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Record of Proceedings

Taylor City Council Budget Review Meeting – April 17, 2023

City Council — Monday, April 17, 2023
BodyTaylor, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, April 17, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:14:53

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:01

Try because I haven't spent enough time that we'll see.

0:06

Uh no, I have some coughbox.

0:09

No, but just the cough dots.

0:12

Yeah, can I send my vote?

0:13

Don't I need to go to Low?

0:14

Oh, I have some other school.

0:21

That's right.

0:22

All right.

0:24

Good evening, everyone.

0:26

Now it's on top of it go ahead and get started.

0:30

Yeah, I have one.

0:32

Oh, I got one.

0:35

All right.

0:36

The first uh item is the treasurer's budget.

0:41

Do I come up here?

0:42

So you'll just see me here.

0:53

So we got um fiscal year 23.

0:59

No estimated changes, 355,800.

1:07

Going over to fiscal year 24.

1:12

No change in FBE, just uh really some minor changes relative to contractual wage issues, and um nothing else significantly different to report.

1:28

If you have any questions for Jason and I or Treasurer Tokel could respond accordingly.

1:35

Any questions?

1:38

Council.

1:39

How's everything going in the treasure's office?

1:42

It's going.

1:42

It's going.

1:43

Okay, good.

1:44

That's great.

1:47

That's it for me.

1:49

I think the only issue we've had this year is just the changing and postage, right?

1:54

The changing in postage and um we're going to be due for a new postage machine.

2:00

The entire city uses the same postage machine in the back office, including the courts, and it's getting a lot of use.

2:07

We've had to call service probably three times in the last three months, maybe.

2:12

Uh speaking to Pitney Bowes, they said that these machines have about a five-year life, so we will probably be having to purchase one very quickly.

2:23

And I've also suggested that possibly the courts get their own postage machine.

2:27

They're walking across the parking lots with you know, their tubs and I mean for the amount of postage that they do.

2:36

I could see that being a good purchase for them.

2:40

I'm good at spending other people's money.

2:45

Well, that's that's a good segue because they're coming in here later on.

2:49

And I guess they used to have one years ago, and then they it was taken out, and then they've used this one.

2:56

I don't know how many years that's been, but I don't know that history either.

3:01

So I think actually Gerald was here when they combined together.

3:07

17 years ago.

3:11

It's 17 years old.

3:13

No, this this one is a good one.

3:15

Yeah, this is six years.

3:18

Four or five years, I think.

3:20

Right.

3:21

But I think that's when the court started coming over to um do all the the mail here.

3:29

How much of those machines run?

3:32

Um, roughly, I think my quote was 17,000.

3:38

And then it's the software that goes with it, and then obviously the postage.

3:42

You know, the um the service agreement has been very good with it.

3:46

They've come out to service it and take care of you take care of all the issues.

3:50

So they said it's just it gets old, and that the post post office actually changes something about the um the postmark that is put on the envelope every five years, and they give you so many years to catch up, but we're to that point where our machine's gonna have to be updated anyways.

4:12

All right, anything else from the rest of the council?

4:19

Thank you.

4:19

All right.

4:23

Next, we're go to the assessor's office.

4:32

Um the next department is assessing, and uh you know uh years back we changed to uh uh outside contractor to do the assessing services for WCA SESSI.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████████████████████████████40%
Technology and Innovation██████████████14%
Facilities Management█████████████13%
Public Safety████████████12%
Court Operations████4%
Cannabis Regulation████4%
Government Operations████4%
Water And Wastewater Management██2%
Community Engagement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Taylor City Council Budget Review Meeting – April 17, 2023

The Taylor City Council held a budget review meeting on April 17, 2023, to discuss the proposed 2023/2024 budget. Department heads presented their budgets, and council members asked questions about staffing, revenues, and operational needs. Key topics included police staffing and overtime, court IT separation, building department rental inspections, and the clerk's office workload related to a potential marijuana ordinance.

Discussion Items

  • Treasurer's Budget: The treasurer's office presented minimal changes for FY23 and FY24, aside from contractual wage adjustments. A discussion arose about the aging city postage machine (approx. $17,000 for a new one) and the possibility of the court acquiring its own machine for redundancy.
  • Assessor's Budget: The assessing department, now handled by an outside contractor (WCA SESSI), showed a 5.7% increase to $410,300. Assessed values increased by about 7.6% overall, with a 5% cap for homestead properties. Council members inquired about the department's historical budget before outsourcing.
  • Police Budget: The police department's FY23 projected budget is $11.285 million (down $254,000 from original), and FY24 is $11.7 million (up 3.74%). Revenue from technical details is projected to increase from $4.2 million to $5.05 million. Chief discussed staffing: currently 69 sworn officers, goal of 79, with 19 PSOs (6 in training). Overtime costs are expected to decrease as PSOs fill station roles, freeing officers for patrol. The department will use forfeiture funds for roof repairs and is holding off on new car purchases due to a backlog of un-outfitted vehicles. ARPA funds were discussed: approximately $5.9 million remaining, with $4.8 million in revenue replacement. Councilman Johnson asked about using ARPA for lead line replacement.
  • Court Budget: The court's FY23 projected budget is $2.724 million, and FY24 is $2.638 million (a decrease due to one-time IT implementation costs). The court is separating its IT from the city, with a go-live expected in June. A postage machine for the court was discussed as a potential budget amendment. The court also detailed the MIDC grant fund for indigent defense. Community service programs were discussed, with the judge confirming that most defendants are ordered to serve their community service in Taylor.
  • Building Department Budget: The building department operates on a separate fund with an estimated FY23 fund balance of $197,000. Revenues are projected at $2.4 million for FY24. The department is struggling with rental inspections; only about half a dozen of 29 apartment complexes are in full compliance. The mayor stated they are working on a plan to add two rental inspectors, but it may take 6–8 months. An ERP system (enterprise resource planning) is being pursued to automate follow-ups and notifications for inspections. Council members expressed frustration with the manual tracking and lack of dedicated staff.
  • City Council Budget: The council's department budget is $181,000 for FY24, a reduction due to health insurance changes. A request to add back $5,000 for personal services was noted. Councilwoman Brandana raised concerns about the budget process, noting that some known needs (e.g., building inspectors, clerk's office software) are not included while other items are budgeted optimistically. The mayor explained that the budget is a best guess and that amendments can be made throughout the year.
  • City Clerk Budget: The clerk's office budget is $493,510 for FY24, a 2% increase. Franchise fees are declining due to cord-cutting. The clerk noted that implementing the marijuana ordinance (if passed) will require additional staff and software. Currently, business licenses are tracked manually. Mayor indicated they are waiting to see if the ordinance passes before budgeting for additional help. Councilwoman Brandana argued for including those costs now to present a true picture.

Key Outcomes

  • The city council will vote on the budget at the regular meeting on April 18, 2023. Two amendments are expected: adjusting the garbage hauling contract amount and adding $5,000 to the council budget.
  • Council members may propose additional amendments at the meeting.
  • The administration will continue working on an ERP system, rental inspector hiring, and addressing building department inefficiencies.
  • The court's IT separation is expected to be completed by June 2023.
  • The police department will pursue PSO hiring to reduce overtime and will use forfeiture funds for roof repairs.
  • The postage machine replacement for the court will be considered as a future budget amendment, pending cost estimates.
  • The city will monitor franchise fee trends and adjust the clerk's budget as needed once the marijuana ordinance outcome is known.

Meeting Transcript

Try because I haven't spent enough time that we'll see. Uh no, I have some coughbox. No, but just the cough dots. Yeah, can I send my vote? Don't I need to go to Low? Oh, I have some other school. That's right. All right. Good evening, everyone. Now it's on top of it go ahead and get started. Yeah, I have one. Oh, I got one. All right. The first uh item is the treasurer's budget. Do I come up here? So you'll just see me here. So we got um fiscal year 23. No estimated changes, 355,800. Going over to fiscal year 24. No change in FBE, just uh really some minor changes relative to contractual wage issues, and um nothing else significantly different to report. If you have any questions for Jason and I or Treasurer Tokel could respond accordingly. Any questions? Council. How's everything going in the treasure's office? It's going. It's going. Okay, good. That's great. That's it for me. I think the only issue we've had this year is just the changing and postage, right? The changing in postage and um we're going to be due for a new postage machine. The entire city uses the same postage machine in the back office, including the courts, and it's getting a lot of use. We've had to call service probably three times in the last three months, maybe. Uh speaking to Pitney Bowes, they said that these machines have about a five-year life, so we will probably be having to purchase one very quickly. And I've also suggested that possibly the courts get their own postage machine. They're walking across the parking lots with you know, their tubs and I mean for the amount of postage that they do. I could see that being a good purchase for them. I'm good at spending other people's money. Well, that's that's a good segue because they're coming in here later on. And I guess they used to have one years ago, and then they it was taken out, and then they've used this one. I don't know how many years that's been, but I don't know that history either. So I think actually Gerald was here when they combined together. 17 years ago. It's 17 years old. No, this this one is a good one. Yeah, this is six years. Four or five years, I think. Right. But I think that's when the court started coming over to um do all the the mail here. How much of those machines run?

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