Voters in Dorr and Martin townships apparently weren’t in any mood Tuesday to approve tax increases for roads, nor fire equipment.

Just like the state-wide proposal to hike the sales tax for roads, local requests were rejected as well, just not as soundly.

Despite a solid effort by Carolyn Sandel and a citizens’ roads committee, a three-mill request to fund paving and improving Dorr Township roads went down nearly 2 to 1, by a 64 to 36 percent margin — 1,202 to 665. A 2.75-mill request for roads in August 2014 primary had lost by only 22 votes.

A half-mill request by the fire department to fund equipment purchases also was defeated, by a 59 to 41 percent margin, 1,096 to 757. The same millage’s renewal had been rejected in 2012, so fire equipment now has to be handled through the township’s general fund.

Martin Township Fire Department lost a much closer vote, 259 to 243, or 53 to 47 percent, on a request for 0.9 mill to fund equipment purchases.

The only millage request in this area to pass was the 18-mill renewal for non-Homestead properties in the Hopkins School District, 1,036 to 793. 

Election watchers and local officials had to take home the explanation that the state-wide proposal that enabled the special election actually hurt all proposals in Dorr and Martin. The results statewide showed nearly 80% of voters opposed to a proposed one-cent increase in the state sales tax, from 6 to 7 cents on the dollar. Preliminary indications also were that most areas had fewer than one-third of registered voters show up at the polls.

Many voters expressed disapproval of raising taxes, period, of the complexity of the request and of having some of the revenue from the tax go to places other than roads.

There has been no official word yet about what the State Legislature will do in the wake of the defeat. Dorr and Martin Township officials are stuck with the status quo, at least until the August 2016 primary election.

In Dorr’s case, there now is no millage set aside for township fire equipment nor for roads.