Kalamazoo voters will decide on a millage in August that aims to use local tax dollars to improve childcare in the county.
The childcare millage would generate about $6 million a year for programs to lower the cost of childcare and improve childcare worker wages.
Supporters say this would make it easier for Kalamazoo parents to find affordable childcare and remain in the workforce. Two other counties in Michigan—Leelanau and Kent counties—have similar local funding for early childhood programs.
Jen Stroven leads Yes for Families, which is campaigning for the millage. She said there’s been a national uptick in pursuing local support for social programs as state and national funding has become less reliable.
“This sort of willingness to look to our local government to see what can be done with a very small tax, household property tax, is more viable now I think because of that disinvestment and the things that are happening at the federal level,” she said.
According to the Children’s Funding Project, there are over 50 voter-approved funds around the country that support early childhood programs.
The Michigan economy loses nearly $3 billion a year due to the impact of childcare issues on the state workforce, according to the Kalamazoo Childcare Coalition.
John Gisler is one of three Kalamazoo County commissioners who opposed putting the millage on the ballot. He said he supports the cause, but believes residents of the county are already overtaxed, and the county should prioritize childcare in its current budget.
"The people of Kalamazoo county are very generous. They vote themselves new taxes constantly," he said. "This is one that, while it’s a very worthwhile thing, let’s find the money in that big budget now, and if that means something else is going to have to get reduced or cancelled, so be it."
The millage would raise taxes about $50 a year on the average $200,000 home. The funds would be allocated by the county.
Beth Berglin is a co-founder and policy director of the Michigan Transformation Collective. The advocacy group worked with the local coalition that helped create the millage. She has also been a childcare worker. She said one reason childcare is hard to find is because there is not enough supply to meet the demand—because low wages make it hard for workers to stay in the field. More than two-thirds of childcare providers in Kalamazoo make less than $15 an hour, and over half qualify for at least one public benefit.
“People who walk dogs, people who work in dry cleaning places, make more than the people who work in a childcare center,” she said. “The person who washes your dog makes more than the person who cares for your baby. It’s really a sad model of care for our community."
