Fire Protection ballots for rural property owners

    An error in ballot distribution in Phillips County was noted this week by Phillips County Clerk and Recorder Beth Zilla.
    A proposed mill levy increase in Holyoke Fire Protection District will only be voted on by landowners in the rural area of the district. However, those residing in the city of Holyoke also received the ballot by mistake.
    Ballots will be separated into buckets, and those from residents in the city of Holyoke will not have the Fire Protection District ballot counted.
    Some city residents also own property in the rural area of the fire protection district and therefore will have their ballots counted on the mill levy question.
    Zilla ensures that the process will still be confidential.
    Phillips County Assessor Doug Kamery explained that the City of Holyoke has its own mill levy, and the fire department funds are budgeted through that for city residents.
    The rural landowners in Holyoke Fire Protection District will be the only ones whose votes count on the mill levy question.
    If passed, the mill levy question will almost double the current mill levy from 1.745 to not exceed 3.5 mills.
    It will increase by $95,278 in the 2017 fiscal year and annually thereafter in the amount received each year by the additional mill levy.
    It was emphasized that the mill levy increase has nothing to do with the discussion that has been ongoing about a new fire building in Holyoke.