Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) in Traverse City is considering annexation for Benzie County (BC) residents, which, in part would provide residents who attend NMC with reduced in-district tuition. Although this is a worthy goal, the annexation plan calls for a 2.05 millage increase resulting in NMC receiving approximately 3 million in tax revenue from Benzie County into NMC’s operating budget in perpetuity (i.e., FOREVER) FOR a very small number of students.This is a non-partisan issue centered around who we, as BC residents, want to control our taxes and where our money gets spent.We want to collect as many signatures as possible prior to the NMC Board meeting on Monday, April 22, 2024, when they will decide whether to move forward.
Background:
Maggie Bacon, Coordinator of BEST Benzie County along with Jack Harnish of Advocates for Benzie County—two nonprofit organizations that want to improve post-secondary access and affordability in our area—contacted NMC and asked them to consider annexation for Benzie County; NMC held listening sessions in late 2023 and early 2024 to get feedback from residents. Maggie Bacon is a former NMC employee and a resident of Leelanau County who believes annexation is the best option. Jack Harnish wrote an op-ed piece in the Record Patriot on January 10, 2024, about this annexation as one way to achieve access and affordability.[i]
NMC has stated publicly that it is interested in “enhancing” their revenue.[ii] At the last NMC Board of Trustees meeting on March 18, 2024, Troy Kierczynski, VP of Finance & Administration at NMC, made it very clear why the revenue is needed:
“The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) projects a 15% decline in Michigan HS graduates from 2019 to 2037, with a 13-year downward trend from 2024 to 2027.”[iii]NMC projects an 8% decrease in enrollments in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 and yearly decreases of 1-2% in subsequent years through 2029 leading to decreases in revenue. They are projecting a $415,126 loss for the FY 2025 budget when expenses will be more than revenue.[iv] According to a recent Record-Eagle report on March 20, 2024, NMC’s fall enrollment “peaked in 2010 at 5,440 students and has declined every year since.”[v] NMC’s enrollment in the fall of 2023 was 3,146.[vi]Last year, ONLY 30 high school graduates from Benzie County enrolled at NMC and a majority of them attend part-time. Enrollment projections over the next five years indicate that these enrollments will continue to decline as graduates make the choice not to go to college or to enroll in trade apprenticeship programs instead.
NMC, in the listening sessions, stated there are approximately 6,500 BC residents who meet the criteria (at least 21 years old without any postsecondary degree or certificate) to receive funding for free tuition through the Michigan Reconnect program, but there has been no data collected to determine how many of these eligible residents are interested in enrolling at NMC. According to the latest US census, Benzie County has 18,441 residents; 28.3% (5,218) are 65 years or over[vii] who may not be interested in a postsecondary certificate or degree.
NMC has indicated that, in addition to providing in-district tuition through annexation, the College would explore ways for NMC to use 2 million of the 3 million to have “a presence” in Benzie County. No specific details about this presence have been determined. It seems unlikely that NMC would establish a campus in Benzie County with buildings, staff, faculty and other instructional support without a significant number of residents enrolled in programs when they are having difficulty maintaining enrollment numbers at Traverse City.
Benzie residents could find that they are sending 3 million to NMC that could yield very little in return for that investment other than to offset tuition for a small number of students. BC residents will have little to no say in how that money is spent because it is the NMC Board of Trustees that decides—and there are no BC residents on the Board.
Who is impacted with the increased millage?
Every Benzie County property/homeowner and business owner who pays property taxes.
The information NMC presented at the listening sessions about how much taxes would increase for property owners is misleading. Taxes are based on taxable value and 1 mill equals $1.00 per $1,000 of taxable value. For example, if you have property that has a taxable value of $300,000, you will pay an extra $600 a year in taxes. BC taxpayers should look at their taxable value figure on the latest tax bill and do the math (Taxable Value divided by 1,000 x 2 mil). In addition, the 2 mill increase also will be assessed on area businesses including small companies; the economic engine of our area is small business and this increased millage could have a significant negative impact on them.
The 2.05 millage would be in the top four highest millages paid per property ownerin BC behind ONLY county tax (3.37 millage), state education tax (6.0), school operating (18) and NW Education services (2.88). In other words, Benzie property/business owners pay less millage for actual services all residents benefit from directly, such as road improvement, veterans benefits, school debt, animal control, public transportation, fire, library, and recycling.
What is at stake?
The bottom line: there is no guarantee what percentage of 3 million we send to NMC will be spent on Benzie County residents. And if we find that down the road, the money is not supporting our needs, we will have no recourse because the money that NMC will receive from this millage (which will increase over the years) is permanent and irrevocable—we will not be able to vote to rescind it if things do not work out.
An alternative to giving NMC this tax money would be for us to establish an educational foundation in Benzie County funded by donations that could provide money to subsidize Benzie residents enrolled in postsecondary education. There also are currently a significant number of scholarships available to Benzie County high school students who want to pursue postsecondary education that are not based on financial need[viii]; this foundation could work to connect our students with those funds. We also could ask taxpayers, with their approval, to fund a small TEMPORARY millage increase to put money into the fund and the interest earned would be used to subsidize Benzie residents. ALL of the money raised in this manner will stay in Benzie County and how that money is spent would be controlled and determined by Benzie County residents.
Why is now the time to act?
The NMC Board of Trustees is meeting on Monday, April 22, 2024, to vote on whether or not they will move forward with proposing this increased millage. A lot of time and money will need to be spent by Benzie County residents to defeat this measure once it is on the ballot. The time to stop this initiative from moving forward is NOW! Please consider:
1) signing this petition so that we can show NMC that there is not support for them to increase our taxes and send 3 million in revenue into their budget FOREVER, and
2) attending the NMC Board Meeting on April 22, 2024 (5:30 pm at NMC Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center, Room 106/107) to express your concerns.
Thank you for your time and support,
Mary Hutchinson, Concerned Benzie County Resident and Taxpayer
REFERENCES[i] “To spread the benefits of higher education,” Record Patriot, January 10, 2024. https://eedition.recordpatriot.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=d30211c0-4bde-43e1-b2b6-c4155689c776&pnum=7[ii] WPBN Traverse City/Cadillac, April 2, 2024, https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/northwestern-michigan-college-maintains-talks-on-benzie-county-campus-growth/ar-BB1l0Acf[iii] Board of Trustees Meeting Packet, March 18, 2024, p. 15, https://www.nmc.edu/about/board-of-trustees/agendas/2024/03.18.24-Board-Packet.pdf[iv] Board of Trustees Meeting Packet, March 18, 2024, p. 14, https://www.nmc.edu/about/board-of-trustees/agendas/2024/03.18.24-Board-Packet.pdf[v] “Enrollment continues to dip at NMC,” Record-Eagle, March 20, 2024. https://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/enrollment-continues-to-dip-at-nmc/article_7e680fc2-3246-5977-8c31-65ef56fea324.html[vi] Northwest Michigan College, “Facts & Statistics,” retrieved April 18, 2024. https://www.nmc.edu/about/facts/index.html[vii] United States Census Bureau, Quick Facts Benzie County Michigan, retrieved April 18, 2024, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/benziecountymichigan/PST045222[viii] Community Foundation Scholarship Guide: Regional Scholarships, https://www.gtrcf.org/userfiles/filemanager/1390/
