Orion Township is feeling the impact of the global economic decline and is in for more, according to Township Supervisor Matt Gibb.
There in an overall 12 percent decline in residential value predicted for Oakland County in the next year.
A 6.5 percent decline is forecasted for Orion in 2009. This figure includes residential, which could be down 12 percent, and commercial, down 2 percent.
‘Those are the numbers we have to work with,? Gibb said. ?2009 is going to be a little tricky.?
As for 2008, Gibb said, ‘We were pretty good with our numbers, pretty solid on revenue.?
But the township did feel a bit of a crunch. Usually, at the end of the year, there is a surplus that is directed into the general fund.
That was not the case for 2008.
‘Historically, we always run at a surplus. We did not finish the year with a budget surplus.?
So, how to get through 2009?
‘We’re not going to increase taxes, that’s for sure,? he said.
The challenge will be to provide the same services without the surplus Orion is used to, Gibb said.
One of the reasons is that residential property values are at about the same point of the rise of inflation in the Proposal A formula of how property taxes are levied.
While this may be part of the problem, Orion businesses going under is also to blame. Places like Kopy Corp, which went out of business in early 2008, provide much-needed tax money for the township.
‘Are we growing, or are we stagnant?? Gibb said.
Attracting new business is on the forefront of the new supervisor’s agenda.
‘We need to change the mentality,? he said. ‘We have to think more strategic and more aggressive.?
He said he would like Orion to become a primary target for new business development.
To achieve this, the township needs to make it easy for prospective new outfits to come to Orion.
Government’s goal in this, according to Gibb, is to make sure the right infrastructure is in place. He also said the township could make things quicker for business looking to come to Orion.
As far as getting any piece of new President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus package, Gibb isn’t holding his breath.
Places like Orion don’t generally qualify for such things, even when the filter down through the state level.
‘We’ll just continue to pay our taxes here like we always do,? Gibb said.