Tag Archives: Primary Election

Ready by Five: Kent County to decide on renewal of early childhood millage

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On the Aug. 6 primary election ballot will be the renewal of the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage (Courtesy, FSK)



By Ty Marzean

WKTV Contributing Writer


Kent County residents will have the opportunity to vote on several party nominations and millages in the Aug. 6 primary election.

On the ballot will be the renewal of the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage, which is funded by a 0.25 mill property tax increase. For example, the owner of a home valued at $300,000 will pay approximately $37.50 annually, or $3.13 per month.

If passed, the millage will run through 2030.

(Courtesy, FSK)

Think long-term investment

The Ready by Five millage is facilitated by First Steps Kent (FSK), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to giving children access to the necessary policies, programs, and support systems to thrive and be developmentally on track when they start kindergarten, according to their website.

The economic impact of an early childhood millage can yield some results in the short-term, but long-term results are the true goal of the millage, according to Jennifer Headley-Nordman, President of First Steps Kent.

“Some of the research that we share is from economist James Heckman looking at longitudinal data,” said Headley-Nordman.

Results of the James Hekman study (Courtesy, FSK)

“If you make investments in early childhood later on when they are 18 and beyond, you begin to see improved graduation rates, lower incarceration, seeing individuals having better attainment in continued education or in the workforce.”

Ready by Five funds a wide range of early childhood programs, including services for expectant parents, play-and-learn groups, and intensive therapy for children grappling with behavioral health issues.

“For individual programs, returns can be anywhere from $3 to $7 for every $1 spent. You are getting more than double in return. If a child has additional needs and layers, services can return $12-$15,” said Headley-Nordman.

Pennies today can save thousands in the future

A child who receives help for early childhood delays at a young age can often overcome those delays more effectively than if they are addressed later in the school system.

“If you can remediate speech and language delays and improve fine motor skills when kids are young and eager to learn, they are less likely to need robust special education services that can be extremely expensive,” said Headley-Nordman.

Receiving help at an early age can save money in the future (Courtesy, FSK)

How the millage works

In order to receive funding through the Ready by Five millage, community programs are required to first submit data and receipts to FSK for review and approval.

“Our process is a reimbursement model,” Headley-Nordman said. “When organizations request funds, they spend their own money first, and then provide us receipts and evidence that they have spent money in accordance with how they said they would as part of the contract.”

2018 millage produces change 

The Ready by Five millage was approved by Kent County voters in 2018, and its first class of kindergarteners have excelled due to that funding.

“We finally had a group of kids reach kindergarten, so we had a group of kids that received Ready by Five funds, and we are able to see there is positive momentum with the kids that did benefit from funding,” Headley-Nordman said.

Supporting the community

Some in Kent County may be hesitant to add more to their taxes, but Headley-Nordman urges them to think about the long-term benefits to the community when it comes to the Ready by Five millage.

Working together helps the entire community (Courtesy, FSK)

“Being able to share the cost of supporting programs and services that individuals in the community need for their children makes a lot of sense,” said Headley-Nordman. “If you look at this from an economic standpoint it allows those services to be low cost or free to everyone, not just for particular individuals that are benefiting from it.

“We all need help at one time or another. It’s who we are in Kent County. Kent County has a history that we all help each other out.”

First Steps Kent resources

FSK offers various resources and initiatives, and provides funding opportunities for early childhood programs and initiatives. FSK also seeks parent leaders to serve on its Resident Proposal Review Board.

Community members are encouraged to learn more about First Steps Kent, and sign up for updates, at firststepskent.org.

Learn more about the Ready by Five millage in this short WKTV Journal interview with Jennifer Headley-Nordman.

Wyoming city leaders express their ‘thanks’ to voters for approving public safety renewal

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Wyoming voters approved a permanent millage renewal for its public safety at the primary election.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

As Wyoming Public Safety officers and city leaders visited block parties and participated in activities for the annual National Night Out event last night, residents headed in record numbers to the polls to overwhelmingly approved the permanent renewal of the dedicated 1.25 mills for its public safety department.

 

A total of 11,432 people voted in Tuesday’s primary election, which determined party candidates for a number of races. That is 22.9 percent of the registered voters in Wyoming coming to the polls. The proposal passed 7,306 to 2,223.

 

The percentage turnout was one of the highest the city has seen in the past four primary elections, said City Clerk Kelli Vandenberg. In 2010, when Gov. Rick Snyder first ran, the city had a 20.1 percent voter turnout. In 2012, it was 9.26 percent, 2014, it was 13.5 percent and 2016, when President Donald Trump was elected, it was 10.6 percent.

 

“In talking to several other clerks in the area, the comment was it definitely felt more like a general election than a primary election,” Vandenberg said.

 

Indication that it could be busy primary election day started with the absentee ballots. The city received 2,261 absentee ballots which was about 600 more than in 2016. As to why the high turnout, VandernBerg said there could be a number of reasons such as the fact that there was a term-limited governor and this was the first time the Libertarian Party was included on the ticket.

 

As to the city millage renewal request, VandenBerg said it was certainly a nice surprise to see at the end of a very long night. City officials had no indication as to how the millage renewal would go as there was little commenting, except for a few positive posts on the city’s Facebook page, and no formal opposition presented.

 

This morning, city leadership expressed gratitude for the community’s continual support and stated they look forward to maintaining the excellent public safety programs and initiatives developed since the initial millage was first approved in 2010.

 

“We are pleased with last evening’s results and want to thank everyone who came out to vote yesterday,” says Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll. “Over the years, we have worked hard to be good stewards of the funding this millage provides, and it is clear our residents recognize we’ve made good on our promises.”

 

Public Safety Chief Kim Koster concurs with Mayor Poll’s sentiments, remarking the Public Safety Department’s efforts to work more closely with residents are bringing about excellent results for the community as a whole.

 

“Safety is at the core of the City’s mission, and the public safety millage allows us to maintain funding for critical services and programs,” Koster said. “We are fortunate to have the confidence of our residents and businesses, who continue to support our officers and firefighters. We look forward to working with the entire community to ensure Wyoming remains safe and welcoming.”

 

Following are some of the Public Safety Department’s accomplishments since the dedicated millage was first approved in 2010:

  • Achieved and maintained Gold-Standard police accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., putting the department in the top one percent of law enforcement agencies nationwide
  • Provided a professional public safety response to more than 37,000 calls for service every year
  • Implemented efforts to visit every school in Wyoming each school day, totaling 5,738 school visits last year
  • Conducted daily and nightly visits to businesses, making 8,606 contacts and 6,852 closed business checks in 2017
  • Equipped every police cruiser with an automated external defibrillator, or AED,  as well as supplying every officer with Naloxone, which reverses the effects of overdoses
  • Increased forensic laboratory capabilities providing faster, more comprehensive results which have contributed to a higher success rate in solving crime
  • Reduced response times with the 24/7 operation of the Gezon Fire Station and the addition of two quick-response vehicles, or QRVs
  • Added three full-time fire fighters
  • Utilized part-time employees to implement a peak load staffing model which employs more staff during times of high call volume
  • Crossed-trained and licensed 22 City employees as fire fighters and utilized paid-on-call staff
  • Secured grants that allowed staff to become licensed as EMTs and purchase CPR assisted compression device

Snapshots: News you need to know from Wyoming and Kentwood

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WKTV Staff

victoria@wktv.org

 

Here’s what’s happening this week…

Corpse Flower set to bloom — and stink — at Meijer Gardens

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park will bloom of a rare Amorphophallus titanum, commonly known as a corpse flower, a bloom 18 years in the making.

 

 

GRandJazzFest seeks volunteers for August event

GRandJazzFest presented by the DTE Energy Foundation seeks volunteers to help at the festival Aug. 18 and 19 at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids.

 

Bicycling Dos and Don’ts

Summertime and kids on bikes go hand in hand. Here’s how to keep your kids safe.

 

 

 

 

Are you registered to vote in Michigan’s Aug. 7th primary election? Deadline is July 9th

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By WKTV Staff

 

You can help create the change you want to see by holding your local and state officials accountable — but to do that, you must first be registered to vote; then, you must actually vote. The deadline for registering to vote in Michigan’s Aug. 7th primary election is Monday, July 9th.

 

Not sure you’re registered? There’s an easy way to find out. According to Robert J. Macomber, Chief Deputy County Clerk, residents can visit www.Michigan.gov/vote to check their registration, find the address of their local clerk or obtain the mail-in voter registration application. It will also tell you your polling location.

Fun fact: Women suffragettes
were jailed and force fed for 3 weeks for the right to vote.

“First-time voters who register by mail must vote in person in their first election, unless they hand-deliver the application to their local clerk, are 60 years old or older, are disabled or are eligible to vote under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act,” says Macomber.

 

Click on Kent County’s Elections page https://www.accesskent.com/Departments/Elections/ to learn more about the August Primary here in Kent County, view your sample ballot, or find your polling location.

 

Stay informed… and be involved. Don’t miss your chance to have a say in how your state government represents you.

Godwin voters will head to the polls today to vote on renewal of operating millage

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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

The second Tuesday of the month is always the primary election and while this year is certainly not as busy as the 2017 primary election, there is one issue on the ballot that Godwin Heights Public Schools is rallying voters in its district to get out and vote on.

 

The school district is seeking a renewal of its operating millage. The proposal would allow the district to continue to levy a rate not to exceed 18 mills on all property, except primary residences and other property exempted by law, required to receive the state per pupil foundation allowance.

 

According to school officials this is not a new tax and it is not a tax on primary residences. If you can answer no to owning commercial/industrial property, vacation property, rental property or a second home in the Godwin Heights area, then the non-homestead property tax does not apply to you, according to school officials.

 

The proposal does include an additional three mills to help recover reductions from the Headlee rollback. The Headlee rollback was approved in 1978 by Michigan voters and provides provisions on state and local taxes.

 

The request is for 10 years. The estimated revenue in the first year for the district is about $2.94 million.

 

Those voting on the Godwin Heights proposal are in the following city precincts: Precincts 1 and 2 are voting at the Godwin Physical Education Building, 31 36th St. SW; Precinct 3 are voting at Gethsemane Lutheran, 3152 Clyde Park SW; Precinct 5 are voting at the Grand Valley Armory, 1200 44th St. SW; Precinct 9 are voting at the Kentwood Community Church, 2950 Clyde Park SW; and Precinct 19 are voting at the KDL Wyoming Library Branch, 3350 Michael Ave. SW. Polls for the primary election will be open from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Wyoming Bond Proposal passes

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WKTV takes seriously its role as a communications provider. We want our community to be well informed and more involved in local matters.

 

Bond Proposal – Yes

 

Bond

This proposal will allow the school district to continue to levy the statutory rate of not to exceed 18 mills on all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, required for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance.