It’s official: DIA millage passes overwhelmingly

Voters in Southeast Michigan decided Tuesday to continue to pay taxes to support the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA).

The millage renewal passed handily in the tri-county area. Wayne and Oakland County residents both passed it 76% to 24%. Macomb County went 62% to 38%, according to unofficial returns, with 100% reporting.

“We’re really changing people’s lives and becoming a tool for the community and doing exactly what the DIA should be doing which is being a place for everyone,” DIA Director Salvador Salort-Pons said on WDET-FM.

The .2 millage renewal was leading Tuesday night, as the Advance reported. Residents pay $15 a year for a home valued at $150,000. Some anti-tax activists argued it was unfair to put the renewal up before it was ready to expire in 2022, especially when Democrats were expected to turn out in high numbers — which they did — for the presidential primary.

State Rep. Pamela Hornberger (R-Chesterfield Twp.) has introduced the “Art Institute Authorities Act,” which would bar millage renewals prior to a year before expiration, as the Advance previously reported. No action has been taken on the bill.