Budget deliberations are never-ending, and VersagiVoice's years
of coverage are spread widely throughout this website.
Below are links to current and past coverage. Also, search for "budget" in City Commission reports. |
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Choose, voters! We need to know whether voters really are comfortable with the reductions in services so far and with the increased reduction in services contemplated in the recently approved 2008-2009 budget. Face it, folks. There are no other choices. Ain't no way that Finance Director Don Johnson's best efforts can overcome the unavoidable millions of dollars in shortfalls coming our way. So, as soon as possible after the November 2008 election CITCOM should ask for simultaneous votes on two issues:
If this fails, do as school districts do: Change a word or two, juggle the dollar amounts a bit, and keep coming back to the ballot box until residents make their choices unmistakable..
There, I've given you the general idea. You guys take care of the details. --FJV: 11 Jun 08 Royal Oak Budget: Do I have your attention? Well, Oakland County Deputy County Executive Robert Daddow held the attention of 25 or 30 Royal Oak department heads and deputies during a 90-minute presentation he calls "A Perfect Storm."
The expected increase in Michigan's unemployment through 2009 means the Unemployment Trust Fund will go into deficit, and we should expect a payroll tax in the next year or two.
Daddow's notion that this Perfect Storm offers cities the opportunity to "re-invent" government took the simplistic path of "doing more with less." He interpreted less as meaning cutting staff, since payroll costs are the overwhelming majority of local expenses. And Daddow urged localities to share services and to look seriously at regionalization. This informational gathering began with a memo from City Manager Tom Hoover: "I am asking all department heads and deputies to attend this session." Hoover arranged for the presentation to be held in the Commission Chamber so it could be filmed, thus made available for viewing on WROK and on the city's website. (I observed Hoover taking attendance by marking the names on his invitational memo. I've been told that the invitation came at the suggestion of Finance Director Don Johnson, who has used some of Daddow's data to provide context for his presentations to CITCOM.) Two or three of the audience asked questions; the questions were too technical to be meaningful to me, and Daddow's replies were just as technical and too long. After the session ended, a handful of people gathered around the deputy county executive. Over the next few days, conversations with more than a handful of attendees revealed a common thread of disappointment holding together a range of positive and negative opinions about the usefulness of the 90-minute presentation. Paraphrasing: And, despite Daddow's insistence that the numbers he cited are "not subject to debate," two sources do question this or that datum. The mixed reaction of the troops does not dilute the wisdom of the decision to record the session for viewing by concerned budget-watchers. -- 28 Mar 08 Budget issues seem likely to be a dominant concern as election talk picks up. Already, CPA-types other than Commissioner Miller -- ignoring the apparently personality-driven fallout from CITCOM -- are confusing laymen with talk of the impact of "net present value" and "hurdle rates" if the million dollars isn't transferred immediately from the Court Facilities Fund to the city's General Fund. And reaction to those candidates who have already indicated they will "never" sell city assets has been mixed, not overwhelmingly one-sided. -- 05 Sep 07 Finance Director Don Johnson comments on last
week's news item, boxed below. The vote was not about taking $1.075
million back or not. It was about taking it back in a manner that was
agreed to by the judges or taking it back in another manner. Either
way, the money is coming back to the general fund. Say it isn't so Commissioner Mike Andrzejak, who has supported Miller's ongoing budget initiatives, has said of Miller that he needs to develop people skills. To the degree that current street talk reflects reality, others on the commission would seem to need to reinforce their ability to separate issues from personalities. A look back Barbara Hallman was mayor. Commissioners were Ken Culling, Phil Natke, Pat Paruch, Dave Richards, Linda Shadrick, Robert Stocker. In spite of the Michigan economy and the state's fiscal problems, Royal Oak maintained it's AA- bond rating from Fitch Ratings. The city also maintained a AA- rating from Standard and Poor's. "We are allowing the underwriter who wins the bidding for this issue the option of purchasing insurance. If this is done, and it probably will be, the bonds will be rated AAA," says Finance Director Don Johnson. The description of Royal Oak in Fitch's accompanying press release includes such language as:
Whom do we blame for this mess? -- 07 Nov 07
For Pontiac, an emergency financial manager who worked
with Ecorse and Hamtramck, recommends: Close the Department of Public Works,
sell all surplus property, close down all tax increment financing districts, and
pay off the bonds. About those TIFA districts, Louis Schimmel is quoted as
saying, "There are millions going to these authorities. They're swimming in
money. That money should go to the general fund and I'd have enough to pay for
police and fire." About selling all surplus assets, Schimmel says, "[City
officials] shouldn't worry about the sale price. Sell to private parties you
can tax and make your money that way." In Ecorse, Schimmel was given authority to replace the
elected mayor and council members. He privatized the Department of Public Works,
sold its building and equipment, negotiated with the department's 25 employees
to terminate their services in exchange for a negotiated finance settlement.
Public Works employees retired, were bought out or dismissed. In Hamtramck, he renegotiated labor
agreements, sold the public works building to a private charter school, took
over the downtown development authority, and "flat out ran the town," according
to Hopkins's article. Another emergency manager was involved in
Flint, and city officials recall massive reorganization and layoffs and
"spending cuts on everything." The city shut down rec enters and "any
nonessential services were greatly reduced or eliminated." Fees were increased
and Council members pay was reduced. The emergency manger, Ed Kurtz, converted
the golf course to an enterprise fund. In Highland Park, emergency finance
manager Ramona Henderson Pearson instituted a hiring freeze and suspected
elected officials' salaries and benefits. She laid off all police and contracted
with the Wayne County Sheriff's Department. In July 2007, the police department
was reinstituted, according to the OakPress article. |
Bond-rating companies rate Royal Oak Advice for 43rd City CommissionDo Not Dissolve the DDA - Sandy Johnson's paper The "Perfect Storm budget scenario Much of what was said in 2004-05 about the city budget pertains today. |