DETROIT, Mich. — Metro Detroit voters delivered a pair of cultural funding wins on Nov. 3, clearing a first-ever millage for major Detroit history museums and renewing the tax that underwrites the Detroit Zoo.
Unofficial tallies with most Wayne County precincts in showed the regional historical museum authority millage ahead in Wayne County by about 66 percent to 34 percent. Oakland County also said yes near 55 percent to 45 percent, and the levy needed both counties before it could take effect.
Backers project about $30 million in year one, with roughly $17.7 million from Oakland and $12.2 million from Wayne. Fifteen percent of the take is reserved for community history museums scattered across the two counties, while the rest is aimed at Detroit’s African American history museum, the city’s main historical museum, and the Great Lakes museum on Belle Isle.
Museum organizers said free admission for county residents starts Dec. 1, with free tour rides for seniors and students and new teaching tools for classrooms. Both the African American history museum and the city historical society are already offering free entry through the weekend.
The Detroit Zoo renewal also swept Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Wayne County returns were near 74 percent yes on the 0.10-mill zoological authority tax. Oakland was about 72 percent yes and Macomb about 69 percent. Voters first approved that zoo tax in 2008 and last renewed it in 2016; the new cycle runs from 2028 through 2037 and is expected to bring in about $18.8 million in its first year.
Zoo leaders plan to use the money to look after a collection of some 2,000 animals from more than 200 species and to keep education programs going. On a $200,000 home the zoo renewal costs about $10 a year, while the museum levy is roughly $20 on each $100,000 of taxable value.
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