The Midland City Council held its regular meeting on April 27, 2026, at 7:00 PM in council chambers. The council addressed a consent agenda, a proclamation, two public hearings (an industrial development district request and the proposed 2026-2027 budget), ordinance amendments, a street vacation referral, and a postponed decision on a property sale. The meeting concluded with a closed session.
Staff (Kayla) presented a request to establish an Industrial Development District (IDD) under Public Act 198 of 1974, a prerequisite for a future Industrial Facilities Tax (IFT) exemption. The IDD covers an entire 20.13‑acre parcel at 2700 James Savage Road. The proposed 50,000 sq ft addition (65% manufacturing, 35% inventory/warehouse) has not yet commenced. Estimated property tax exemption for the new facility over 12 years would be about $1 million (city portion $24,602 annually). Council asked about the scope of the parcel and precedent. The applicant confirmed future expansion phases are possible. The resolution passed 4-0.
City Manager Kay and Finance Director Laura Stoll presented the proposed $198.6 million budget. The general fund shows a deficit of approximately $17.7 million between revenues ($56.2 million) and expenditures. The budget maintains the 15.4 mill rate, no service reductions, and includes council goals (e.g., $1M stormwater contribution, $500k landfill leachate, $3.5M municipal service center/fleet building, $1M future fire station fund). Staff presented options to reduce the deficit to a typical $5–6 million gap:
Mr. Saladin presented rate adjustments for fiscal year 2027:
Staff (Kane) explained that Panastic Property Solutions requests vacation of an undeveloped 30‑foot right‑of‑way (Maple Street between Cleveland Ave and Bayless St). The process requires planning commission review and public notification before final council action. Council removed the item from consent and referred it to the planning commission (motion passed 4-0).
The council had previously directed solicitation of bids for this property, but the mayor requested reconsideration. A motion to rescind that direction was introduced at a prior meeting but postponed. Councilman Wasbinski moved to table the matter until the next meeting when all five council members are present (the mayor was absent). Motion passed 4-0.
The following presentation of the Midland City Council will begin in a moment. The Midland City Council is the city's legislative body. It sets policies, approves budgets, determines tax rates, and adopts ordinances and resolutions to govern the city. It is made up of five elected officials that represent the wards in which they reside. And councilmen are elected to two year terms. The mayor is elected from among the council members by vote of the city council. City Council meetings are held at 7 p.m. two Mondays per month in council chambers at City Hall. This presentation is provided by the MCTV Network, a service of the City of Midland. Replays of this meeting can be found on MGTV Channel 188 on Charter Spectrum through Channel 99 on ATT Uverse or on demand at WWW.city of MidlandMI.gov. Select meetings are available on MCTV Network's Government Affairs Podcast Channel. Good evening and welcome to the April 27th, 2026 regular meeting of the Midland City Council. If you would please stand and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Would you do roll call? Mayor Pro Tem Brown Wilhelm. Here. Councilman Wasbinski. Councilman Solar? Here. Councilman Passik? Here. Mayor Donker. Council members, anyone have a conflict of interest with any of the items on the agenda? No. Okay. All resolutions marked with an asterisk are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate consideration of these items unless a council member or a citizen so request during the discussion stage of the motion to adopt the consent agenda as indicated. If there's even a single request, the item will be removed from the consent agenda without further motion and considered in its listed sequence and regular fashion. Anyone on council have an item they'd like remove from the consent agenda? Yes, I just have one question on number eight, the vacation of Maple Street. Okay. We'll remove that. Um like to have an item removed from the consent agenda. Okay, seeing none. All right, can we have a motion to approve? So move. Second. Any discussion? Ready to vote. All in favor. Hey, carries four zero. All right. Um, this evening we do have a proclamation for the workers' memorial date. And Mr. Sarah, come on up. Good evening, City Council. April 28th, 1971. The Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect, promising workers the right to a safe job. In recognition of the passing of this law, April 28th is observed nationally as workers' memorial day. Here tonight to accept a proclamation designating April 28th, 2026 as workers' memorial day in Midland is president of the Central Michigan Central Labor Council, Chad Anders.