A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
April 20, 2017
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
‘Hoppy’ day
Hospital staff collects gifts for children
Dozens of children in the
Wayne/Westland Community had a happi-
er Easter, thanks to the staff at Beaumont
Hospital,Wayne.
The Employee Advisory Group (EAG)
at the hospital coordinated a drive to col-
lect donations for Easter treats for young
people in the community. When it came
time to sort the gifts, staff members and
physicians had donated enough toys,
treats and other gifts to hand out about
100 Easter gift bags to students in the com-
munity.
“When I saw how much everyone had
donated, I nearly cried,” said LauraMano,
a department secretary in the laboratory
at Beaumont, Wayne who helped coordi-
nate the event.
The bags contained everything from
Easter candy to toys, coloring books, fit-
ness accessories, stuffed animals and
more. They were distributed to Taft and
Hoover elementary schools last week.
Sandy Wright, manager of Respiratory
Therapy at Beaumont, Wayne who has
worked at the hospital for more than 40
years, said the hospital donated 100 gift
bags last year, too, and the generosity of
physicians and staff was no surprise to
her.
“We have a giving staff here at Wayne,”
she said. “We always have!”
Mayor William Wild presented the
members of city council a $66,361,098 bal-
anced budget for consideration earlier
thismonth.
In his attached comments, Wild told
the members of the council members
that the proposed budget adds $553,413
to the fund balance for the 2017-2018 fis-
cal year.
Wild said the city could anticipate
very low increase in property tax rev-
enue of about 3.05 percent, which is an
increase from the last few years and
more than the anticipated 1.5 percent
increase. Wild said the increase was esti-
mated at $312,000.
Wild has proposed the current 18.8823
mills remain inplace this year in the five-
year planhe presentedwith the budget.
He noted that state shared revenue
this year will decrease and be $68,000
less than projected levels in the 2016-
2017 budget. He told the council that the
city expects to receive an estimated
$1.353 million in state revenue sharing
this year.
Additionally, he noted, revenue
sources in the city have remained consis-
tent or increased for several line items
including court revenue which is expect-
ed to increase to $5 million for 2017-2018;
community development building rental
has increased to $90,000 as a result of
successful effort to rent excess space in
the Jefferson Barnes building and the
city cable television department will
begin providing video production servic-
es to other communities and organiza-
tions estimated to bring in about $10,000
in revenue for 2017-2018.
This budget also includes cost recov-
ery fees for additional services from the
city fire department incurred during res-
cue runs. The costs are allowable recov-
eries from insurance companies and are
not additional fees charged to residents
or businesses. These fees are estimated
at $75,000 in revenue for the city.
The budget also includes an anticipat-
ed sale of the Hawthorne Valley property
and/or other excess city assets for an
additional $500,000 in revenue. Wild
noted that the city received a refund
from MMRMA of $372,049, which was
$22,000more than anticipated.
Wild detailed the savings that federal
SAFER and COPS grants have provided
in the fire and police departments but
noted that there have been some added
costs that could continue to increase.
“The most significant change is relat-
ed to the City's required contribution
amounts into the MERS pension plan,”
he said. Annual increases through 2026 to
the plan are estimated at 10 percent or
more annually.
Healthcare costs also continue to be a
significant expenditure line item for
most department budgets, Wild noted.
Based on estimates from Plante Moran,
Wild said, the city has included 7 percent
annual increases in the budget forecast.
The proposed 2017-18 budget includes
a 10 percent decrease in all departmen-
tal overtime budgets (except those origi-
nally below$7,500).
Wild did not include any reductions in
staffing or layoffs and stressed the contin-
ued level of city services remain inplace.
The budget will now be studied and
considered by members of the council
and any revisions or changes implement-
ed prior to submission to the state as
requiredby law.
Beverly Plocharczyk, quality specialist at Beaumont Hospital, Wayne, Jodie Schweiger,
radiology department secretary and Sandra Neu, LPN in the medical-surgical unit at
Beaumont Hospital, Wayne, put together Easter gift bags to be distributed to students
in the community.
The most significant change
is related to the City's
required contribution amounts
into the MERS pension plan.
Mayor William Wild
”
Mayor submits balanced budget to council members
