County may put drug task force tax hike on August ballot

St. Clair County voters may consider a tax increase for the sheriff department drug task force in the Aug. 2 election.

Sheriff Tim Donnellon's proposal to double the tax, from 0.28 mills to 0.56 mills, will be considered by the full board of commissioners April 21. It was moved through during Thursday's regular committee meetings.

Donnellon said the county has never asked for an increase in the 35 years the tax has been levied.

While the county continues to “have a significant issue with meth labs,” heroin, prescription drugs and “unprecedented numbers” related to crack cocaine, he said the task force — typically staffed on the lower end between nine to a dozen individuals — is spread thin.

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“(We’re often) running from one end of the county to the other,” Donnellon said. “There is not a day that we couldn’t serve a search warrant on any of those drugs, it’s just a matter of having the (manpower).”

With the boost to DTF funding, Donnellon said the team could cover more ground.

The current tax collects roughly $1.5 million a year, and the increase would generate just more than $3 million, he said.

Presently, the DTF tax means about $14 a year to the owner of a $100,000 home, while the increased tax would cost that same owner $28.

County Board Chairman Jeff Bohm and Commissioner Howard Heidemann were absent Thursday, but the remaining board agreed to send the millage increase to the full board. Commissioners next meet April 21.

Additionally on Thursday, commissioners took final action on a job description and complete hiring time line, approving the items, to replace Administrator Bill Kauffman, who will retire June 1.

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Officials agreed previously to search internally for candidates.

The description OK’d includes a projected wage range of $99,870 to $131,422. Kauffman’s last contract approved in 2014 included a salary of $112,297.

The projected timeline calls for the position to be posted Friday with resumes due April 20 and interviewees to be selected during the April 21 regular board meeting.

A special meeting for final interviews and candidate selection would be set May 5 and a selection would be made May 19 with the individual starting the following Monday.

"There would be a couple weeks of overlap with Mr. Kauffman to make for a smooth transition," said Commissioner Karl Tomion, who has spearheaded the process.

Commissioners also agreed to move a renewal for a veterans affairs tax to the full board.

That tax would be put on the ballot in August, asking voters to renew 0.1 mills for another six years. The tax would generate $562,824 in 2017, if approved, and cost a $100,000 homeowner $5 annually.

St. Clair County Veterans Affairs Director Chris Smith said the tax will help maintain normal operations.

Earlier this week, he said volunteers usually drive veterans to medical appointments to Veterans Administration hospitals in Detroit and Ann Arbor at least three to four times a week, and that three accredited benefits counselors see roughly two vets a day, plus walk-ins.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.