School millage proposal gets voted down by voters

An anonymous flier was distributed to select households urging a “no” vote on the school millage proposal.

By Charles Sercombe
A last-minute stealth – and possibly illegal – campaign against the public school district’s millage proposal election paid off.
The millage proposal, which was voted on Tuesday, was defeated by 144 votes.
Some 528 voters opposed the millage while 384 approved it.
Just two days before the election it appeared that voters with Bengali or Arabic last names, according to City Clerk August Gitschlag, received an anonymous flier telling them that they will save $500 a year in property taxes by voting against it.
The anonymous campaign literature violates state law that says:
“All printed matter having reference to a candidate, election or a ballot question, including yard signs, brochures, billboards, poll cards, business cards, fund raiser tickets, stationery, etc., must contain the words: ‘Paid for by’ followed by the full name of the person or committee paying for the material and the person’s or committee’s street number or post office box, city or town, state and zip code.”
Whoever is responsible for the flier could face misdemeanor charges.
Sources in the Bengali community, who asked not to be identified, confirmed their community was targeted by those opposed to the school millage. The flier urged voters to reject the ballot proposal in both the English and Bengali languages.
The Bengali community could have been targeted because it has become Hamtramck’s largest acting voting bloc in recent years and can easily sway an election.
Gitschlag said he will turn over a flier to the Attorney General’s Office.
The claim that homeowners would save $500 a year by rejecting the tax millage is not true. The tax millage was paid by only by those who own commercial properties or rental dwellings. Homeowners who live in their home and receive a Homestead tax exemption do not pay the tax.
Public Schools Superintendent Tom Niczay was outraged over the deception.
“The last minute campaign flier is a cowardly act because it does not identify who sent it,” Niczay said. “The ballot language was clear. The non-homestead millage renewal was just that, a renewal. No tax increase. To say Hamtramck Public Schools wanted to increase taxes again is a flat out lie. An outrageous ignorant lie.”
Despite the defeat, Niczay said the district will try again to pass the millage in the next upcoming election date, which is the August Primary.
“We ran a truthful Non-Homestead Millage campaign. Those opposing the Non-Homestead did not,” Niczay said. “We will be successful in our next campaign. We will remain truthful. We will remain strong. The truth always wins out in the end.”
The tax in question does not end until next December. The 18.18 mills produce almost $2 million a year.
The loss in revenue cannot be made up by other revenue streams, which could mean massive cuts if voters continue to reject the millage renewal.
Turnout for the election was expected to be light, but the anti-millage flier apparently caught the attention of a number of voters. Gitschlag said a number of Bengali voters came into city hall, holding a flier, and asking what precinct to vote in.

The use of anonymous literature is not entirely new to Hamtramck, but it has been used relatively few times in recent elections.
City Councilmembers Anam Miah and Mohammed Hassan spoke out against the flier and in favor of the millage at Tuesday’s council meeting.
“We need the schools for our kids,” Miah said.
Hassan said the millage is only a renewal.
“It’s nothing new,” he said. “If you paid the tax for the last 10 years, what is the big deal?”
Both Miah and Hassan said they did not know who was behind the negative campaign literate.
Miah questioned if it was someone from outside the community with “corrupt” intentions.
“Give the people the right information and let them vote the way they see fit,” Miah said.