ESCANABA – Delta County residents faced a number of millage proposals Tuesday, but few were as divisive as the expansion of Delta Area Transit Authority (DATA) coverage area and the continuation of recycling services at the Delta County landfill.

Residents in every community in the county were asked to continue supporting the Delta Solid Waste Management Authority’s recycling, composting, and household hazardous waste disposal services. Voters supported the proposal with 4247 voters (61 percent) supporting the proposal and 2762 voters (39 percent) voting against the millage increase.

“(It’s the) culmination of a lot of hard work and a lot of good people wanting to do the good thing. I’m excited for the future,” said DSWMA Manager Don Pyle.

The millage will increase taxes for Delta County residents by 0.3 mils, or 30 cents per $1,000 of taxable value for ten years. An estimated $335,084.70 will be raised in the first year if the millage is levied in its entirety.

While not as all-encompassing as the solid waste millage, the vast majority of Delta County residents residing in townships were asked whether or not to expand DATA services into their communities.

Residents in Baldwin Township, Brampton Township, Bark River Township, Ensign Township, Ford River Township, Masonville Township, Wells Township, and Mapleridge Township were asked to support the 0.5 mil, or 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable value, increase for five years to provide busing services to their township.

The residents of Brampton, Ensign, Ford River, and Masonville supported the measure. In Brampton the millage was supported with 118 voters voting in favor of the proposal (54 percent) and 101 (46 percent) opposing the measure. Ensign residents supported the millage 89 (52 percent) to 86 (49 percent). In Ford River 262 voters (59 percent) supported bringing DATA services to the township while 179 (41 percent) did not. Masonville residents supported the measure with 188 residents voting in favor of the proposal (53 percent) and 165 (47 percent) voting against it.

“We’re happy with the results … A couple years ago we were only serving Escanaba and Gladstone that’s a huge improvement. That’s five townships that have been added in the last couple of years. That’s a big gain for DATA. That’s a big gain of service area for residents in the outlying areas,” said DATA Administrator John Stapleton.

Other townships opposed the DATA millage. In Wells the millage failed 607 (56 percent) to 479 (44 percent), in Mapleridge the proposal failed 114 (64 percent) to 65 (36 percent), Baldwin residents opposed the millage 83 (65 percent) to 45 (35 percent), and Bark River opposed the millage 171 (51 percent) to 167 (49 percent).

DATA already provides busing and demand response services for residents of Escanaba, Gladstone, and Escanaba Township.

Residents who live within the Escanaba Area School District were asked Tuesday to re-approved an 18 mil ($18 per $1,000 taxable value) non-homestead operating millage. Residents of the district overwhelmingly supported the millage with 2341 voters (65 percent) supporting the proposal and 1271 (35 percent) disapproving of the measure.

The millage, which is similar others across the state, will be levied for 15 years from 2017 to 2031, inclusive.

Mapleridge Township residents were asked Tuesday to approve a 1 mill increase ($1 per $1,000 of taxable value) to be used solely for the improvement of roads within the township. Residents rejected the proposal 114 votes (64 percent) to 65 (36 percent). The millage would have been levied for three years, from 2016 to 2018, inclusive, and would have generated an estimated $27,301 in the first year.