Collin Walls crunched through shifting priorities and one big unknown as he began preparing the budget for his successor.
Walls, retiring after more than three decades as Springfield Township’s supervisor, said he is concerned by an imminent increase in the cost of police services from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
With the OCSO deputy’s union contract currently in arbitration, municipalities who contract with OCSO are waiting in financial limbo.
Inflationary and economic changes in the last five years, Walls explained, will force OCSO to pass along cost increases by bumping municipal contracts to a higher-than-usual percentage increase.
‘We’ve been told there’s the possibility for an increase in the neighborhood of 10 percent,? said Walls.
OCSO Undersheriff Mike McCabe acknowledged the likelihood of such an increase, citing the rise in fuel, health care and other costs.
Deputies, he said, have been without a contract nearly six years.
As costs for services rise, the township will need to pass those increases along to taxpayers.
For decades, said Walls, township officials have budgeted to hold in reserve at least six months’ideally 12’in operating funds for each account.
The police fund, however, is slipping into numbers low enough to make Walls uncomfortable.
‘It makes us all nervous,? he said. ‘It’s almost certain that by 2010 we will need to ask for an increase in the millage for police service, or we will need to cut service.?
In addition to upcoming police costs, and the 2009 budget in general, Walls is also preparing a 2010 budget as a service to the incoming board members.
‘We all recognize that it will be amended and modified,? he said. ‘But at least it will give the three new elected people, along with the others that are staying, an idea of what somebody had in mind historically.?
Walls said he also intended to allocate a budget increase for workshops, conferences and training seminars, noting he and Clerk Nancy Strole stopped attending such events about three years ago when budget constraints forced the township to tighten its belt.
‘When you’re laying off people, not filling vacancies or not giving raises to staff, that’s not the time to’go to conferences, even though they might be very helpful,? he said.
‘While it’s never been the case here, the perception to many people is that conferences are social time.?
But with two newly elected full-time officials set to take office Nov. 20, Walls said it was time to reinstate the practice.
‘They’re going to need to attend those kinds of things,? he said.
Walls said he was not anticipating building a raise for elected officials into the budget, and noted supervisor-elect Mike Trout and clerk-elect Laura Moreau balked at the suggestion, anyway.
Springfield’s three full-time elected officials last received a raise in 2004.
Currently, the supervisor’s salary is set at $63,800; the clerk and treasurer both earn an annual $54,700.
‘I would have been willing to propose a raise for the elected officials this year because I think it’s warranted,? he said.
‘But they said ‘no thank you.??
Walls did intend, however, to include raises for non-elected township employees in the budget, but noted it was too early to say for sure.
‘By the time I present a draft to the township board it will be version three or four,? he said.
‘But yes, I started that way because I think it’s warranted and I need to know what the budget looks like with those raises in there.?
Crunching numbers for the township’s various departments, Walls said he found ‘no surprises? in the budget requests from the Park Commission or the assessor’s office.
And, since the board recently received an updated five-year capital plan from the township fire department, Walls said budget recommendations from Chief Charlie Oaks were as expected, as well.
Oaks concurred, but did say another full-time firefighter was warranted.
In addition to Oaks? position, the department currently employs 2 full-time firefighters and some 30 on-call personnel.
‘It used to be you had a lot of the part-time guys working right there in downtown Davisburg and close by,? said Oaks. ‘So they could leave their jobs and head out to a call if the alarm sounded.?
Not so anymore.
Most, if not all, part-time firefighters have full-time day jobs away from the township.
‘The staffing situation can get pretty lean in the daytime,? said Oaks, noting the cost to bring on another full-time person, including salary and benefits, was in the neighborhood of $50,000.
Like anyone else, Oaks said he has a wish-list of things that would be nice to have, but notes the department is in good shape.
‘Our township board has been 100 percent good to the fire department,? he said.
‘They’ve never denied any equipment I’ve asked for.?
Walls said he felt the same was true for the township in general.
‘Considering the impact of the economy on the entire state as well as Springfield, I think the township is in good shape,? he said.
‘We have reserves that will allow us to weather the storm, if we don’t do things that aren’t fiscally well thought-out.?
The township board will hold a budget workshop at 7p.m. Sept. 3. A public hearing will be scheduled, likely in October, before the budget is officially approved.
By law, the budget must be adopted by year’s end.