2006 / 2007
Members of the Grandville City Council:
Like so many other municipalities in the State of
Michigan
, the City of
Grandville
again this year faced significant challenges in preparing its annual budget.
Many of the same fiscal pressures that we have seen over the past several
years -- the effects of previous cuts to statutory revenue sharing payments, new
regulatory mandates, rising costs of fuel and benefits, and cyclical economic
cycles – have again had a pronounced impact on the budget.
A compounding factor this year, however, was the fact that available fund
balances have been much reduced thereby limiting the ability to use them to
cover any planned deficit spending as has been done in recent fiscal years.
The result of these pressures is that it has become
increasingly difficult to hold the line on local millage rates while still
meeting the service expectations of citizens.
A concerted and extended effort was made in the development of this
year’s Financial Plan to analyze the city’s services, understand citizen
priorities and seek out ways to reduce expenses or gain efficiencies so that a
Council goal of maintaining Grandville’s low millage rate could be achieved.
The result of this extended effort is the following recommended financial plan
for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006 and ending on June 30, 2007.
It does maintain the same city property tax millage rate of 8.454 mills
for the fourth consecutive year by reducing city General Fund expenditures and
gaining efficiencies where possible with the least possible impact to public
services. The plan includes no new
or expanded service levels and authorizes no increase in staff positions.
The total appropriation recommended for all funds for the 2006-07 fiscal
year, excluding transfers between funds, is $18,288,088.
The sections that follow contain an overview of select
programs and their proposed budgets:
General Fund
General Fund revenues are projected to total $8,490,850 in the
2006-2007 fiscal year. The majority
of general fund revenue comes from property taxes (57%).
The percentage of general fund revenues provided by the Federal and State
governments (14.5%) continues to slide.
The General Fund
provides a wide array of city services including police, fire, district court,
parks and recreation, cemetery, general administration and others.
General Fund expenditures are budgeted at $ 8,604,179.
This is a decrease of
3.9% from budgeted expenditures in the current fiscal year.
Police Department
Police
Department and
Dispatch
Center
budgeted expenditures total $2,999,038 or approximately 34.9% of total city
General Fund expenditures. The
Police Department provides a full range of law enforcement services including a
Detective Bureau and Community Policing Unit including a full-time Police School
Liaison Officer jointly funded by the city and the
Grandville
Public
School District
. Departmental strength has been
reduced by two officers and one civilian and this year will be 27 full-time
officers and five civilians. The
budget also contemplates an agreement being reached with the City of
Wyoming
to provide public safety dispatch services to Grandville beginning on January
1, 2007.
Fire
Department
Fire and 24 hour emergency medical response budgeted
expenditures total $904,302 or approximately 10.5% of total city General Fund
expenditures. The Fire Department
will maintain its staffing level in this fiscal year.
Parks and
Recreation
Budgeted Park and Recreation capital projects include
parking lot resurfacing at
Heritage
Park
, improvements at
Calvin
Crest
Park
including two new tennis courts, non-motorized trail improvements and a
continuation of upgrades to the ball fields at the Aaron Street Little League
complex. The city also anticipates
utilizing Kent County Community Development Block Grant funding to create a new
neighborhood park in the northeast portion (
Lee Street
) of the city.
Special Projects
The 2006-2007 budget contains funding to continue city
involvement in such programs as the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council, REGIS,
Michigan Municipal League, Right Place Program, Community Access television and
the Grandville Chamber of Commerce.
Major and Local
Streets
Primary
activity in the Major and Local Street Funds continues to emphasize the
improvements necessary to maintain the integrity of Grandville’s street
system. The most significant
projects are the reconstruction of portions of Prairie, Locke, White, Canal and
the Wilson & Canal Rivertown Parkway intersection.
Seven local streets will be resurfaced including portions of Woodbine,
Wayburn, Pine Creek, Oakes,
Santa Fe Court
,
Washington
and Meadowood.
Wastewater & Water
Our
Wastewater budget was previously comprised of three Funds:
·
The Wastewater Collection System Fund was used to account for
operations directly related to the City of
Grandville
and supported solely by City residents.
·
The Wastewater Operations Fund was the primary operating fund for
the Wastewater system and is supported proportionally by
Ottawa
County
users of the system.
·
Wastewater Improvement and Extension Fund.
Capital improvements, debt retirement, interest expense, and depreciation
reserves were budgeted for in this fund.
The City has recently merged these funds into one
Wastewater Fund with three Departments separated into the functions listed
above. The total expense budgeted
for the Wastewater Fund is $4,261,875. The
major capital item scheduled for purchase this year is a Sewer Vacuum Truck
which will be utilized for the Collection System.
The Wastewater System has recently reached 80 % of its capacity and, as a
result, is mandated to explore expansion alternatives.
In cooperation with our customer communities in
Ottawa
County
, the City is currently exploring the possibility of expanding the Wastewater
Plant in order to allow for future growth of the system.
The Water system was comprised of two funds. The Water
Operations Fund is used to account for regular operations and the Water
Improvement & Extension Fund accounts for long-term Capital improvements,
debt retirement, interest expense and depreciation reserves.
The current budget merges these funds into one Water Fund with two
Departments separated into the functions listed above.
A comprehensive rate study, which was recently
completed, showed the need for increased revenue in the Water System due to
continuous wholesale water rate increases from the City of
Wyoming
. The study also showed, however,
that Wastewater rates could be lowered. The
resulting effect will be an overall 7.2% decrease in combined rates.
These new rates will be effective with all bills beginning July 1, 2006.
Summary
The Fiscal Year 2006-2007 Financial Plan for the City of Grandville
is a product of months of considerable effort by many individuals beginning with
the input and analysis of staff members at all levels of the organization and
continuing through the final decisions of a City Council that values strategic
planning and is committed to our community’s quality of life and efficient
stewardship of public funds. My
appreciation goes to all involved in this process and, in particular, to Finance
Director Tom Guinther for his budget leadership.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Kenneth
D. Krombeen
City
Manager
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