On August 4th, voters in Wayne County have the opportunity to vote for a transit millage that will connect the whole county and raise money for DDOT.

August 4th is primary day in Michigan and alongside primaries for not only governor and US Senate but the state Senate and House too, there’s a nonpartisan ballot initiative of great importance to our region: a new transit millage for Wayne County. Strong Towns Detroit strongly supports this millage and encourages all Wayne County residents to vote in favor of a more connected county. 

It is important to note that not only would passing this millage be beneficial for the county and Detroit specifically, a failure to pass this millage would cause SMART to pull out all bus service from Wayne county, including existing routes, which includes service to Dearborn, up Woodward, to the airport and more. Those existing connections are a lifeline for Detroiters with jobs outside of the city. 

Why we’re voting now:

In the last state legislature, the state passed Public Act 236 of 2024, undoing the option for communities in Wayne County to “opt out” of funding and having access to public transportation. It’s one of the reasons our area has been so disconnected and has struggled to form a regionally coherent transportation plan. Since that legislation passed, the county is now able to put countywide transit millages on the ballot, and the county, led by Commissioner Warren Evans, has opted to do so in time for this upcoming primary. 

For the first time since 1995, we have the opportunity to pass a new millage for all of Wayne County. From the Connect Wayne County website, run by our good friends at Transportation Riders United, here are the benefits each type of community would see:

“Detroit: Your tax dollars will fund improved DDOT service in the City of Detroit. You’ll also have transit access to more jobs, more schools, more shops, and more doctors as our region’s transit expands.

Suburbs with current SMART bus service: You already pay for bus service. You’ll receive expanded connections to more destinations at $0 additional cost for you!

Suburban and Rural areas without SMART service: You’ll receive new bus service, senior services, and/or Flex on-demand service funded by dollars raised in your community, for about $8 a month per household.”

More specifically, the transit millage would cost 0.98 cents per $1,000 of taxable value on property taxes. That money will fund continued operating, maintaining, improving existing services as well as expanding transit services into the former opt-out communities.

Learn more:

You can find the ballot language here, and much more information about the millage on the Connect Wayne County website.