Belleville City Council approves 2017-18 fiscal year budget

The Belleville City Council may have to take $111,000 out of its $1 million fund balance to cover the coming year’s budget – but there are hopes that some expected cost cuts may not make that necessary.
In its regular meeting Monday, the council voted unanimously to approve the 2017-18 general fund budget of $2.2 million, plus the other assorted budgets.
The Belleville Downtown Development Authority has not submitted its updated budget to include in the city budgets that will be sent to the state, so the city is including the DDA’s budget from last year. When the DDA approves a budget, the city council can amend its budget, said Plante Moran consultant Brian Camiller.
“They have until the stroke of midnight on June 30 [to submit their budget to the state],” Camiller said of the DDA. “If not, they are in violation of the state budget act.”
The city is in a disagreement with the DDA about its paying less maintenance for the DDA district than it used to, said City Manager Diana Kollmeyer. “It’s deteriorated,” she said of the amount paid.
“I anticipate we will get a budget [from the DDA],” Mayor Kerreen Conley said.
She said the city attorney and Kollmeyer will sit down with the DDA attorney and its representatives. In the past, negotiating for the DDA has been DDA coordinator Carol Thompson and DDA president Rosemary Loria.
Mayor Conley said they will come up with a maintenance budget, but she isn’t sure what that will look like.
“Hopefully, it will be something we can work with,” Mayor Conley said.
Jeff Vernon asked what kinds of options they are looking at for future budgets.
“I read in the paper the residents should ‘hold onto their wallets,’” Vernon said.
“I loved that comment,” Mayor Conley said, indicating the opposite. She said the council had discussed options to find an alternative way to continue the services. She said that included cooperative agreements and outsourcing.
Mayor Conley said the city of Belleville offers a level of service different than other communities and, “We have been able to pay for that.”
She said Act 33, discussed at the last budget session that allows for the council to levy a public safety millage, was an option.
“We know we’ve reached the point where there was nowhere else to cut,” Mayor Conley said. “We had to look at other things to explore.”
Councilman Tom Fielder said he felt they should just deal with the present budget now and then look into other options for future budgets.
He pointed out the city budget, under city charter, had to be approved by the first meeting in June, which was that night’s meeting.
Mayor Conley pointed out the city would get $440,000 more in tax money without the DDA, minus its $369,058 in debt service. She said the DDA takes $170,000 in taxes from Victoria Commons and it is not a traditional district.
The council also approved a fourth-quarter budget amendment transferring 50% of Major Street Revenue to the Local Street Fund to pay for Harbour Pointe street repairs.
The council also approved the 2017 millage rate of 18.1 mills.
In other business in Monday’s meeting, the council:
• Approved closing High Street from the corner of Roys to the church parking lot on July 4 for Grace Baptist Church’s 29th-annual church picnic. Pastor Bob White advised the church will celebrate its 75th anniversary in January;
• Was advised by Paul Henning that the Strawberry Festival Carnival will be the same as last year at St. Anthony’s and on Main Street – no new locations, as previously considered;
• Opened the lone bid for spray patching for a temporary road fix at Harbour Pointe. Highway Maintenance and Construction of Romulus bid $13,140. Building Official Rick Rutherford said he had contacted five companies. This bid is within the amount expected, he said, and they can start in two weeks. This spray patching is the first step in temporarily repairing the streets, he said. The council passed a motion to accept the bid with a cost not to exceed $16,000, in case more work than estimated is needed;
• Opened five bids for city website design and sent them to the administration for a recommendation. Bids came from Stone Interactive Group in Ann Arbor, Design Hub in Saline, Town Web of Madison, WI, Revie of Troy, and Municode of Tallahassee, FL;
• Approved an amendment to Ordinance # 53-72 on special assessments, changing the maximum number of installments from 20 to 25 years;
• Approved a 14-page amendment to the financing plan and final judgment for the Downriver Sewage Disposal System, as recommended by city attorney Steve Hitchcock;
• Approved accounts payable of $98,096.06 and the following departmental purchases in excess of $500: to Oakland County Treasurer, CLEMIS maintenance fees of $2,495, from general/police budgets; to Fire Catt, LLC, hose/ladder testing cost of $1,846 from general/fire budget; to Allie Brothers, shoulder patches, $840 from general/police budget; to Macomb Community College, firearms training, $700, from general/police budget; and to Metro Environmental Services, jet service-sewer main, $607.50, from general/water-sewer budget;
• Heard Councilman Jesse Marcotte say that he appreciates the fresh landscaping around the green building on East Huron River Drive. Rutherford said the city paid and can assess it to somebody who owns it now. He said for the last two years nobody would admit to owning it. He said a man is interested in buying it and rehabbing it; and
• Heard the mayor say there were 175 cars at that evening’s car show on Main Street and a lot of dogs are there, too. She reminded everyone of the farmer’s market that will be on the second and fourth Mondays at the Fourth Street Square.