MILFORD — City Clerk Terri Hudson is getting ready to administer a referendum.

On Tuesday, Milford citizens will vote on whether the city should borrow up to $20 million for a new police station and raise property taxes to pay it back.

Voters will be polled at the city’s Public Works Department at 180 Vickers Drive, between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.

“The last election (in April) was at Public Works, as well,” Ms. Hudson said. “A larger area (was) needed to meet COVID guidelines and permit proper social distancing.”

The current police station, built in 1979, is far from being up to modern law enforcement standards, city officials say, but some residents are deeply opposed to the tax increase needed to fund construction of a new one.

Ms. Hudson said the most crowded time at the polls will likely be when they first open.

“Most people want to vote early,” she said. “That creates lines and. sometimes, a lengthy wait.”

She said that generally, “after a couple hours, most voters can walk in and out within five minutes tops. It is highly recommended that residents consider voting later in the day to prevent long waits and, in particular, lines stretching across the parking lot during the winter.”

City Manager Mark Whitfield said he and the rest of the city staff get a lot of calls about the price tag of the project.

“The biggest concern we hear from folks is the cost of $20 million,” he said. “We want to reiterate that we do not anticipate the cost to be $20 million, and we expect the cost to be between $12.5 (million) and $17.5 million.”

Mr. Whitfield added that there is a “citizens’ oversight committee appointed by the mayor to ensure the design and construction of the police station is done in the most cost-effective manner possible and (that) only the amount of money needed will be borrowed, not the full $20 million.”

Citizens can see exactly how their property taxes will be impacted via a chart available at milfordpoliceplan.com/tax-information.

If the project were to end up costing $20 million, someone with property assessed at $100,000 would pay $92 in additional property taxes annually and someone with property assessed at $500,000 would pay an additional $459.

There’s strong consensus within Milford’s city government that the current police station needs to be replaced.

“We don’t have a choice, to be honest,” Mayor Archie Campbell said. “Look at the growth of Milford. It’s the fastest-growing city in the state of Delaware.”

He said that a bigger population equates to more crime.

Additionally, Police Chief Kenneth Brown said the station is far from state-of-the-art. In addition to not being eligible for a certification from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, it’s not even compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The station is also very crowded.

“It was built for a maximum of 22 officers,” the chief said. “Today, we have 37 officers.”

That metric doesn’t even include the department’s support personnel, which Chief Brown said has also doubled over the last four decades.

Ms. Hudson said that it’s too late for residents to request mail-in ballots or to register to vote with the city, but there’s still time to apply for an absentee ballot by contacting her office at 422-1111, ext. 1303.

Mr. Whitfield said people can “drop the absentee referendum ballots in the black ballot box (in) front of City Hall prior to the close of polls on Tuesday.”

In the future, Ms. Hudson said the process of registering to vote in city elections will likely be easier.

“I am working with a vendor and, after the city’s annual election this April, will begin transferring registrations to an electronic system that will allow new voters to register online,” she said. “This is going to take some time, but we hope to have it in place by the annual election in 2022.”

The last referendum the city held was in September 2015, when citizens voted on whether to borrow $1.6 million for a sewer-improvement project. Of the 256 people who voted in that election, 208 supported the borrowing.

For reference, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Milford’s population was 12,000 in 2020.

On Tuesday, COVID-19 precautions will be in place at the Public Works facility. Voters should plan on bringing a mask in addition to a photo ID with their current home address.

“All normal precautions, including social distancing will be in place,” Ms. Hudson said. “Machines will be sanitized, (and) separate pens (will be) used for signing in.”

Mr. Whitfield expects the turnout at the referendum to be big.

“Based on phone calls we have gotten at City Hall, there is a very high interest in this referendum,” he said.

Once the vote is counted, Ms. Hudson said the results will be announced at the polling location and posted on the city’s website, cityofmilford.com.