City?s new budget okayed; no tax increase

A public hearing was conducted Monday morning on the budget for the city of Rogers City for the 2004-05 fiscal year. As no one appeared to either support or contest the budget at the charter-mandated hearing, which last barely six seconds, the budget was presented by city manager John Bruning and staff to members of the Rogers City Council for adoption and approved by a majority vote, 4-1.

?I think the budget document is a good document,? said Bruning, following Monday?s meeting. ?We?ve come up with a pretty good guideline for us to follow over the next year.? There are continued concerns with decreases in revenue sharing, but Bruning said he has incorporated the best estimates that were available and was still able to meet obligations.

BRUNING BELIEVES the general fund balance will be about $300,000 at the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2004. ?That puts us in pretty good shape,? said Bruning. ?Barring any unforeseen changes to that, we?ll be in pretty good shape over the next fiscal year.? The general fund for the 2004-05 budget will be $1,867,979. Some of the line items follow: marina fund, $469,875; wastewater treatment fund, $432,018; water fund, $368,300; Community Development Authority fund, $255,765; major street fund, $226,169; equipment pool fund, $207,125; local street fund, $196,198, and garbage collection fund, $145,410. Prior to the adoption of the budget, rate changes for water and sewer utilities and trash collection discussed at budget workshops were formally adopted with the approval of two resolutions.

? WATER COMMODITY charges will be increased from $1.10 per 100 cubic feet of water usage to $1.15 per 100 cubic feet of water usage; ? Water capital charge will decrease in the following manner: from $3.80 per month to $3.60 per month. ? Sewer commodity charges will be increased: from $2.30 per 100 cubic feet of water usage to $2.35 per 100 cubic feet of water usage; ? The flat rate sewer charge will increase from $18.65 to $20.70; ? The sewer capital charge will decrease from $4 per month to $3.60. The changes will become effective July 1, which is the beginning of the new fiscal year. The resolution for water and sewer changes, along with the 2004-05 budget, were give thumbs down by councilman Gary Nowak.

?I SAID AT the workshops I would not vote for a water and sewer increase,? Nowak said before the roll calls. ?I appreciate that, Gary,? said councilman Karl Heidemann. ?I understand that and think that what we tried to achieve by this was a compromise so that the overall rate would not increase.? To accomplish that, Heidemann said, funds appropriated for equipment replacement, updates, and capital improvements, were decreased. ?This is the compromise that we reached, so that we wouldn?t have to in effect raise the amount of money for people who are paying out each month,? said Heidemann. ?I think it?s a realistic approach. I appreciate the points that you brought up because if you hadn?t brought it up then we probably would have had an increase.? Nowak, and other members of council, approved a resolution raising the regular monthly rate for garbage pickup by 17 cents to $9.72 and 13 cents for seniors (62 years or older) to $7.55.

AS A PART of the budget, Bruning allocated funds toward improvements to city hall. ?We?re not s

ure what that will entail,? he said. ?At some point in the future things will need to be done to city hall. That may be renovating, expansion, replacing — we?re not clear on that yet, but we know it won?t come without a cost.?

The city also has allocated money to local streets, perhaps for a sidewalk replacement program, ?or an assistance to that, where we can perhaps provide assistance to homeowners. Typically that has been special assessed entirely to the benefiting of adjoining property owners,? Bruning said. Bruning also said the city is looking at updating zoning ordinances and the comprehensive plan.

IN PARTLY a budgetary move, the city will fulfill its one year obligation to the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team and then bring its officer back on staff. The move is primarily to alleviate hardships in scheduling. ?It is hard on the rest of the staff when you are making up shifts and haven?t replaced that officer,? said Bruning. ?We stepped back to what we were contributing historically.?