By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — Lake Orion’s Village Council adopted the village’s 2025-26 fiscal year budget and millage rates during their regular meeting on Monday.
The budget includes $11,518,834 in total revenues for all funds and $13,880,609 in total expenditures, according to village documents.
Expenditures exceed the budget’s listed revenues by over $2 million because the village anticipates having that amount in excess bond funds from the sanitary sewer pump station improvement project, according to Village Manager Darwin McClary. The village intends to use the funds for phase two and possibly for phase three.
The village’s taxable value for the upcoming fiscal year will be $199,003,290 before DDA capture and $156,779,870 after.
Council Member Michael Lamb noted the DDA capturing $42,223,420 of the village’s taxable value, and added “I think this number needs to not increase.”
“I’ve told you before in the next three years, it should approach 40% with the new developments all being captured,” he said.
Lake Orion will levy 9.7844 mils for charter general operating purposes, the same as this fiscal year, 2.6155 mils for police operations, a rollback from this fiscal year, and 0.2315 mils under the voter-approved Headlee override millage which is also for police operations.
“The two police millages, when added together, amount to the same millage as the current fiscal year,” McClary said.
Village Council President Teresa Rutt said the total millage rate will also remain unchanged from the current fiscal year.
“We do have the option every year to increase that slightly, but we don’t,” Rutt said. “If your taxes go up it’s because your house value is going up, not because we are trying to impose more taxes on you.”
The proposed budget was included in village documents and breaks down different funds, their revenues and expenditures, their beginning fund balance and ending fund balance.
Lake Orion estimates $2,442,177 in general fund revenues and $2,523,698 in expenditures. The fund’s beginning balance is listed at $1,283,671 and its ending fund balance is estimated to be $1,212,150. The largest source of approved revenue for the general fund is from current real property taxes, and totals an approved $1,513,672
The major street fund’s revenues is estimated to be $258,830 with expenditures at $235,778. Its beginning and ending fund balance are listed as $553,311 and $576,363.
The local street fund revenues are listed as an estimated $179,642 while expenditures are listed at $167,391. This leaves the ending fund balance at $65,951 from a beginning fund balance of $53,700.
The police fund’s expected revenues are $1,179,939 and its expected expenditures are $1,179,838. This brings the fund’s beginning fund balance from $85,632 to $85,733. This fund’s largest source of approved revenues comes from a $500,000 transfer from the village’s general fund.
The public works fund’s anticipated expenditures are listed at $619,878 compared to $593,910 in expected revenues. The fund’s beginning balance is listed as $150,064 and the ending balance is listed as $124,096
The sewer debt service fund lists $304,667 in expected revenues and expenditures. This fund’s beginning and ending balance is $0.
Lake Orion’s capital projects fund’s expected revenues and expenditures are $185,000, and its beginning and ending balance is $2,482.
The sewer capital improvement fund lists 3,122,288 in revenues and $5,513,619 in expenditures. This fund’s beginning balance is $2,391,616 and its ending balance is expected to be $285. This fund covers the sewer pump station improvement project McClary mentioned during the meeting.
The water and sewer fund’s expected revenues total $3,122,288 while expenditures total $3,150,740. This takes the fund’s beginning balance from $6,298,139 to an end balance of $6,381,280.
The budget’s adoption comes nearly one month after village council held a public hearing on the proposed budget and rates, and requested changes to the budget to reflect an agreement between the village and DDA budgets regarding service agreement fees.
To view the budget report included in village council documents, visit lakeorion.org/meetings and click on the village council’s June 9 agenda packet.