City to use $588K from stabilization fund in FY 2011-12

The Wixom City Council has adopted the city’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12 budget that calls for no increase in the overall millage rate and no addition to city staff, but requires funneling nearly $600,000 from the Budget Stabilization Fund into the General Fund.

“It’s still a challenge, but the Stabilization Fund was created for this reason and it’s serving it’s purpose,” said Assistant City Manager Tony Nowicki.

The framework is already in place for a FY 2012-13 budget.

This is the fifth year the city has operated under a rolling Five-Year Fiscal Action Plan that aims at maintaining city services, staff and consistent tax rates in an economic climate that has declining property values and business reduction.

“The biggest impact on a budget is declining property values, which plays a troublesome role,” said City Manager Mike Dornan. “Lansing is beginning to see how property values are straining communities and, in order to reverse that, jobs are needed to be created as well as a demand for housing.”

In FY 2011-2012 the Budget Stabilization Fund will contribute $588,154 to the city’s General Fund. The beginning fund balance as of July 1, 2011 is estimated at $2.4 million, and by the end of the budget year it will be about $1.8 million, according to Nowicki.

No full-time or part-time personnel will be added. Since 2003-04 the city has cut full-time staff from 65 to 55 employees, a loss of over 15 percent.

A wage freeze will remain in effect for all city employees again this year, which will save the city approximately $110,757.

Local road improvements of $1.5 million are budgeted for 2011-12, including work on Indian Wells, Indian Springs and Theodore.

The Capital Improvement Program will provide $361,880 for purchases spread out among different departments.

The combined sewer/water service rate will rise to $39.71 per thousand cubic feet (mcf) — with the sewer rate at $15.12/mcf and water rate at $24.59/mcf — from $36.57/mcf, an 8.5 percent increase. Wixom’s sewer utility rate remains one of the lowest in Oakland County and across the state, according to city officials.

State shared revenue is estimated to increase to $920,307. Since Michigan’s FY 2000-01 budget, the city’s state shared revenue receipts have declined by $456,543.

Total operating revenues for the city are expected to be $9.3 million. The lion’s share of the city’s revenue will come from property taxes, pegged at $5.6 million. Miscellaneous sources of revenue will collectively bring in $840,050.

Estimated expenditures are set at $9.3 million. The bulk of expenditures include $3.1 million for police, $910,267 for fire services, and $1.5 million for the Department of Public Works (DPW).

Expenditures were reduced by $357,126 (3.7 percent) from the current fiscal year budget.

“We’re just tightening up by combining operations, cross-training, using technology, going paperless and becoming more efficient,” Dornan said.

Millage rates are proposed to remain steady at a total of 7.54290. The Fire Department and DPW debt millages will rise to 0.43440 of a mill 0.37000 in FY 2010-11. The local road millage will remain unchanged at 0.3 of a mill. A major roads levy will decrease from 1.087 mill in 2010-11 to 0.85390 in 2011-12. The library millage will remain unchanged at 1.1314 mills. Lastly, the water utility system millage will rise from 1.231 in 2010-11 to 1.39970.

A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.