Grand Traverse County voters face a new $2.6 million-a-year trails tax, a higher 911 phone charge and a BATA renewal on Nov. 3

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Grand Traverse County voters will be asked Nov. 3 to approve the county’s first countywide trails tax, a higher monthly 911 charge on every phone line, a reset of the conservation district’s property tax and a renewal for the Bay Area Transportation Authority, according to the county clerk’s list of 2026 proposals. The trails tax drew two no votes from county commissioners, who said people who never use the trails shouldn’t be asked to pay for them.

A new trails tax. The trails millage would levy up to 0.3 mill, or 30 cents per $1,000 of taxable value, for six years, 2026 through 2031. The county estimates it would raise $2,635,012 in its first year and cost the owner of a property with a $100,000 market value (taxable value $50,000) about $15 a year. The money could pay for building multi-use trails and trailheads, planning and engineering, capital replacement, buying property and rights-of-way “from willing landowners,” maintenance such as mowing and snow removal, and program administration, according to the county’s proposal page. The Ticker reported that the program would be run by a Trail Millage Coordinator, likely TART Trails, under a professional services agreement with the county, with a community advisory committee recommending projects and commissioners giving final spending approval. By state law, part of the revenue may be captured by the county’s brownfield authority and the Kingsley, Fife Lake and Interlochen downtown development authorities, the ballot language says.

Two no votes on the board. Commissioners voted 5-2 on July 15 to send the tax to voters after shortening it from 10 years to six. Board Chair Scott Sieffert and Commissioner Rob Hentschel voted no, and Commissioners Darryl Nelson and Fern Spence were absent, the Traverse City Record-Eagle and The Ticker reported. “When we go to millages, you end up with 51 percent of people wanting something and 100 percent paying for it,” Hentschel said, according to UpNorthLive. “There’s a lot of people in this county that don’t use the trails, they’re not connected to the trails, their houses are far from the trails and it’s just not part of their life. I don’t think it’s right to ask them to pay for something that a small number of people use.” He told 9&10 News, “I support the trails. Just for me personally, raising taxes is not the way to fund it.” Sieffert said he didn’t see constituents in his district using the trail system, The Ticker reported. Opponents at the meeting also raised concerns about taxpayers on fixed incomes, according to 9&10 News.

The case for it. TART Trails CEO Julie Clark told commissioners the tax would fill a gap many residents assume is already covered. “Most trail users assumed that there was already a dedicated public funding source for trails,” Clark said, according to 9&10 News. “The reality is there isn’t.” Commissioner Ashlea Walter, who voted yes, compared it to other county levies. “There’s a lot of millages and not everybody uses those,” she said, according to UpNorthLive. “Not everybody has a kid in school.” Vice Chair T.J. Andrews proposed the shorter six-year term, saying it would “provide accountability on whether it’s working,” The Ticker reported. Clark said TART preferred 10 years but could accept six, 9&10 News reported. Megan Motil, treasurer of the Friends of Grand Traverse Trails, which backs the tax, told Interlochen Public Radio that “our trails don’t really recognize city or township borders.”

A higher 911 charge on every phone. A second county question would let Grand Traverse County charge up to $3 a month on every landline, wireless and internet phone line for 10 years, from July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2037, to pay for the facilities, equipment, maintenance and operation of county 911 dispatch. That would raise the current $2.50 charge by up to 50 cents per device per month, the ballot language says. By The Mitten Daily’s math, a household with four cellphones would pay up to $144 a year at the full rate, $24 more than it pays now.

Conservation district: a renewal and a reset. The Grand Traverse Conservation District’s question would renew its tax for 10 years, 2026 through 2035, and restore it to the original voter-approved 0.1 mill after required rollbacks cut it to 0.0932 mill. The county estimates it would raise $871,492 in the first year and cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $5 a year. The millage, first approved in 2018, pays for about one-third of the district’s budget, Interlochen Public Radio reported.

BATA renewal. Voters in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties will also decide whether the Bay Area Transportation Authority can keep levying up to 0.4589 mill for seven years, 2028 through 2034, to fund bus service and rides for seniors and people with disabilities. The ballot calls it a renewal of the 0.4788 mill that voters approved, reduced to 0.4589 mill under the Headlee Amendment, and estimates first-year revenue at $6,041,755. BATA says the millage makes up 45% of its budget, Interlochen Public Radio reported. By The Mitten Daily’s math, 0.4589 mill comes to about $23 a year on a $50,000 taxable value.

Adding it up. For the owner of a home with a $50,000 taxable value, the new trails tax and the conservation district tax would together cost about $20 a year in 2026, based on the county’s own estimates, with the BATA renewal continuing an existing levy from 2028. Each of the three property tax questions would also be partly captured by tax increment financing authorities. Not on this ballot: a possible county housing millage that housing advocate Kate Redman told commissioners in July she would bring to the board, according to 9&10 News. No housing question appears on the county’s November proposal list.

Also on Up North ballots. Traverse City voters decide City Proposal 1, a 20-year extension of the downtown TIF plan. Whitewater Township voters are asked to renew an ambulance millage at 1.3787 mills for four years, 2026 through 2029, raising an estimated $473,621 in 2026, according to the county list. Statewide, voters decide the governor’s race, where Republican John James is pitching an income tax cut against Democrat Jocelyn Benson, the attorney general’s race, Proposal 1 on calling a constitutional convention and Proposal 2 on utility and contractor campaign donations.

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:
Grand Traverse County, “2026 Proposals” (BATA, 911 surcharge, Conservation District, Trails, Traverse City and Whitewater Township ballot language), https://www.gtcountymi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/25821/2026-PROPOSALS
Grand Traverse County, “November 3, 2026 General Election” candidates and proposals, https://www.gtcountymi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/25783/General-Election-2026-Candidates
Engage GTCounty, “Grand Traverse County Trails Millage Proposal,” https://engage.gtcountymi.gov/trails-millage
Engage GTCounty, “Grand Traverse Conservation District Millage Proposal,” https://engage.gtcountymi.gov/gtcd
9&10 News, Nicholas Simon, “Grand Traverse commissioners advance housing plan, send trails millage to November ballot,” July 15, 2026, https://www.9and10news.com/2026/07/15/grand-traverse-commissioners-advance-housing-plan-send-trails-millage-to-november-ballot/
UpNorthLive (WPBN/WGTU), Kody Bair, “Grand Traverse County voters to decide on trail millage in November election,” July 15, 2026, https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/grand-traverse-county-voters-to-decide-on-trail-millage-in-november-election
The Ticker, “County Commissioners Adopt Trail Millage, Housing Resolutions; Receive Update on Gov Center Repairs,” https://www.traverseticker.com/news/county-commissioners-adopt-trail-millage-housing-resolutions-receive-update-on-gov-center-repairs/
Traverse City Record-Eagle, Aly Kleidon, “Grand Traverse County: Trails millage request heads to voters,” July 16, 2026, https://www.record-eagle.com/news/local_news/grand-traverse-county-trails-millage-request-heads-to-voters/article_52ee6654-68f2-4d30-8ff8-3c8993e14bdf.html
Interlochen Public Radio, Vivian La, “Grand Traverse County voters to decide on trails, conservation districts and transportation this November,” Sept. 17, 2026, https://www.interlochenpublicradio.org/ipr-news/2026-09-17/grand-traverse-county-voters-to-decide-on-trails-conservation-districts-and-transportation-this-november
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: Phoenix-Five, “Boardman Lake Trail Traverse City.jpg,” Aug. 9, 2022, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), cropped and resized; derivative shared under the same license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boardman_Lake_Trail_Traverse_City.jpg

Up North · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Up North · Election 2026 · Millage · Taxes · Grand Traverse County · Trails