Tax Increase Won't Happen Without Further Spending Cuts, Council Members Say

The won’t necessarily mean higher taxes, say some members of Dearborn City Council–at least not without more spending cuts.

Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly –which gives the city the authority to increase taxes by 3.5 mills for up to five years–as affirmation that residents believe the city is moving in the right direction.

“The people weren’t for it–I understand that,” he said on Election Night. “I always knew this was going to be a tough vote. But it came out very well, and I’m happy.”

But Council President Tom Tafelski, as well as Councilmember Bob Abraham, both stressed the fact that though the proposal passage allows council to increase taxes, it doesn’t guarantee that they will.

“Voters have given the mayor and the council the authority to increase the mills and we’ll have to, through the budgetary process, make sure that what we utilize is appropriate for the services we’re providing,” Tafelski said. “We’ll have to look at what departments we’ve been able to consolidate and streamline.”

Tafelski has been an outspoken proponent of governmental consolidation since 2011-12 budget discussions started, but said that the move to merge departments has to come from the mayor.

“I'm a strong proponent of streamlining," Tafelski . "We need to take it a step further (and consolidate departments). We may find that we run more efficiently."

Both Tafelski and Abraham have said they won’t support a millage increase until they see more spending cuts.

“There’s two sides to the problem–spending and revenue,” Abraham said. “If we don’t solve spending, we’re going to be asking for another tax increase in a few years.”

He named minimum staffing for the city’s police and fire departments as his No. 1 issue to address before a tax increase would be conscionable.

“We have to solve minimum staffing in the police and fire department and get more creative on how we’re organized in the fire department,” Abraham said. “I’m not convinced that cutting staffing in fire is the solution, but I do believe there are some theories to explore.”

Among those theories, he named possible changes in scheduling.

As for the police department–which has consistently operated under minimum staffing levels for years–Abraham simply said, “If we don’t need them, don’t make me budget for them.”

Additionally, Abraham pointed to the sharing of services with other municipalities as a way for Dearborn to save money. That could include police dispatch, fire services or even public works.

“Those are where the dollars are,” he said, “but it’s a difficult process.”

Currently, Dearborn shares a fuel pump with Dearborn Heights, and the two cities’ library systems in January. Neither, however, has made a significant dent in the budget shortfall.

The bottom line, said Tafelski, is that raising taxes–even the full 3.5 mills–will never be enough to cover Dearborn’s deficit while keeping city services consistent.

“Even if the council takes (the millage increase) to the maximum amount allowed, we’re still $8.5 million in the hole,” he said. “There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Tafelski said he expects City Council and Mayor O’Reilly to begin preliminary 2012 budget discussions in the coming weeks.