Your Inkster voting guide: where to go, what's on the ballot, and what it costs you

INKSTER, Mich. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. Early voting opens Saturday, October 24.

Two Inkster millage renewals are on your ballot. Below is where you vote, what you are voting on, and what each proposal costs the average homeowner here.

Where you vote on November 3

Inkster has 11 precincts across six districts. These are the locations listed by the City Clerk.

All addresses are Inkster, MI 48141. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Do not guess which precinct you are in. Three of these locations serve more than one precinct, and district lines do not follow the streets people assume they do. Enter your address at the Michigan Voter Information Center and it will tell you your exact polling place and show you your sample ballot. That tool is the authority; this list is a convenience.

Voting early

Early voting begins Saturday, October 24. The city calendar lists City Hall, 26215 Trowbridge, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Michigan law requires at least nine days of early voting ahead of a statewide election, which would carry through the Sunday before Election Day. We could not pull the full day-by-day schedule off the clerk's site, so confirm the days and hours you plan to use by calling 313-563-9770.

You can also request an absentee ballot online through the state's absentee application, or drop completed forms in the box at the main entrance of City Hall.

If you are not registered, you can still register and vote in person at the City Clerk's office through Election Day. Bring proof of where you live.

What's on your ballot

Two renewals, both running ten years, from 2027 through 2036.

Proposal 1: Parks and Recreation, including youth and senior programs

Up to 2.0 mills.

• Average cost to a homeowner: about $54 a year, per the ballot language
• Raises: an estimated $580,000 a year at the full rate
• Pays for: operations at the Dozier Recreation Center, summer day camps and youth programs, youth sports leagues, and Inkster SummerFest

Proposal 2: Senior Services operations

Up to 1.0 mill.

• Average cost to a homeowner: about $27 a year, per the ballot language
• Raises: an estimated $290,000 a year at the full rate
• Pays for: senior fitness and wellness programs, arts and activity groups, and staffing for the senior center the city says opened this October

Together, roughly $870,000 a year.

The part worth understanding

The city's own explainer says plainly that passing these "will not raise property tax rates for homeowners," and that is accurate. These are renewals of a levy you are already paying, not a new charge on top of it.

The flip side deserves equal billing, because it is the actual choice in front of you. If these fail, the levy ends. Your tax bill goes down by roughly $54 and $27. And the city says the money is not replaceable, because Parks and Recreation and Senior Services receive zero dollars from the general fund. By the city's account, no millage means no Dozier operations, no SummerFest, and no senior center staffing.

So the vote is not really about your tax rate going up. It is about whether you keep paying what you already pay to keep those specific programs running.

One note on where you are reading things. The city's millage page is written persuasively, with language about keeping spaces "active, safe, and fun." Michigan law lets a city hand out factual information about a ballot question. Residents are entitled to notice when factual information is arriving with a thumb on the scale, and to weigh it accordingly.

Polling places occasionally move. If you find a location on this list that has changed, tell us through our tips page and we will correct it the same day.