost the owner of an average home* about $37.50/year or about a dime a day.
• If rejected, the Benzie Bus system would be able to keep the buses rolling through the summer of 2011, and then bus service would stop indefinitely until sometime after voters approve local funding again. State law limits Benzie Bus to one funding election per calendar year.
* “Average home” is assumed to be worth $150K, with a $75K taxable value.
The facts from Benzie Transportation Authority(the governing authority of the Benzie Bus) are available here to download.
Gasoline is $3.99 per gallon in parts of Benzie County this week! How long until $4 a gallon is the new normal? The good news is that there’s one price that is notrising: a $3 ride on the Benzie Bus (just $1.50 for seniors and people with disabilities). Riding the bus helps local people beat high gasoline prices and save money. And the Benzie Bus system is becoming more fuel-efficient itself, operating eight new buses that average 20 miles per gallon. To top it all off, the Benzie Bus system brings back more than $700,000 each year in state and federal matching funding – which are mostly gasoline taxes – to run the buses. That’s money that otherwise would be lost to the local economy.
Our Faces of Transit brochure is ready to be distributed around Benzie County! Email newsletter@benziebusyes.org to get your hands on this so that you can get it into the hands of your friends and neighbors so that we can ensure a YES Vote on May 3rd! You can also take a look at it here. Let’s Keep the Benzie Bus System Rolling!
Mark your calendars, as plans are brewing for a big weekend in mid-March: On Saturday, March 19, the first annual Benzie County Water Festival will be going full steam in Frankfort and Elberta. Lots of cool speakers, bands, and good clean water vibes. Check out their site here.
Then things really get rolling with the Friends of the Benzie Bus on Sunday, March 20 from 3-6 p.m., at the Cabbage Shed in Elberta, when the band Song of the Lakes take the stage to raise funds and good spirits in support of the May 3 Benzie Bus election. We will be holding a silent auction as well, and welcome your donation of any item to be auctioned. Our goal is to raise funds for “Vote Yes!” yard signs, flyers, ads, and postage to ensure that the Benzie Bus continues to operate for another 5 years! Come one, come all, come donate! And dance and have a good time!
You can download the concert poster here.
Please mark your calendar and be sure to vote in the Benzie Bus funding election on May 3, 2011. It’s important to vote and have your say!
BALLOT LANGUAGE & COST TO AVERAGE HOMEOWNER
Benzie County voters will consider the following proposal, summarized here (not the exact language):
Proposal: Do you approve 0.50 mills (a “half mill” just like in 2006 ) to renew and restore operating funds for the Benzie Bus system for five years?
(Note: The proposal would renew the current tax rate and restore the small tax increment rolled back by the Headlee Amendment since the initial election in 2006.)
- If approved, this measure will raise about $541,000 in the first year & cost the owner of an average home* about $37.50/year or about a dime a day.
- If rejected, the Benzie Bus system would be able to keep the buses rolling through the summer of 2011, and then bus service would stop indefinitely until sometime after voters approve local funding again. State law limits Benzie Bus to one funding election per calendar year.
* “Average home” is assumed to be worth $150K, with a $75K taxable value.
On May 3, 2011 Benzie County voters will decide whether to renew and restore the millage rate of 0.50 (half a mill just like 2006) to keep the buses rolling in Benzie County.
This website will seek to inform and inspire citizens to VOTE YES!
