A major financial problem is now staring the city of Benton Harbor in the face, as voters have rejected a pair of millage renewals. Mayor James Hightower says this means there will likely be an immediate effect on city services, and he is heartbroken by the defeat.
The millages were not increases. Hightower says there were city commissioners actively campaigning to defeat the millages, but would not say who they were. He says now, the city's revenues will be roughly half of what they were when the financial emergency was declared, and that means Benton Harbor won't be out from under state control for years. The mayor says the drop in property taxes will be immediate and will cost the city over one million dollars a year.
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The millages were not increases. Hightower says there were city commissioners actively campaigning to defeat the millages, but would not say who they were. He says now, the city's revenues will be roughly half of what they were when the financial emergency was declared, and that means Benton Harbor won't be out from under state control for years. The mayor says the drop in property taxes will be immediate and will cost the city over one million dollars a year.
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