Election 2026 · Kalamazoo
Cooper Township’s first fire tax, a Comstock deputy levy and two school bonds top Kalamazoo County’s Nov. 3 ballot
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Property owners in two Kalamazoo County townships and two school districts will decide on Nov. 3 whether to pay more, or keep paying, for firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and school buildings — including Cooper Township’s first-ever dedicated fire tax and a $41 million Parchment schools bond that would close the district’s middle school.
The four questions are listed on the Kalamazoo County Clerk’s official notice of election alongside the two statewide proposals and the healthcare charter amendments in Kalamazoo and Portage. The Kalamazoo County Republican Party’s Nov. 2026 voter guide lists all of the county’s millage and bond questions and states that “KGOP does not endorse any millage,” while urging “no” votes on both statewide proposals and both healthcare charter questions.
Cooper Township: a new 2-mill fire tax. Cooper Charter Township asks voters to approve a new additional levy of up to 2.0 mills ($2 per $1,000 of taxable value) for 10 years, 2026 through 2035, to operate, equip and staff the fire department and build a new fire department building. The township estimates first-year revenue at about $882,000. Township Clerk DeAnna Janssen told MLive the first three years would pay for the new building and later years would go to operations. A township information poster describes the request as “2 mil @ 10 years for a 2.5 million building request and Fire Department Operations,” and says Cooper is the only government in Kalamazoo County that has never had a fire millage, paying for fire service from its general fund until rising costs, population growth and more fire calls made that “no longer possible.” Using the township’s corrected figures, the owner of property with the township’s average taxable value of $100,302 would pay about $200.60 a year; at $138,000 of taxable value, $276. The township said an earlier mailed postcard had misstated the average taxable value.
Comstock Township: renewing the deputy levy. Comstock Charter Township’s question renews — not raises — its law enforcement millage at up to 0.9920 mill, the rolled-back rate from the original 1 mill, for four years, 2026 through 2029. It is expected to raise about $813,904 in the first year for law enforcement services, part of which may be passed to Kalamazoo County or other local units. The township board voted unanimously on July 20 to place the renewal on the ballot, according to its draft minutes. The township buys road patrol from the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office; in 2025, township officials told MLive that without the levy the township would lose 24-hour coverage from a sheriff’s deputy. A proposed three-year sheriff’s contract for 2027 through 2029, covering the equivalent of four full-time deputies under a “true cost of services” model, was under board review this summer, Public Media Network reported.
Parchment schools: $41 million, close two buildings. Parchment School District asks to borrow up to $41 million for additions, remodeling, instructional technology and playgrounds. The ballot language estimates a 2027 levy of 3.95 mills and an average of 5.51 mills a year over the life of the debt, with bonds outstanding up to 30 years; it lists $15.28 million in qualified bonds and about $10.19 million in qualified loans already outstanding. FOX 17 reported the plan would close the middle school and the Parchment Innovation Center, move seventh and eighth graders into a separate $14 million wing at the high school, and spend $8 million at Northwood Elementary and $17 million at North Elementary, and that a conservative estimate puts the cost at roughly $25 a month for most homeowners. Superintendent Sarah Neumann told the station, “Our middle school is our most costly building to maintain. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars just in maintenance fees.” Some parents have questioned putting middle and high schoolers in one building; Neumann said the wing would have its own entrance and be largely separated from the main campus. District voters last approved a bond in 2007, according to the district.
Comstock schools: $23.7 million, no rate increase claimed. Comstock Public Schools seeks up to $23.7 million for remodeling and additions, school safety and security, buses, technology and athletic fields. The ballot language estimates 0.43 mill in 2027 for “a 0.00 mill net increase over the prior year’s levy” and an average of 1.23 mills a year to retire the debt. The district’s FAQ says the bonds would be sold in three series in 2027, 2029 and 2031, and that the 2027 total debt levy would be about 5.11 mills, the same as now. Its project list includes $6 million for heating and cooling at Comstock High School, a $15 million addition for an early childhood center, and $1 million for a door-barricade system that alerts police when activated. Voters should note that “no increase” refers to the tax rate: the proposal still adds up to $23.7 million in new debt repaid by district property owners.
Elsewhere on Kalamazoo County ballots. Schoolcraft Community Schools asks to renew 19.978 mills on non-homestead property for 10 years, and voters in the Allegan Area Educational Service Agency see two restoration millages of 0.1699 mill for special education and 0.0994 mill for career and technical education, each for eight years. City of Kalamazoo and Portage voters decide the healthcare action charter proposals The Mitten Daily previewed Friday. Every Michigan ballot also carries Proposal 1 on a constitutional convention and Proposal 2 on utility and contractor donations. The KGOP guide notes that Comstock, Cooper and several other communities are not part of the county’s shared early voting agreement, so residents there should check with their township clerk for early voting locations.
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. 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 canvassers 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:
Kalamazoo County Clerk, Notice of Election for the Nov. 3, 2026 General Election (all county ballot proposals, Schoolcraft and Allegan AESA millage rates, polling places, clerks), published via Cooper Charter Township, https://www.coopertwp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/NOTICE-OF-ELECTION.pdf
Cooper Charter Township, Fire Department millage information poster (ballot language, $882,000 estimate, $2.5 million building, average taxable value, general-fund history), https://www.coopertwp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/FD-Millage-Poster-Final.pdf
Cooper Charter Township, “Fire & Rescue Millage Proposal Information Postcard,” Sept. 28, 2026 (corrected average taxable value; $200.60 and $276 examples), https://www.coopertwp.org/fire-rescue-millage-proposal-information-postcard/
MLive, “New tax would fund new firehouse in Cooper Township,” Oct. 15, 2026 (Clerk DeAnna Janssen on first millage, building and operations), https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2026/10/new-tax-would-fund-new-firehouse-in-cooper-township.html
Charter Township of Comstock, Aug. 19, 2026 board packet with draft July 20, 2026 minutes (Resolution #2026-11, unanimous vote, 0.9920-mill rolled-back renewal), https://comstockmi.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/7ee96937-1274-11f1-bb28-005056a89546-c256b283-0b6f-4e27-a8f4-d7e887787c27-1787091290.pdf
Public Media Network, “Comstock Township advances police millage, fire station bid; sheriff contract still under review” (four years, $813,904 estimate, draft 2027–2029 sheriff contract), https://publicmedianet.org/news/community/comstock-township-advances-police-millage-fire-station-bid-sheriff-contract-still-under-review/
MLive, “Kalamazoo County township approves tax hike for police coverage,” Oct. 2025 (24-hour deputy coverage tied to the levy), https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2025/10/kalamazoo-county-township-approves-tax-hike-for-police-coverage.html
The Gist, Parchment School District bond proposal, official ballot language (3.95 and 5.51 mills, 30 years, outstanding debt), https://thegist.vote/question/2026-general-mi/kalamazoo-local-school-district-parchment-school-district-bond-proposa
FOX 17, Julie Dunmire, “Parchment voters to decide on $41M school bond that would close middle school,” Oct. 9, 2026 (building plan, $25-a-month estimate, Neumann quotes, parent concerns), https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kzoo-bc/kalamazoo/parchment-voters-to-decide-on-41-million-school-bond-that-would-close-the-middle-school
Parchment School District, district news feed (last bond approved in 2007), https://www.parchmentschools.org/live-feed/
The Gist, Comstock Public Schools bond proposal, official ballot language (0.43 mill, 0.00 net increase, 1.23 mills), https://thegist.vote/question/2026-general-mi/kalamazoo-local-school-district-comstock-public-schools-bond-proposal
Comstock Public Schools, 2026 Bond FAQ and Proposed Improvements (bond series, 5.11-mill total, project list), https://www.comstockps.org/District/vote2026/2026_bond_faq and https://www.comstockps.org/District/vote2026/proposed_improvements
Kalamazoo County Republican Party, 2026 KGOP Kalamazoo County Voter Guide, Sept. 22, 2026 (no millage endorsements; proposal recommendations; early voting agreement note), https://kgop.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Final-KGOP-Voter-Guide-Nov.-2026-1.pdf
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: MSwierenga, “Kalamazoo County Courthouse 2024.jpg,” March 27, 2024, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0 public domain dedication (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/), cropped, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalamazoo_County_Courthouse_2024.jpg
