Millage rate adjusted by Belleville City Council at Monday’s meeting

The millage rate for the city of Belleville originally was 20 mills when the city charter was approved in 1946.
After the Headlee Amendment was enacted in 1978, the city’s millage rate has slowly been cut until it was 16.9600 in 2016 and this year it is 16.9362.
The council recently enacted the millage rate as 18.10 mills, but that was a mistake, said City Manager Diana Kollmeyer at Monday’s regular meeting of the city council.
She said the higher millage had been given to them from their financial advisor, but that was wrong and they have to approve the right rate.
The paperwork for the county, prepared by assessor Jennifer Nieman and presented to the council, showed what the rate should be. It also noted the taxable value of all properties in the city was $86,675,489.
Kollmeyer said the reduction in the millage rate will affect the budget numbers that they approved at the last meeting.
Councilman Jesse Marcotte explained the situation and how the city got from 20 mills to 16.9362 mills. He said Belleville is the second lowest community in Wayne County as far as state value, with only Rockwood being lowest.
“Inkster is double ours,” Councilman Marcotte said.
“We’re missing 3.1 mills of our budget,” he added, suggesting residents talk to their state legislators about what the Headlee Amendment is doing to small towns.
He said communities are looking at creative ways to raise money, referring to Act 33, which was discussed at a recent city council session.
Councilman Tom Fielder also explained the Headlee Amendment and situation of municipalities in the state.
Councilman Fielder made the motion to approve the corrected millage and Marcotte seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
There was a bare quorum of three councilmen at the meeting, since Mayor Kerreen Conley and Councilman Tom Smith were absent.
Mayor Pro Tem Jack Loria presided.
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the council:
• Approved the 2018 SMART Municipal Credits Contract that will bring $3,914 for the city’s senior/disabled transportation program, with a local match of $4,501 from the senior transportation budget;
• Approved the request of the Belleville Area Lions Club to use part of Victory Park for its first-annual Picnic in the Park, from 2 to 7 p.m., Thursday, July 20. Lion president Keith McDonald said they want to raise awareness of the club and all its activities to help the blind and deaf and others in need in the community. He told stories of people the local club has helped in Van Buren Township (fire victims), Sumpter Township (87-year-old woman with no place to live), and Belleville (eyeglasses). Kollmeyer said the city can’t close down the park from use by others during this event, but the police and fire departments will bring vehicles to the park for their event. Mayor Pro Tem Loria suggested McDonald get there early and “get two tables and claim them.” McDonald presented a large white cane for the city to display to show it has a Lions Club in town;
• Heard Gina Stewart, a representative of the Western Wayne County NAACP, invite city residents to visit their meetings which are the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at Christian Faith Ministry Church in Garden City. The group represents 23 cities and this is the 15th council meeting she has attended. Councilman Fielder said census studies show of the tri-community, Belleville has the largest percentage of minorities;
• Heard Marcotte ask for the issue of Doane’s Landing to be put on the Follow-Up List and Kollmeyer said that could be done and she will have some numbers for the council to look at in the next two to three weeks;
• Approved payment of $99,365.72 in accounts payable and the following departmental expenditures in excess of $500: to Wayne County Accounts Receivable, $4,060 for lodging at Dickerson from the general fund/police budget; to R&R Fire Truck Repair, $2,028.30 for water tank repair, from the capital/fire budget; and to Cadillac Asphalt, $708.40 for emergency road patching from the Streets/Major/Local budget for cold patch;
• Heard Mayor Pro Tem Loria announce that fireworks have been heard in the city and the ordinance says they are not legal within 30’ of a structure, which is a distance hard to find in the city. Also, he said, everything is getting real dry;
• Heard Kelly Bates say she is the main representative for Victoria Commons and she had a list of complaints, which included only one waste can in all of the large Village Park, speeders from near Owen school through the sub, and the biggest issue of all, the fountains that are out at Village Park – two for over a year. Fielder suggested subdivision residents show up at the Downtown Development Authority meetings, since the squeaky wheel gets the grease. He said it is a shame the June DDA meeting is cancelled. Kollmeyer suggested they bring their concerns to the DDA at its July meeting, agreeing most of the fountains aren’t working. Kollmeyer said she can’t authorize employees to work on Village Park since it is the DDA’s area and they contracted for grass cutting there. She said clarification will come with the DDA district’s new maintenance agreement which is being negotiated. Bates also said a bridge has been in disrepair for years;
• Heard Mike Renaud talk about the maintenance of Horizon Park that looks better at the west end because a local resident and his significant other get out there and weed whip around the ropes. He asked why the sprinkler system isn’t used at the park and Kollmeyer said most of the time it’s not working. “I wouldn’t be advertising ‘Belleville on the Lake’ with the park the way it is,” Renaud said. “I challenge any DDA member to go out and say they are happy with the way that park is … It looks sad … We need to do something … It’s not looking like a park.” Fielder said people can’t vent when the DDA isn’t having regular meetings. Bates pointed out the kayak sign is down and lying on the dock;
• Heard Jeff Vernon say he mows some of the empty lots in the city, even though he knows the city loses money by not mowing it and putting it on the tax roll. Kollmeyer said such mowing by the city is a wash. The cost of the mowing is put on the tax roll. Loria said: “You are going on other people’s property…” Vernon said a guy stopped when he was mowing a vacant lot and, “I asked him if I was going to get arrested and he said no. What did I want? I told him I didn’t want anything and he said nothing”; and
• Went into closed-door session to discuss the status and strategy of pending union negotiations regarding police officer raises and then just adjourned after coming back into regular session.