Benzie County's August 4 proposal to reset its operating millage failed by only nine votes. The proposal would have increased the county operating rate from its Headlee-reduced level and consolidated some special-purpose funding into the general fund. County officials argued that decades of rollbacks had reduced the buying power available for services such as road patrol, emergency management, courts and administration. Because voters rejected the reset by the narrowest possible political margin, officials now face a choice between accepting current revenues, returning with a smaller proposal, or asking voters to reconsider a similar restructuring. Nine votes is still a loss, but it is not a clear mandate for either deep cuts or the exact proposal that just failed.