Chelsea Council Approves First Millage Rate Increase in Over a Decade

Chelsea City Council approved the first tax rate increase since 2012 at the May 4 meeting, raising the city’s streets and solid waste millages from 1.22 and .7355 to 1.4039 and 1.5, respectively. An increase to the city’s general fund millage, which can be used by the city to cover unforeseen costs, was not approved. Council and City Manager Elle Cole stated a need to focus on funding for upcoming road work.

“We have six years planned out,” Cole said. “We know where we’re going to attack, we know which way we’re going to go. So this is, you know, something that we can kind of count on for the years coming forward: that we’re going to keep working on our streets, because our streets really need it.”

As a part of the 2026-27 fiscal budget, the proposed projects in the city will pull approximately $799,000 from the city’s general fund.

“This is a deliberate and strategic use of reserves, not a structural failure, but it does reduce flexibility moving forward,” City Manager Elle Cole wrote in the May 4 agenda item.

Cole emphasized in the council’s packet and throughout the meeting that the increase in mills was not indicative of financial difficulty facing the city nor poor planning on the council’s part. 

“The decision before Council is not about correcting a problem, but about choosing the City’s financial posture moving forward,” she wrote. “Maintaining the current tax rate continues this approach but leaves less room to respond to unexpected costs. […] Each option supports continued service to residents; the difference is how much financial cushion the City carries into the future.”

The millage increase will not exceed the community-approved cap put into place in previous years. 

“Those rates have already been, for the lack of a better word, approved by the community in the form of a vote,” council member Felix Stump said.

Council passed the increased streets and solid waste millages unanimously.