Berrien County Commissioners are looking at the possibility of a small increase in the parks millage. At this week’s board of commissioners meeting, Commissioner Bill Chickering said there are big parks expenses on the way, and more money will be needed. He told WSJM News a committee heard from Berrien County Parks Director Brian Bailey that he’s been crunching some numbers.
“Two things. One, what his project list is for capital improvements for all our county parks, which is a significant amount of money, and also would could be generated from applying a either a .05 or a .1 increase to the existing millage.”
Chickering said the parks millage can go as high as .2 mills. Right now, it’s at .1. He said a .05 increase in the assessment could raise about $450,000 per year. That’s as millions will be needed in the next five to ten years for parks maintenance and improvements. Chickering said more could be coming from the county board in the next few weeks.
