Brandon Twp.- In the first of what will be several strategic planning workshops, township boardmembers met on March 8 and were joined by Sheila Ronis, an associate professor of management at Walsh College. Ronis is facilitating the workshops free of charge to the township.
‘Dr. Ronis is guiding us through this,? said Supervisor Kathy Thurman. ‘It’s very important to have someone from outside the community with no agenda of their own to help us along.?
The township board is hoping to develop a 3-year budget with the workshops, which Thurman expects to take a few months. Like other municipalities around the state, the township faces shortfalls with decreased revenue and increased costs.
Thurman learned this week that constitutional revenue sharing may be decreasing another 3 percent.
‘You must reduce services in order to meet reduced revenue streams,? said Ronis during her first meeting with the board. ‘The question is how and what??
To help the board at the workshop, Ronis divided them into two groups to discuss strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the township. Strengths cited included the 2.5 acre minimum zoning and resulting rural atmosphere, police and fire services funded by separate millages, and small amount of long-term debt; weaknesses mentioned were a lack of sewers, restricted tax base due to zoning of lot size; foreclosures and loss of jobs in the area due to being auto industry-dependent; and high taxes.
‘It will take Michigan a long time to recover,? Ronis noted. ‘You must reduce services or increase taxes.?
Clerk Jeannie McCreery noted that the senior center and recreation department are the only two services offered by the township that are not mandated.
‘We have one of the most active senior centers around,? she said. ‘We could close it down, but it would be difficult and we would have to repay grants.?
‘What about healthcare?? Thurman asked. ‘State employees pay 10 to 20 percent of their own healthcare.?
She later said that since the township recently revised healthcare benefits for the employees, they may wait a year before doing more revisions and she is not sure what they would include.
Thurman disagrees that the senior center and recreation department are the only non-mandated services in the township? saying that group also includes police and fire, as well as the building department. The next strategic planning workshop is set for 5 p.m., March 22, at the library, 304 South St.