A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
4
May 7, 2015
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Budget includes closure
of Wayne Community Center
American Legion to host
open house for all veterans
Senior Brigade events scheduled at Wayne Center
Tonight and again next Tuesday, mem-
bers of the Wayne City Council will con-
sider a $14.7 million budget for the com-
munity which includes the loss of two
police officers and the closing of the com-
munity center.
City Manager David Murphy told the
council members that the “biggest thing”
in the budget was the closure of the
remainder of the community center. He
said even that action left the budget $1.6
million short. His plan, however, did not
meet with immediate favor of
CouncilmanAl Damitio.
“We need to develop an alternate
budget so we don't have to close the com-
munity center,” said Damitio, adding
therewould be cost-savings by consolidat-
ing services into the building. Damitio
proposed closing city hall and the engi-
neering services building, which houses
the Department of Public Works, and
relocating those operations into the com-
munity center.
Murphy said that the proposed budget
also includes the loss of two police posi-
tions in the city.
Mayor JamesHawley said that the con-
tinued arguments to keep the community
center operating couldbe unrealistic.
“I would love to keep the community
center open but do you keep the commu-
nity center open and lay off cops?”
Hawley said. “The community center is
very expensive to operate - more than city
hall. There is a cost to relocate to the
community center.”
The ice arena and the pool at the com-
munity were closed last year in cost-cut-
ting measures. Completely closing the
building would save about $300,000 in
annual expense to the city, after the basic
utility payments have been made for the
facility. The budget also includes a fee for
maintenance of the city parks and ball
fields. The city currently pays about
$644,000 annually in bond service for the
community center building.
The city has been using funds dedicat-
ed to specific other expenses to offset the
shortfall in the budget each year. Hawley
said that those funds are nearly exhaust-
ed. He said that only the retirement fund,
labeled Other Postemployment
Employee Benefit Trust (OPEB), remains
and those funds are earmarked to cover
health care for city retirees, an expense
estimated at $1.9 million for the next fis-
cal year. That expense would leave only
about $300,000 in the fund, but could
eliminate the $1.6 million deficit in the
general fund.
“We're balancing the budget with
OPEBmoney - it's really running out. This
is the last year we can do this,” said
Murphy. “We're balancing the budget off
the fund balance. I don't consider it a bal-
ancedbudget.”
Council members accepted the budget
for purposes of discussion and review but
asked Murphy to present alternatives at
themeeting next week.
Veterans from throughout the area are
expected to attend an open house from
10 a.m. until 6 p.m. this Saturday spon-
sored by American Legion Post 251 in
Westland.
An accredited state service officer will
be in attendance to help answer ques-
tions about VAbenefits and/or claims.
As veterans' benefits change, a review
is appropriate for all veterans, organizers
said. Any wartime veteran - regardless of
location of service or gender - and their
families are welcome to attend the free
event. A DD Form 214 or other proof of
service will be required. The open house
will take place at theHarris-Kehrer VFW
Post 3323, 1055 S. Wayne Road, Westland.
Light refreshmentswill be served.
For more information, contact Bill
Acton, post commander at (734) 326-2607,
(734) 776-5491 or
or Al Ford, chairman, post development,
at (989) 426-7188 or alford1933@ ejour-
ney.com.
Wayne Senior Services is
offering a series of Senior
Brigade classes inMay.
All the classes are free and
will take place at 2:30 p.m. on
Wednesdays at the Wayne
Community Center, 4635 Howe
Road at Annapolis.
Identity Theft will be the topic
May 13. Discussion will include:
How to recognize and avoid iden-
tity theft; How thieves steal and
what they do with your identity;
how to protect yourself and what
to do if youbecome a victim.
Online Safety will be the sub-
ject of the May 20 class. Topics
will include: Email safety tips;
Learn to recognize and avoid
online scams; Basic computer
security measures; Helpful
online resources and general
online safety tips.
Residential Care Choices will
be discussed May 27. Topics
include: How to choose a nursing
home; How to choose home
healthcare; How to recognize
and report abuse or neglect and
ways to keep your loved ones
safe.
Registration is not necessary,
but encouraged. Call (734) 721-
7460 to reserve a seat in the any
or all of the seminars.
Capitol visit
State Rep. Robert Kosowski
(D-Westland) hosted a group
of fourth-graders from P.D.
Graham at the state Capitol
recently. The 50 students,
along with 24 adults, asked
Kosowski questions about
the lawmaking process and
watched House session from
the gallery. "It's a pleasure to
welcome students to Lansing
so they can meet me and see
the Legislature in action,"
Kosowski said. Any schools
in Wayne or the portion of
Westland that Kosowski rep-
resents interested in visiting
the Capitol can contact
Kosowski's office toll-free at
(855) 600-2625.
