Berrien County Commissioners are looking at the possibility of a small increase in the parks millage. At a meeting of the board of commissioners last month, Commissioner Bill Chickering said there are big parks expenses on the way as various improvements at parks around the county are made. He told WSJM News he heard from Berrien County Parks Director Brian Bailey that Bailey has 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 around the county. Chickering said more could be coming from the county board soon to address the issue.
