Administration to seek legal opinion on budget, TIF projections
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Village Council approved the Downtown Development Authority’s 2025-26 fiscal year budget on May 27 in a 5-2 vote.
Village Council President Teresa Rutt and Council Member Carl Cyrowski cast the nay votes.
The budget’s approval was on the village council’s agenda for their meeting on May 12, but was postponed to undergo revisions recommended by Lake Orion Village Manager Darwin McClary.
“I am recommending that council return the DDA budget unapproved to the DDA board for additional consideration due to the fact that the DDA budget appropriation for the village’s administrative services to handle and audit the DDA funds does not reflect the proper amount of the assessed costs for the village to handle and audit the funds of the DDA,” McClary said on May 12.
Some corrections are still necessary, according to a council action summary sheet, but the corrections were discussed with the DDA Board during its meeting on May 20 and “do not significantly change the proposed budget.”
“I am confident that those will be corrected when the DDA board gives final action to their budget,” McClary said on May 27. “I am recommending approval of their budget at this time.”
The DDA fund has $2,146,542 budgeted in revenues and $1,842,048 in expenditures. The downtown development bond project 2023 fund budgeted $421,621 in revenues and $1,267,741 in expenditures, the public infrastructure fund has $112,993 budgeted in revenues and $0 in expenditures and the property acquisition fund $0 budgeted in revenues and $169,436 budgeted in expenditures.
Council Member Michael Lamb made the motion to approve the budget, but originally moved not to approve the it because he believes the DDA should return some funds to communities they capture taxes from.
“In the years 2025 and 2026, the proposed tax increment finance plan says they will be using $866,017, then in 2026, they’re supposed to be using $883,338,” Lamb said. “Interestingly enough, the tax capture for this year is $1,000,047. So, once again, reading state law, looking at their TIF plan, identifying these issues, they should be giving back between $120,000 and $150,000 to the communities from which they capture the taxes.”
Lamb withdrew his first motion after multiple council members said the budget should be approved after the amount of work that was put into the budget, and because they did not have the information Lamb brought forward earlier.
“Just to get (the information) now, I can’t evaluate that, but I can evaluate where we’re at with the DDA budget as presented,” President Pro-Tem Stan Ford said.
Also included in the approved motion was for village administration to seek legal opinion on how to proceed in the future regarding the DDA budget and TIF projections.
“I’m sure that there’s another side to the story and I would like to hear both sides,” Council Member George Dandalides said, later adding “I’d like somebody who is familiar with the laws and whatnot to look at it and give us advice.”
The budget’s final adoption will go back to the DDA’s board of directors for approval. Under state law, the village council must approve the budget before it can be adopted, according to village documents.