Patterson unveils county spending plan for 2011-12

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has released his proposed spending plan for the county for the next three budget cycles and will make a budget presentation to the Board of Commissioners at 7 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, July 6, to outline his proposal.

General Fund/General Purpose revenue and expenditures for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011-12, which begins Oct. 1, are proposed at $412 million, with the total budget representing $795.19 million in revenue and expenditures.

For FY 2012-13, the General Fund/General Purpose revenue and expenditures are recommended at $413.9 million, with the total budget coming in at $784 million.

For FY 2013-14, the General Fund/General Purpose revenue and expenditures are recommended at $421.17 million, with the total budget coming in at $791.3 million.

In each of those fiscal year’s General Fund/General Purpose outlays, property taxes represent the largest source of revenue, coming in at an estimated $198.3 million in FY 2011-12, and an estimated $196.3 million in FY 2012-13 and 2013-14. Charges for intergovernmental services are expected to represent about 25 percent of the county’s General Fund/General Purpose revenue in the next three fiscal years, under the proposed budget.

In those same three budgets, salaries and fringe benefits for county employees represent more than half of the county’s expected spending, coming in at around $272 million for all three years.

Patterson’s budget calls for about $141 million in Sheriff’s Department spending in the next three fiscal years, and another roughly $65 million in spending for the Health and Human Services Department, which includes the Health Division — with about $32.8 million in proposed spending in each of the next three budget cycles — and Childrens Village, representing about $21 million in spending.

“Unbelievably, amid all the unrest and upheaval worldwide, there are initial signs that an economic recovery has begun here in Michigan,” reads Patterson’s budget executive summary. “Similar to the national recovery, Michigan’s economic recovery is also forecasted to be a slow one which will take many years to restore lost jobs and property values. We are grateful that after a very difficult decade, our economy is finally turning in the right direction. We look forward to promising economic prospects on the horizon for our county.”