Funding Proposal for Washtenaw County Conservation District

The Washtenaw County Conservation District (WCCD) has a long history of working with the residents of Washtenaw County to protect and preserve natural resources. They provide critical services to farmers of every scale that improve farm sustainability and financial stability. These services greatly enhance local farmers’ ability to provide fresh, healthy food to the community and helps keep farmers farming in our communities.

For non-farming citizens, the WCCD also provides resources, education and support for adopting conservation practices. They host annual native plant sales, provide resources for composting and rainwater catchment, and share education on erosion prevention, pollinator protection, and more.

This year, the WCCD is seeking support to add a new millage proposal to the state primary ballot on August 4th. This new millage, if adopted, would potentially bring in $316,000 a year for the WCCD. This would increase their capacity to serve more urban areas in the Eastern part of the county and improve their ability to rent equipment (seeders, roller crimpers, etc.) to farmers. It would also expand their ability to provide necessary programming on conservation practices like no-till, invasive species management, and more to a larger group of citizens.

The proposed millage requests .019 mill. ($.019 per $1,000 of taxable value) on a 6-year term. This equates to about  $1.90 per year for assessed property value of $100,000. So, for a property with value of $300,000, you’d be paying $5.70 per year (or the cost of one latte) for critical conservation education and resources.

Get Involved

If this proposed millage feels important to you, consider sending the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners a note. Hearing from concerned citizens in their districts goes a long way in helping the Board of Commissioners understand the value of the WCCD.

The WCCD has a 71 year history of assisting residents and landowners of Washtenaw County with the conservation, management and wise use of natural resources. They provide community-wide resource assessments, conservation resource distributions (plant sales, rain barrels, composting bins, etc.), conservation education, and one-on-one technical assistance. 

Questions about the proposed millage? Email [email protected]

Kelly Wilson is Taste the Local Difference’s Director of Community Partners. She is looking forward to the WCCD plant sale this spring so she can get plants for her creek shoreline, a few lilacs, and raspberries.