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City Council
City Council Seeks
Input on City Budget
What's This All About?
In addition to current economic conditions in Michigan that have limited our economic growth and increased our costs,
recent settlement of major tax appeals has reduced the
City of Midland’s tax base by over $400 million. This reduction in tax base has produced a
17% loss in property tax revenue needed to provide
City services.
We overcame a $5.7 million gap in funding this year, and currently project a $3.8 million shortfall next year. City employees reduced spending by $1.4 million this year and continue to search for improved efficiencies and cost reductions; however, making up for this
lost revenue will be no easy task.
Things will change in the upcoming budget. That change may come in the form of a reduction or elimination of services, increased
fees and taxes, or a combination of both. The implications of these changes warrant more public input in the budget process than in the past, and the City Council is very interested in
citizen views on what
City services should be offered and at what level.
Budget Roundtable discussions scheduled for October 7-10, 2008, were Midlanders's best opportunity to discuss the value of
City services with other residents. Nearly 180 citizens took part in one of
seven scheduled Roundtable sessions. Results of each roundtable discussion are
currently being compiled into a comprehensive report that will be delivered to the City Council in December
2008. The report recommendations will then be considered by
the City Council, which will provide direction to the City Manager in preparing a proposed 2009-10 City of Midland budget that
provides efficient and streamlined services that are community priorities.
Input From Many Avenues
Input from many different sources will provide the City
administration and Midland City Council the best possible information for the decision-making process ahead:
Employee Budget Roundtables
Nearly 300 City of Midland staff participated in employee Roundtables in August 2008. These sessions challenged employees to identify
more opportunities for improved efficiencies and cost reductions. City
staff have contributed numerous ideas to cut costs and help
City services work more efficiently.
City Telephone Survey
400 city households completed a random-sample telephone survey at the end of August
2008. This survey will provide statistically valid feedback on
the importance of various
City service issues as expressed by the Midland residents surveyed.
Community Budget Roundtables
Citizen Roundtables allowed residents the
opportunity to learn more about City services and their costs, and to discuss amongst themselves their
City service priorities.
It All Comes Together in the End
At its January 2009 goal-setting session, the City Council will consider the ideas and input provided through the telephone survey, the employee
Roundtables, and the citizen
Budget Roundtables. The City Council will also receive summary and verbatim reports from each of the input opportunities. Then Council will establish the budget priorities, which will provide direction to the City Manager in preparation of his proposed budget to be presented to the City Council on April 13, 2009.
For More Information
The links in the purple area at left provide access to a variety of information
about the City's budget challenges:
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Community Question: Budget Challenges - This 30-minute video provides you with insight into the financial issues plaguing the City of Midland governmental entity.
(Windows
Media Player 9 and a broadband connection to the Internet is needed. )
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City Manager's Budget Presentation - This PowerPoint presentation was presented to City employees during employee
Roundtables in August 2008. The presentation outlines some of the challenges
the City is facing this year and will be facing in future budget years.
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2005 Budget Roundtables - These
roundtables, held in early 2005, provided Council with
input from citizens about what they believed the budget priorities
should be for future years. Invaluable input from these
roundtables has aided the City Council in setting priorities that
have impacted the last four City budgets.
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2008-09 City Budget - This budget is for the current fiscal year, which runs
from July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009.
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Timeline - This document show a timeline of the 2009-10 budget review and approval process.
As more information
becomes available, it will be added to this site.
Submit A Comment
Have a comment, question, or idea to
share regarding the City of Midland budget, services, or
programs? Click here to
submit an e-mail
message to City Hall. If you would like a response, please
include your contact information.
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