The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation has issued a warning notice of mass layoffs of bus drivers, mechanics, dispatchers and managers in the event its millage in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties is defeated in the Aug. 7 primary election.

SMART filed a WARN Act notice with the state's Workforce Development Agency on June 8 that said up to 843 employees could be let go across terminals in all three counties if voters defeat the 1-mill property tax that funds the metro Detroit bus system.

"This action will be necessitated in the event of the rejection by the voters of the SMART millage proposal on the August 7th ballot," SMART General Manager John Hertel wrote in a letter dated June 1. "At that time, SMART would also engage in the layoff of all personnel assigned to the affected counties."

SMART's four-year operating millage is up for renewal countywide in Macomb County, in 26 communities in Wayne County and 24 communities in Oakland County that have opted into the regional transit system.

The layoff notice is "standard procedure every four years" when the millage is up for renewal, SMART Deputy General Manager Robert Cramer said Monday.

"If our funding stops, then we'll have to lay people off," Cramer told Crain's.

Under state law, Michigan employers are required to file WARN notices 60 days in advance of a layoff exceeding 100 employees.

The communities in Wayne and Oakland county vote as a bloc in their respective counties. A simple majority in each county is needed for the millage to continue for the next four years.

Oakland County has 33 communities that have opted out of SMART and Wayne County has 17 opt-out communities, including Detroit.

SMART's layoff notice breaks down the number of employees who could be laid off by county: 321 in Oakland County, 254 in Wayne County and 268 in Macomb County.

Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson recently raised concerns about the SMART millage renewal, which they support, in their respective counties.

Hackel and Patterson said they fear the SMART millage could be defeated because of voter confusion over the Regional Transit Authority proposal pushed by Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who want to put a 1.5-mill additional tax on the November ballot to fund a more comprehensive mass transit system than SMART currently operates.

The regional transit proposal is seen as dead this election year because Hackel and Patterson control four of the seats on the nine-member RTA board.