Politics & Government

Budget Hearing on Dearborn's Proposed Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Set for Thursday

The public can comment on the city's proposed budget at 6:30 p.m. May 23 in the city council chambers.

The Dearborn City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the city’s fiscal year 2014 budget at 6:30 p.m. May 23 in the city council chambers at city hall.

The public is invited to give comments and ask questions about the proposed budget at this hearing.

Council is scheduled to adopt the proposed budget at a public meeting at 7 p.m. on May 28 in the city council chambers.

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What you need to know:

City proposes leaner budget

Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr. is proposing a $5 million reduction from the city’s 2013 budget as a result of efforts to run departments on a leaner budget and combat the deficits faced in previous years.

The proposed budget calls for nearly $100.3 million in revenues and nearly $99.8 million in expenditures. At the beginning of the budget process, the numbers were nearly $98.3 million in revenues and just over $99.7 million in expenditures, meaning just over $1.4 million was to be drawn from the fund balance. The revised budget shows $537,480 in the positive, according to the Dearborn Press & Guide.

Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Notable changes that have been proposed for the 2014 fiscal year budget include:

  • The city tax rate, which has been reduced to 25.9 mills, almost a 1 mill change from the current fiscal year. For a home with a taxable value of $100,000, the homeowner can expect a $2,590 tax rate.
  • Water and sewer rates will increase 5.8 percent on the new proposed budget as well.
  • No additional pools will be closed in fiscal year 2013-2014, however the multi-year plan calls for the phase out of most of the city's small pools and the addition of two splash parks.

Police and fire budgets see slight decrease

The Dearborn Police Department’s budget is expected to fall from roughly $37.5 million to nearly $34.5 million. The total subsidy will fall from more than $34.7 million to more than $31.6 million, and revenue is expected to remain just over $1.4 million. The revenue decrease is less than $5,000.

The department will have 215 full-time equivalent employees next fiscal year. The reduction of 18 officers and one full-time employee have been negotiated with department union contracts.

The Dearborn Fire Department's proposed budget for fiscal year 2013-14 is nearly $19.1 million, a drop from roughly $19.7 million. Revenue is projected to fall from more than $1.9 million to nearly $1.8 million.

Some of the big ticket items include $17.2 million for combined salary and benefits for the department's 121 firefighters, $123,587 for rentals, and $360,700 for supplies and materials.

19th District Court

The court’s budget is going from $4 million to just over $4.09 million, but its subsidy from the city is dropping from $300,000 to $209,430. Revenues are expected to jump from $3.7 million to nearly $3.9 million because of increased court costs and fines that are being assessed in litigation cases.

Dearborn Historical Museum

The Dearborn Historical Museum is asking for a city subsidy of $200,000 out of the general fund for the next five years. Revenues for 2013-14 are projected at $124,865 and expenditures are expected to reach $295,588.

The museum wants to draw $30,000 out of the Lizzie Ross Endowment Fund for porch repairs and other capital improvement projects. Jack Tate, chief curator for the museum, is also asking for a $400 stipend per month for his expenses.

Tate said he is working on projects to help the museum raise up to one-third of its budget in the next five years.

Mystic Creek Golf Course/Camp Dearborn

The proposed budget for Mystic Creek golf course calls for nearly $1.5 million in expenditures with more than $1.7 million in revenue projected.

Camp Dearborn is projecting $1.8 million in operating revenue for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recently informed the city that it needs to tighten its rules for camping trailers, which will affect Trailer Village 2.

Camp Dearborn Manager Lee Morris said trailers larger than 400 square feet will no longer be allowed because the state considers them to be mobile homes. It also prohibits any permanent structure that requires footings, or any anchor in the ground that supports a patio deck or enclosure. The camp will also have to address any trailers that have a cabana or covering enclosing the trailer.

Public Q &A

The fiscal year 2014 budget begins July 1, 2013 and ends June 30, 2014. To view all of the proposed budget documents, visit http://www.cityofdearborn.org/ and click on the "transparency" link.


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