Two Jackson County townships ask voters for new public-safety taxes: 1.25 mills in Liberty Township for a fire engine and a 10-year, 2-mill levy in Norvell

JACKSON, Mich. — Voters in two rural Jackson County townships will decide Nov. 3 whether to take on new property taxes for public safety: a three-year, 1.25-mill levy in Liberty Township to replace a fire engine, and a 10-year tax of up to 2 mills in Norvell Township for police, fire and ambulance service.

Both are new taxes, not renewals of existing ones, according to the ballot language in Jackson County’s official notice of election.

Liberty Township: a fire engine. The township is asking for up to 1.25 mills for three years beginning in November 2026, to be used only by the fire department as “non-operational funding” for a replacement fire engine and equipment. If approved, the tax would raise about $247,488 in the first year, the notice says.

Norvell Township: police, fire and EMS. Norvell is asking for a “new additional millage” of up to 2 mills a year for 10 years, 2026 through 2035, to operate, equip, buy for and make capital spending on police, fire and emergency medical services, including ambulance service. The township estimates it would collect about $391,000 in 2026, the first year of the levy.

What it would cost a homeowner. A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of taxable value, which in Michigan is no more than half of a home’s market value and often less. At the full rates, a home with a $100,000 taxable value would pay up to $125 a year for Liberty’s fire tax and up to $200 a year for Norvell’s public safety tax. Because both are capped (“up to”), the township boards could levy less than the maximum.

Also on Jackson County ballots. Every voter in the county will see the Central Dispatch proposal to replace the current 9-1-1 charge of up to $1.50 a month on landline, wireless and internet phone lines with one of up to $3 a month, effective July 1, 2027, with part of the new money going to replace first responders’ 10-year-old portable radios. The Mitten Daily covered that proposal Oct. 8. City of Jackson voters also decide whether to make the elected city treasurer an appointed post starting Dec. 1, 2028.

The rest of the local questions are renewals, according to the notice: Blackman Charter Township’s 0.25-mill parks tax for 10 years, 2027 through 2037, an estimated $173,538 in the first year; Concord Township’s 0.887-mill road tax for six years, 2026 through 2031, about $104,000 in 2026; and the Village of Cement City’s 4.9665-mill operating tax for 2027 and 2028, about $55,450 in the first year. Concord Community Schools (19.5461 mills for 11 years) and Jonesville Community Schools (19.5507 mills for 10 years) are seeking operating millage renewals that exempt principal residences.

How to vote. Monday, Oct. 19, was the last day to register to vote online or by mail. After that, residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency, through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Statewide early in-person voting runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1; check with your city or township clerk for early voting sites and hours. Absentee ballot applications are due by 5 p.m. Oct. 30 by mail or online, or by 4 p.m. Nov. 2 in person at the clerk’s office. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. County canvasses must finish by Nov. 17, and the Board of State Canvassers certifies statewide results by Nov. 23. Voters can check their registration and see their sample ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Updated Oct. 20, 2026: The Oct. 19 deadline to register to vote online or by mail has passed, so the voting details now say so. Residents can still register in person at their city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency through 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Sources:
Jackson County, “Notice of Election, to be held Tuesday, November 3, 2026” (ballot language for all county, township, village and school proposals), as posted by Blackman Charter Township, https://blackmantwp.com/wp-content/uploads/Notice-of-Election-November-2026.pdf; also posted by Rives Township, https://rivestownshipmi.com/wp-content/uploads/Notice-of-Election-November-2026.docx.pdf
The Mitten Daily, Jackson County 9-1-1 surcharge proposal, Oct. 8, 2026, https://themittendaily.com/stories/jackson-911-surcharge-ballot-radios-1008.html
Michigan Department of State, “Absentee voting” and election calendar (registration, early voting and absentee deadlines), https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting/absentee-voting
Photo: Dwight Burdette, “Norvell Township Hall.JPG,” Nov. 5, 2010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Norvell_Township_Hall.JPG

Jackson · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Jackson · Election 2026 · Property Taxes · Public Safety · Norvell Township · Liberty Township