Berkley City Council Approves 2011-2012 Budget

The Berkley City Council adopted the city's 2011-2012 budget Monday night at .

Declining tax revenues and investment income, as well as uncertainty about statutory state-shared revenue funds, were key factors in the budget, which was passed after a public hearing that elicited no input from residents.

The budget, titled Proposed Comprehensive Budget for Fiscal Year 2011-2012, included general fund expenditures of $8,845,120 and revenues of $8,707,365, a difference of $137,755. Of that amount, $78,211 is a planned expense for a fire truck. That leaves $59,544 of unplanned expenditures during 2010-2011, which would come from the general fund balance.

"It is my opinion the proposed budget for fiscal year 2011-2012 represents a sound financial plan, and addresses the City's continued efforts to operate within a terrible housing market which saw residential taxable values actually decrease another 4.8% across the City which led to the City not receiving over $181,500 in tax revenues in the General Fund and another $41,900 in the Solid Waste Fund and $20,600 in the DDA Tax Capture Fund,"  City Manager Jane Bais-DiSessa wrote in the budget.

She added that the city also is grappling with declining investment income revenues and the potential loss of $176,000 in statutory state-shared revenue funds. Because Gov. Rick Snyder's plans for cities to qualify for those funds remain murky, those dollars were not factored into the budget, Bais-DiSessa said.

"Council, please know this is a very difficult decision because these are funds we could use," the city manager said Monday night.

Bais-DiSessa added that she expects the city's share of state funds will continue to decline in coming years.

While the city has had to make tough choices that included deferring some maintenance and slashing funds for library books, it wasn't all doom and gloom.

For the first time in several years, the Arena Fund was self-sustaining. In 2009, Parks & Recreation Department manager Tom Colwell initiated . Under the plan, the department has taken over ice scheduling and worked to generate revenue. The City Council expressed optimism that a tenant that would pay to use an all-seasons room inside the will commit in the near future, generating even more revenue for the facility.

during the 2010/2011 through 2012/2013 fiscal years due to employee concessions. Employee expenses are the largest of the city's expenditures, including $7,333,437 in the 2011-2012 budget for 68 full-time employees, 91 part-time employees and three contract positions.

Council members praised employees, who will pay more for health care and waive cost-of-living pay increases in an effort to help Berkley maintain its quality of life and avoid further job cuts. They also thanked Bais-DiSessa, Finance Director David Sabuda and all of the city's department heads for their work on the budget.

"City finances have been managed so that reasonable expenditures were covered and there is a fund balance –  unlike state and federal finances," according to a posting on the city's budget blog. "The problem that (Sabuda's) forecast raises is that the fund balance will continue to diminish to $655,714 in 2012-13 – even with the salary and fringe benefit reductions that have been ratified."

But, Councilman Steve Baker tried to focus on the positives, including that the city remains in the black and residents will not see massive reductions in services this year.

"Hopefully, at some point, we'll be able to build on the foundation we've preserved," he said.

Residents who would like to view the budget can find copies at the and City Clerk's office. The city's budget presentation also is available online and attached to this article as a PDF.