Michigan › Oakland County › Southeast Michigan Public Historical Museum Authority Millage Proposal
Southeast Michigan Public Historical Museum Authority Millage Proposal
Southeast Michigan Public Historical Museum Authority · Oakland County · on the November 3, 2026 ballot in Addison Township, Auburn Hills City, Berkley City, Birmingham City, Bloomfield Hills City, Bloomfield Township, Brandon Township, Clarkston City, Clawson City, Commerce Township and 41 more.
Southeast Michigan Public Historical Museum Authority Millage Proposal
NEW 0.2-mill, 10-year tax (2026–2035) creating the Southeast Michigan Public Historical Museum Authority to fund the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Historical Museum and Dossin Great Lakes Museum; 15% of each county's revenue goes to other local historical museums. Residents get free admission.
Cost to you: About $30/year on a $300,000 home (advocates' estimate).
Official ballot language
The Southeast Michigan Public Historical Museum Authority (“Authority”) is a joint authority established by Wayne and Oakland Counties (“Counties”) pursuant to Michigan Public Act 321 of the Public Acts of 2000, as amended, and was formed to support the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Historical Museum, Dossin Great Lakes Museum, and other public historical museums located in Wayne and Oakland Counties (“Historical Museums”) that provide historical museum services for students, residents and visitors of the Counties. The law allows the Authority to seek authorization from the electors in each of the Counties to levy a tax of 0.2 mill (20 cents per $1,000 of taxable value) on taxable property to provide revenue for Historical Museums. It is estimated that if approved and levied, this new millage on all taxable property located within Oakland County would generate approximately $17,733,800 in 2026. In addition to supporting the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit Historical Museum, and Dossin Great Lakes Museum, 15% of revenues received by the Authority from taxable property in Oakland County, after Authority administrative expenses, will be disbursed to the County of Oakland for the purposes of supporting Historical Museums in Oakland County. Shall a 0.2 mill tax on all taxable property located within Oakland County be imposed by the Authority for a period of ten (10) years, being years 2026 through 2035, inclusive, to provide historical museum services for the benefit of the residents of the Counties?
How we grade proposals
Plain-English summaries and the YES/NO explanations are ours; the ballot language above is the official text from the Michigan Secretary of State sample ballot. Confirm with your clerk if anything differs on your ballot.