A ‘divide and survive? strategy is on the table to secure funding for a new senior center in Independence Township, while at the same time making sure the area’s Parks and Recreation department has enough money to stay afloat.
‘Our main goal is to get the senior center built and at the same time stabilize the Parks and Recreation budget,? Independence Township Parks and Recreation Director Mike Turk said.
At the Jan. 17 township meeting, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission was scheduled to present a plan asking to place a millage and bond issue on the August 2006 ballot to support the construction and support of a new senior center.
Such a millage would affect Parks and Recreation as a whole, as 20 percent of its current budget goes to running the senior center.
‘This would really be a benefit to the senior center and parks and recreation,? Turk said.
According to a draft of the proposal, a millage to support the new senior center would fall in between .25-.5 mills. At .25 mills, $408,880 would be generated annually with a $30.37 average cost per year to residents. At .5 mills, $817,760 would be generated annually with an average yearly cost of $60.74 to taxpayers. Those figures are based on households whose taxable value is $121,471.
The PRAC draft also suggests a maximum bond of $3 million for the construction of the senior center, assuming a 20-year repayment schedule and a five percent interest rate. A .1089 millage rate would be required per year for repayment of the bond.
Turk, who is on the PRAC, stated the committee was instructed to examine future funding for parks and recreation. In total, a dozen different millage proposals and scenarios were and will continue to be considered. The scenarios range from a 1 mil request for Parks and Recreation funding to no millage proposal at all while economic conditions improve.
?(The PRAC examined) what we can do as a township to stabilize funding,? Turk said. ?(At the Jan. 17 board meeting) they are giving a summary of what the Parks and Recreation Committee has been working on.?
The advisory committee is chaired by David Lohmeier, former member of the Independence Township Planning Commission, and includes many current employees and officials affiliated with both Parks and Recreation, the township and community groups such as the Clarkston Chamber of Commerce.
With expenses expected to continue to rise while the parks and recreation budget remains the same, Turk characterized the move to make the senior center autonomous as a temporary fix.
‘We know that this is not going to solve all of the problems,? Turk said. ‘But, I don’t think it is a good time to propose a full millage.?
The PRAC draft mentions the possible effect school, police, fire and library millages already slated for 2006 might have on a full scale Parks and Recreation millage in August.
The proposal also considers future projected funding options for Parks and Recreation both with and without senior services.
According to the Parks and Recreation departments analysis of revenues and expenditures, should the general fund contribution to the department stay around $1 million annually in 2007, $408,800 would be required to maintain and an additional $438,000 needed to restore. If a millage were used to address those costs, a rate of .2625 would be required to maintain and .2829 to restore ? or .5454 together.
The analysis also examined the amount of money needed if the contribution from the general fund to was lowered to $500,000 annually. The costs to maintain would be the same, but $938,500 would be required to restore. With less money from the general fund, restoration costs would call for a millage rate of .6055 ? or .8679 when combined with maintenance.
‘It’s very difficult, as a manager, to plan properly and create new programs when you don’t know how much money will be available,? Turk said. ‘I think all of our programs have suffered. Last year, when we closed the beach at Bay Court Park, people started to see that.?
Coming away from the senior center proposal, the PRAC is slated to continued mulling over dedicated millage options for Parks and Recreation on the whole.
Pick up next week’s edition of The Clarkston News for reaction to and any board action taken on the proposal.