Two Chelsea council members release an alternative to the proposed property tax increase

As the City of Chelsea is currently exploring the possibility of instituting a 12.5 mill property tax on the citizens of the city in order to fund the creation of a city school system, two council members have put together an alternative plan. 

In a joint statement released on April 27, councilmen Casey Morris and Cody Sumners outlined a different plan to the proposed property tax increase. Theirs would not require any additional taxes and and would allow the city to partner with the Shelby County Board of Education (SCBOE) to address the immediate needs of the schools.

“The citizens of Chelsea deserve to know that the taxation option being presented by the mayor is not the only option, nor is it the best option for the City of Chelsea,” Sumners said. 

Morris added, “During these times of unprecedented price increases on everything from energy to baby food, I do not feel comfortable asking our hard-working citizens for more of their paycheck.”

Here is an overview of the their proposal: 

• No additional taxes on the citizens of Chelsea
• Utilize available funds from the current one-cent education sales tax 
• Utilize available funds from current city bonds issued in October 2021 
• Leverage the current one-cent education sales tax in the bond market for improvements and renovations at the current schools in the Chelsea city limits. (The current one-cent sales tax brings in yearly revenue equivalent to 10 mills of property tax; approximately $2.2 million per year. These sales tax proceeds could easily fund bond issuances yielding up to $30 million for school projects.)
• The schools would still belong to the Shelby County Board of Education who would still make regularly scheduled upgrades. All additional funds from the City of Chelsea bonds would be for additional upgrades and renovations to the current schools to address concerns regarding the current facility needs as outlined by citizens and council members. 
• A citizen board would be established to work with local school administrators to determine the needs and priorities for the schools.
• The citizen board would then prioritize projects for the schools in the city limits of Chelsea.
• The citizen board would make a presentation/request to the SCBOE to proceed with agreed upon projects.
• The SCBOE would be responsible for all aspects of the construction.
• No funds from the bonds would be transferred to SCBOE until requested for each project, when an invoice is received from SCBOE.
• This proposal would not require any additional tax from the citizens of Chelsea and would allow much needed facilities upgrades/renovations in a much timelier manner than the current proposal for a property tax increase.
• This would allow all funding to go towards facilities issues, which have been identified as the only issue with the schools. 
• The current proposal for a property tax is primarily to cover administrative costs. This proposal does not duplicate services and allows all funding to go directly where it is actually needed.
• This proposal would allow them help bring the schools up to the expectations of the citizens of Chelsea, so that when the city is in a more financially viable place, and later revisit the city school issue and the schools will already have received the needed renovations and upgrades.
• Additionally, under the mayor’s plan, the current one-cent sales tax would no longer be available to fund current projects like the Nick Grant program. The revenue generated by those sales tax proceeds would be dedicated to funding city school overhead and capital items.

For questions or comments on this proposal, please contact Councilor Morris and/or Councilor Sumners.

Chelsea City Council, Place #1: Cody Sumners: csumners@cityofchelsea.com

Chelsea City Council, Place #5: Casey Morris: cmorris@cityofchelsea.com