Belleville to consider public safety assessment

The Belleville City Council will consider a council vote to assess a public safety millage to raise the money needed to provide police and fire services.
Based on a taxable valuation of $88.5 million, the city’s property tax revenue would increase by $88,536 for each mill assessed. By law the city can levy up to 20 mills and this millage is not subject to DDA capture.
For a home valued at $75,000 with a taxable value of $37,500, annual cost per mill would be $37.50. For a $400,000 home with taxable value of $200,000, the annual cost per mill would be $200.
At Monday’s regular meeting, the council accepted the $2,138,501 budget as presented, with the caveat that a time line must be brought back to the council for what is necessary for a special assessment, along with the necessary public hearing, and when it needs to be available to be placed on the winter tax roll.
The budget accepted is balanced except for $295,000, which is the estimated cost of the seawall repair and is coming out of the fund balance.
After that expenditure, the general fund fund balance is expected to be $1,101,300.04.
The general fund budget is supporting the Cemetery Fund in the amount of $4,100 and the Capital Purchase fund in the amount of $33,000 for police cars.
If the public safety millage assessment is enacted by the council, the 2019-20 budget will be amended.
Kelly Howey of Plante Moran, the city’s financial officer, said there is a Headlee Rollback this year that puts the city millage back from the previous 18.10 mills expected to 16.506 mills which reduces the tax income by $14,400.
Howey said, luckily, the city had taxable value increase, but it still had to further cut services in the new budget.
She said residents will be paying less taxes because of the Headlee Rollback, so with the public safety assessment the city could get back to where they used to be.
Councilman Jesse Marcotte explained that a millage is a vote of the people, but an assessment is voted by the council and every property would pay a little.
Howey said this is an assessment of millage levied by the council.
Councilman Marcotte said currently 24 cents of every $1 in taxes paid by city taxpayers goes to the city and almost all of that 24 cents goes to public safety.
“It’s pretty alarming you have these pressing needs,” Howey said.
“There are not a lot of things left to cut,” Councilman Marcotte said.
The council discussed ways to use some of the street funds for repairs needed.
When asked how many people were in the DPW, Building Official Rick Rutherford said it was him and 2.5 people.
Mayor Pro Tem Jack Loria said sometimes it’s just physically impossible for the DPW to do things.
Marcotte said there were three choices the council has: reducing or eliminating services, contracting out for services, or getting new revenue.
He recommended having a town hall meeting to discuss all this.
Mayor Pro Tem Loria said they need to get the most money for the least effect on the citizens.
City Manager Diana Kollmeyer said they could pass the budget that evening and then work a few months to get the assessment on the December tax roll.
When a member of the audience questioned the numbers involved, Loria explained that with the high school, intermediate school, elementary school, churches and mobile home parks, the City of Belleville has 25% of its property non taxable.
The assessment, however, would be paid by every property owner.
Fire Chief Brian Loranger told of how things absolutely needed have been cut from the fire budget.
It was pointed out the public safety assessment would be just for the police and fire budgets.
“The money will be going to where it needs to go and dedicated for that purpose,” said Council Tom Fielder.
Marcotte said another additional revenue source is grant funding and he gave credit to Chief Loranger for getting so much for his department with grants. He said it would be money well spent for the city to hire a grant writer.
After there was a question on how much money was needed for police and fire, Howey did some quick math and said it would take $1.5 million to run the police and fire departments along with some capital purchase money which would be about 1.21 mills.
She said upcoming retirements need to be figured in, but there are a lot of factors. The city will need health care for those who will be coming in and they don’t know who will be coming in.
It was announced at the last meeting that the city manager and police chief will be retiring.
“We feel like it’s a decent budget,” said City Manager Kollmeyer. “Other than Doane’s, it’s balanced,” she said referring to the seawall repair.
A five-year capital purchase budget also was presented to the council for review, but Howey noted the only things included in the 2019-20 budget were the police car lease payments and equipment which have been committed to.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the council:
• Voted to authorize City Manager Kollmeyer to work with Sharon Pokerwinski on Pokerwinski’s request for the Belleville Fire Department to fill the dunk tank for Special Olympics during Strawberry Festival. There was discussion on how the city has to pay for the water and is automatically billed for sewer, but no one suggested making Special Olympics pay. Kollmeyer was directed to have the costs “covered appropriately.” There was no information on how much water was needed or where the dunk tank would be placed;
• Heard Rutherford give a brief report on the seawall repair. He said, “We need the steel in hand and we’re trying to satisfy the DEQ. We’re ready to go”;
• Approved accounts payable in the amount of $34,561.02 and the following purchases in excess of $500: to C&R Landscaping $98,333.33, which is the first of three payments for seawall repair; and to Blue Ribbon Contracting, $2,758.80 for service lead replacement, Water Fund; and
• Heard Rutherford say he met with the people who complained about water in the cemetery and there is a plan to eliminate the water. Also, the youth summer employment workers are scheduled to start working on cleaning up the cemetery this week, as they are let out of school.