Grosse Pointe Park Council Reviews Proposed Budget

With a little more than one week until a public hearing regarding the 2011/2012 fiscal year budget for , council members had their first work session Wednesday to review the numbers.

The proposed general fund budget of nearly $10.2 million has a $625,000 shortfall but City Manager Dale Krajniak said the deficit could be supplemented with funds from an account slated for retiree healthcare costs reducing it to $325,000.

Krajniak provided council with a basic overview. The proposed budget does not include any major street plans or capital improvements. It also budgets for an increase in water rates, estimated to be an $8.47 per bi-monthly billing cycle.

It also assumes the Park will receive $827,818 in state shared revenue in 2012--an amount council recognizes may change depending on decisions by Gov. Rick Snyder. It could increase or decrease but is highly dependent on whether the Park meets the state's requirements to receive shared revenue.

There are additional ways Krajniak believes the city could save in the budget including changing waste collection vendors, shared dispatch with the City of Grosse Pointe and changing auditing. He is in the midst of negotiations related to waste collection and awaiting an answer from the City, which is considering offers from the Park, the Woods and the Farms. 

Councilman Robert Denner said the consolidation efforts with dispatches in the Pointes is only a "baby-step" in a time when "strides are needed" to make a true impact. Councilwoman Laurie Arora suggested looking at other areas of consolidation outside of the police. 

Krajniak said the other Pointes are not as enthusiastic about consolidation as the Park and therefore, progress is slow. "If they ever get serious about consolidation, the Pointes would see a serious difference," Councilman Gregory Theokas said.

Among other ideas discussed were outsourcing ambulance service but most council members seemed to be against the idea. Denner also suggested different cross training between firefighters and EMT rather than firefighters/police officers, believe it could be a more beneficial savings. Public Safety Director David Hiller said such a change would impact road patrols, which are the highest priority.

Clark also voiced concern about not having a police vehicle replacement schedule in place, noting that Hiller says the purchase of new vehicles can wait until the next fiscal year budget. With an ever-dwindling revenue, Clark fears that the decreases are likely to continue and is worried there may not be enough money to support the purchase of new vehicles in the budget following this one. 

He also prefers that the council approach closing the $625,000 deficit without using funds from the retiree healthcare account because that fund will become an unfunded mandate the city will still be required to cover.

Early in the meeting, Arora asked about employee salaries. Krajniak explained the city's workforce has been reduced by 14 in four years and two recent retirements will add to that reduction. He also explained that the remaining employees all serve many roles, so their salaries are pulled from a variety of accounts. 

Forty of 73 full-time employees are from the public safety department, which means the remaining 33 fulfill the administrative, parks, public services and other duties, Krajniak said.

The proposed budget does not include a millage increase. One mill would raise about $574,000 but generally council seemed to be against seeking such an increase from taxpayers. 

He asked council members to review the figures and send savings ideas to City Clerk/Treasurer Jane Blahut. A public hearing is scheduled for May 23, during which the council is to hear public comment on the proposed budget. The new fiscal year begins July 1.