Newton Township will ask the public to approve two four-year millages, each for 0.9182 mill, at the primary election Tuesday, August 3. One request will pay for road maintenance and one will pay for operating costs for its ambulance and fire departments. The millages will each collect $43,794 for the first year.

The two millage requests were first passed in 2006 because of insufficient money in the township's general fund, said Township Supervisor Bob Brotherton. The road millage fund now has a balance of $150,000, and the fire department and ambulance millage fund has a balance of $10,000. The general fund has a balance of about $150,000.

The township has planned several upcoming road projects that the road millage would help fund, he said, including gravel paving projects on Levielle Road, North Gould City Road, and Brotherton Road next year.

It has also earmarked $75,000 from the road millage fund for a road project in 2014 that would repave 10 miles of South Gould City Road in 2014. The project, which could cost up to $500,000, would be paid for by using a road match program in which the federal government would pay 80%, and 10% would be contributed by Mackinac County and the township.

If the millage for fire department and ambulance operations passes, that money could help fund a new township fire hall which has been planned by the board, Mr. Brotherton said. The new 50,000- square-foot hall would replace the current 14,000-square-foot building, he said, which has been inadequate for training volunteer firemen. The hall, which is projected to cost $120,000 for building materials, would also provide storage space and room for township offices. Construction could begin as early as the spring of 2011, he said.

The millage pays for operational costs of the department and the salaries of 12 fire department employees, which totals roughly $16,000 a year. Last year, the township paid about $30,000 from the fund. The township receives $6,000 from nearby Portage Township for fire and ambulance services.

Mr. Brotherton, who recently became a member of the fire department, said that some people in the community say there isn't enough volunteerism there, an issue he's optimistic the township will improve on in the future.

He added that, in his view, the millages are needed by the community.

“I think it's a positive commitment,” he said. “We've accomplished a lot over the past four years with the millages.”