What should residents see first from Washtenaw County's renewed mental-health and public-safety millage?

Washtenaw County, Michigan Healthcare Public Safety

Washtenaw County voters renewed and restored a one-mill Community Mental Health and Public Safety Preservation Millage for 2026 through 2033. The ballot formula directs 38% to Community Mental Health, 38% to the Sheriff's Office, and 24% to local jurisdictions with their own police departments. The measure was estimated to raise about $22.4 million when first levied in 2026. Within those fixed allocations, the county has used millage funding for expanded mental-health services, crisis care, criminal-justice diversion, youth supports, education, and prevention. The next practical question is which outcomes residents should expect the renewed funding to improve most visibly. The funding split is already set, so the useful debate is not whether mental health or public safety gets everything. It is whether the renewed dollars make crises less destructive, services easier to reach, and law enforcement better able to focus on problems that actually require police.

Overall results

50% support · excluded by 4%

Families benefit more when problems are addressed before they become emergencies. Youth support and accessible outpatient care can prevent much more expensive interventions later.

Success should look like fewer people cycling through the same crisis over and over, not simply more programs with good descriptions.

49% support · excluded by 7%

The millage was built around mental health and public safety together. Diversion programs are where that design can produce the clearest joint benefit: better treatment and fewer repeat jail contacts.

Diversion works only if treatment, housing support, transportation, and follow-up actually exist after someone leaves the justice system. Funding should emphasize that full chain.

49% support · excluded by 11%

Someone in acute psychiatric distress should be able to reach qualified help quickly without needing a confrontation, an emergency-room wait, or an arrest to unlock services.

Better crisis teams can also improve officer availability by sending behavioral-health specialists to incidents that do not require a traditional police response.

49% support · excluded by 4%

The measure also explicitly funds the sheriff and local police departments. Residents should see adequate staffing, reliable response times, and officers available for serious crime and community safety work.

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