Board to vote on proposed budget in December

By Jim Newell
Review Writer
The Orion Township Board of Trustees wrapped up a series of budget workshops on Monday with a proposed balanced budget for the upcoming 2017 fiscal year, including $13,000 to spare.
The board is expected to vote on the proposed budget at its Dec. 5 meeting, but could also revisit the budget and make changes at its Nov. 21 meeting. The township’s fiscal year begins in January.
“I think we’ll be prepared to adopt our budget at the next meeting, or the meeting after that. December is usually when we adopt our budget,” Supervisor Chris Barnett said.
The township’s total expected general fund revenue for 2017 is $6.5 million, just surpassing its projected 2017 expenditures of $6.5 million.
The budgets for the police and fire departments are supported by millages, have their own budgets and are not reflected in the township’s general fund budget.
The board started holding budget workshops Oct. 10, beginning with a budget plan “$500,000 in the red,” Barnett said.
Now, after a half dozen meetings, the township’s proposed budget is nearly “$13,000 in the black.”
The township’s total projected tax revenue from all homes and businesses in the 2017 fiscal year is only $1.3 million.
Orion Twp. has ranked third, second and third in new housing permits in Oakland County over the past three years, Barnett said.
According to Oakland County assessment numbers, the township is only expecting a $28,000 increase over last year’s budget for property assessment.
“I think it is projected low, but we don’t have any basis to raise it (the projected amount), so we have to budget accordingly,” said Clerk Penny Shults.
“I continue to be baffled with our revenue,” Barnett said of the county’s assessment. “I hope that we finish the year with more than projected. I think it’s important for us to be conservative when we’re budgeting.”
Building permits are expected to bring in $900,000, and state revenue sharing is expected at $2.58 million.
Along with taxes from homes and businesses, these single largest sources of income for the township. Money from grants, fees, special assessments and other miscellaneous sources will fill out the $6.5 million in expected revenue.
The township has had a balanced budget for the past two years. Three years ago, the township began the fiscal year with a deficit but finished with a balanced budget.
Prior to that, the township had gone five years without a balanced budget, Barnett said.
The township also currently has a fund balance of about $6.5 million, Barnett said.
“It has been this board’s desire over the last four years to do everything in our power not to dip into our savings account,” Barnett said. “This board has made it a priority that we don’t want to.”
The proposed budget also includes $50,000 capital outlay for roads, something the township had not significantly budgeted for in the past.
“I think it’s nice to have money in a budget that we haven’t had in a long time,” Barnett said.
Orion Township doesn’t collect money for road taxes, and the board members agreed that they would like to see the money in its proposed roads budget used on projects that would benefit all residents, such as turn lanes or sidewalks, and not special assessment districts.
“We don’t collect a penny for roads,” Barnett said.
On healthcare, the township expects a 9.71 percent increase in insurance costs, but has budgeted conservatively for employee health insurance.
“Historically, over the last four years we’ve performed very well,” Barnett said. “There is no change in the proposed budget for healthcare.”

Go to the township’s website, oriontownship.org, for information on agendas, meeting dates and meeting synopses.