Taylor City Council Special Meeting — April 29, 2025

The Taylor City Council held a Special Council Meeting on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at the Taylor Municipal Building, 23555 Goddard Rd., Taylor, MI, beginning at 6:00 PM. The council considered the proposed Fiscal Year 2025/2026 budget, the 2025 ad valorem tax levy, the Headlee and Truth-in-Taxation calculations, and the 1% property tax administration fee. After a recess, the council reconvened at 7:34 PM and adjourned at 8:13 PM. The council ultimately approved the FY 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act and FY 2024-2025 Omnibus Budget Amendment with a $200,000 addition for local road funding by a 4-2 vote.

Procedural Items

• Per the agenda, the special meeting included approval of the agenda and motions to open and close the public hearing on the proposed FY 2025/2026 budget. The available transcript begins during discussion of the millage item, so no separate detail is available for those procedural votes.

Discussion Items

2025 Ad Valorem Tax Levy — 25.2344 Mills

• The council discussed the proposed 2025 City of Taylor ad valorem tax levy rate of 25.2344 mills. A speaker noted the 2021 rate was 25.9386 mills and that the current proposal is roughly 0.7 mills lower than when the current council took office. The speaker also said there is a slight uptick this year driven by the police and fire millage, but it is offset by the Headlee rollback.
• The motion to approve the levy and authorize the City Clerk to certify the millages for collection by the Treasurer passed by voice vote.

Headlee and Truth-in-Taxation Memorandum

• The council received and filed the memorandum from the Director of Budget and Finance regarding Headlee and Truth-in-Taxation calculations.
• The director explained that the city charter allows 9.5 mills for city operations, but the Headlee rollback limits the current levy to 8.1784 mills. That difference represents approximately $2.4 million in lost general operating revenue.
• He noted that Headlee rollbacks are automatic but cannot be rolled forward without voter approval; a voter override would be the only way to restore the full charter rate. It was also clarified that the discussion covered only city millage rates, not school or other millages.

1% Property Tax Administration Fee

• The council approved including the 1% property tax administration fee on the 2025 property tax bills by a 4-2 roll call vote.
• The Finance Director noted the fee generates just over $1 million in revenue. Councilmembers Daniels and Rose voted no.

FY 2025-2026 General Appropriations Act and FY 2024-2025 Omnibus Budget Amendment

• The proposed General Fund budget totaled $54,623,587 in appropriations, with total revenue of $51,727,173, resulting in expenditures exceeding revenues by about $2.9 million. The budget document showed a beginning General Fund balance of $23,205,452 and a projected ending fund balance of $20,309,038.
• Councilwoman Winton proposed moving $400,000 from the general fund to local roads, saying residents had been told which streets would be paved and wanted the work completed. She expressed hope the money would not need to be used and could be returned if not needed. That amendment was not approved at that time.
• The Mayor opposed using general fund balance for additional road spending, stating that roughly $3 million was already being allocated from fund balance for fire trucks and that choosing a higher bidder would mean less road work for the same amount of money.
• Several council members raised concerns about the low-bid vendor's past bid-rigging conviction and its business relationship with another bidder that had also submitted bids to the city. Other members responded that there was no evidence of bid rigging in any City of Taylor bid and cautioned against making decisions based on assumptions.
• The Director of Budget and Finance advised against using general fund balance for road transfers, saying fund balance should be reserved for one-time capital items and that the budget was tight, with roughly $140,000 in operating revenues over expenditures. He later said the city would still have about $18.9 million in unrestricted fund balance, approximately 39%, after the $200,000 transfer, which remains a good fund balance under best practices.
• The original budget motion failed on a 3-3 vote, and the council recessed.
• After reconvening, Councilwoman Brandana moved to reconsider the budget item with the addition of $200,000 from the general fund to the DPW local street fund. The reconsideration motion passed 4-2.
• The amendment to move $200,000 from fund balance to local roads passed 4-2. Councilwoman Winton withdrew as maker of the original motion, and the amended motion was attributed to Councilwoman Brandana, supported by Councilwoman Daniels.
• The Finance Director clarified that the budget was not a deficit budget under state law because it began with approximately $23 million in fund balance; a deficit would occur only if the city exhausted its entire fund balance and revenues still did not cover expenditures.
• It was also noted that if the budget were not approved before the charter deadline, the city would be in breach of its obligation to pass a balanced budget and could face state intervention.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the 2025 City of Taylor ad valorem tax levy rate of 25.2344 mills, with City Clerk certification authorized.
• Received and filed the Headlee and Truth-in-Taxation memorandum.
• Approved the 1% property tax administration fee on 2025 property tax bills: 4-2.
• Did not approve at that time: motion to amend the budget to add $400,000 for local roads.
• Failed: original FY 2025-2026 budget motion: 3-3.
• Passed: motion to reconsider the budget item: 4-2.
• Passed: motion to amend the budget to move $200,000 from general fund balance to the local street fund: 4-2.
• Passed, as amended: City of Taylor General Appropriations Act for FY 2025-2026 and Omnibus Budget Amendment for FY 2024-2025: 4-2.
• Adjourned at 8:13 PM.