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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
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AGE
4
May 3, 2012
B
ELLEVILLE
- R
OMULUS
Romulus to hike sanitation millage rate
The price of gas makes it more
expensive for Romulus residents
to get around, and it also makes it
more expensive to throw things
away.
The city will increase the sani-
tation millage by .23 mills to 1.45
mills in order to compensate for
an increase in the cost of garbage
collection service. Finance
Director Debra Hoffman said it
was spelled out in the waste
hauler contract that the fees
could increase if the cost of gaso-
line went up. The 1.45 mills is less
than half what the city could levy
to pay for the service, she added.
“State law allows us to levy up
to 3mills,” she said.
She led the Romulus City
Council members through the
second budget study session last
week, saying again that the city
was on track to reach its goal of
having 10 percent of its operating
revenue-roughly $2 million-in
undesignated fund reserves by
the end of the 2016-2017 budget
year.
“We're not there yet, but we're
heading in the right direction,”
she said.
Declining property values have
hit other city revenue streams, as
well. There are no major capital
projects scheduled through the
Tax Increment Financing
Authority (TIFA) this year, and
only one major one-the repaving
of Goddard Road-will be funded
through
the
Downtown
Development Authority (DDA).
“We've seen declining revenue
for the DDA, just as we have for
the general fund,”Hoffman said.
More alarming, she said that
the current budget projects only a
$5,000 fund balance in the DDA at
the end of the fiscal year.
“We're hopeful that we've been
conservative with our projected
expenditures and our revenue,”
she said. “If the DDA can tighten
things up, they'll be in better
shape.”
The other major expenses for
the DDA come in the form of
'adopting' parks to fund the main-
tenance at them, as well as spon-
sorships for Romulus festivals
that take place in the downtown
area, including the Romulus
PumpkinFestival.
“It's a very important funding
source,” said Council President
Leroy Burcroff. “It helps keep the
festivals going.”
The city had to cut back on
funding the festivals as well as
park maintenance to balance the
general fundbudget.
The good news-for now-for
Romulus residents is that they
won't see an increase in water
and sewer rates just yet. The city
has entered into a contract for a
full water rate study that will take
into account the cost of providing
the service alongwith the estimat-
ed cost of infrastructure improve-
ments and then use that data to
develop a rate structure.
The city also needs to get a
handle on legacy costs, she said.
Currently, 29 percent of payroll
costs go to fund retiree benefits
and Romulus has three retirees
for every four active employees.
Despite a $600,000 drop in rev-
enue caused by reduced property
values, Hoffman said the city will
have about $2 million in undesig-
nated reserves at the end of the
2011-2012 budget year, which is up
from about $1.5 million at the end
of the last fiscal year. She said it
will most likely drop this year,
down to about $1.75 million, but
the city should be able to make
that up and reach its goal by the
end of the 2016-2017 budget cycle.
The citywill host a public hear-
ing on the proposed budget on
May 7. The fiscal year runs from
July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.
The looming $4.2 million budget
deficit and closing of two school
buildings was followed by layoff
notices to 18 teachers and 11 sup-
port staff employees at the regular
meeting of the Van Buren School
District Board of Education last
week.
More layoffs will follow, accord-
ing to Superintendent of Schools
Michael Van Tassel who urged the
board members to approve the
notices immediately, despite some
concerns expressed by teachers
union president Susan Duda
Osborne and trustee Sherry
Frazier.
Duda-Osborne said that the
usual practice in past years when
layoffs were pending was to have
union representation in the staffing
decisions. She said that in the past
the union knew of the layoff deci-
sions and contacted the members
before the actual layoff notices
were approvedby the school board.
She also noted that many teach-
ers, herself included, were seeking
other jobs as the union is aware
that elective subjects will be elimi-
nateddue to the budget constraints.
Van Tassel, who spoke to the
board members prior to Duda-
Osborne's remarks, reminded
board members that the district is
shifting classes in two middle
schools and opening a new high
school while two buildings are
being closed. He said this restruc-
turing is a massive undertaking,
requiring changes and reorganiza-
tion and when decisions on neces-
sary actions were postponed, it
made the entire process more com-
plicated anddifficult.
His comments came in response
to a suggestion from Frazier, a
retired teacher, that the board post-
pone the layoff notices for two
weeks in light of the union con-
cerns. Van Tassel told the board
members that he wanted the teach-
ers and support staff members to
have every opportunity to find jobs
elsewhere. He added that some of
these laid off employees may be
called back but that he expected
more layoffs would be coming to
the board for approval.
He also explained that currently
13 teachers in the district are paid
with federal and state funding
which requires adherence to
definedprocedures. Should the dis-
trict violate those specifications,
that funding couldbe lost.
The layoffs notices were
approved 6-1 with Frazier casting
the dissenting vote.
District lays off 29 employees
Market meeting is set
TheRomulus FarmersMarket
is issuing an official call to ven-
dors and committed participants
tohelpdirect themarket.
The market will be open from
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the
new Romulus Pavilion in the
Downtown Romulus Historical
Park. New Market Manager
James Lee expects the weekend
market to be open June 2
throughOct. 27.
Lee, a long-time Romulus res-
ident and a graduate of Romulus
High School, said the market
would like to offer homegrown
and home-produced products, as
well as crafts and other unique
items.
"We are presently seeking pro-
duce vendors, cottage food pro-
ducers, craft artisans and musi-
cians who would like to partici-
pate as we prepare for the offi-
cial launch," Lee said.
Free parking will be available,
along with access to electricity
and lavatories.
An official Farmers Market
Town Hall Meeting is set for 6
p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at the
Romulus Public Library at 11121
Wayne Road. Lee said all resi-
dents, farmers, backyard garden-
ers and interested vendors are
invited to participate in themeet-
ing
For more information, please
contact Market Manager James
Lee at (734) 377-8720 or send
email to romulusfarmersmar-
ket@gmail.com.