County voters to consider millage deduction for animal shelter funding in August

SAULT STE. MARIE — On Aug. 6, Chippewa County voters will consider a property tax proposal to help fund the county’s animal shelter.

The Chippewa County Animal Shelter has been a no-kill shelter for 15 years and takes in hundreds of animals each year. The shelter offers many different services to stray animals as well as local pet owners.

Being a no-kill shelter means that animals will only be euthanized if they are already terminally ill or aggressive enough to pose a danger to the public. Other shelters may be forced to euthanize animals due to space issues, but the Chippewa County shelter has the funds to hold events and lower adoption fees when space becomes an issue.

“We don’t euthanize animals to save space. We haven’t done it in over 15 years, but the reason we can do it is because the mileage gives us health care options,” said shelter director Holly Henderson.

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The millage covers all health care provided by the shelter, including a comprehensive spay/neuter program, vaccines and other medical care. Due to an overall increase in medical costs over the past few years, in order to remain a no-kill shelter, the shelter will need to increase its funding. This is included in the millage proposal.

“The cost of our spay and neuter surgeries has nearly tripled in the last three years,” Henderson said. “If we didn’t get the award, it would dramatically change the way our program is run. Animals wouldn’t be spayed, we wouldn’t be able to do special blood work. We wouldn’t be able to do that extra care.”

If the proposal fails and the shelter doesn’t receive the increase, it will likely have to close the spay/neuter program if it can’t find the funds elsewhere. That in turn could lead to an increase in the number of cats and dogs in the area, which would also put a strain on the shelter.

The exact text of the ballot item reads: “Shall the tax limitation imposed under Article IX, Section 6 of the Michigan Constitution on general ad valorem taxes in Chippewa County, Michigan, be increased by 0.175 mills ($0.175 per $1,000 of assessed value) for a period of six years, being 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030, inclusive, to provide operating funds to the Chippewa County Animal Shelter to be used exclusively to enable the facility to not euthanize for space reasons, and to provide medical and supplemental care for the health, safety, and welfare of animals housed and cared for at the Chippewa County Animal Shelter, and to provide financial assistance to income-eligible members of the Chippewa County community for spay/neuter, and Should the county levy this millage for this purpose, thereby increasing in the first year (2025) an estimated $230,770?

— Contact Brendan Wiesner: [email protected]

This article was originally published on The Sault News: Chippewa County County voters to consider millage for animal shelter funding in August