Council endorses $10.2 million spending plan for next year on narrow vote
CHEBOYGAN — The Cheboygan City Council Tuesday night signed off on a $10.2 million budget for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1.
The $10.2 million covers all city services including police and fire, sewer and water and funds all city departments. The 2023-2024 budget totaled about $12.7 million, according to city manager Dan Sabolsky.
The budget proposal includes wage increases of 3.5 percent for police union members, 3 percent for members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and 3 percent for all other employees.
Sabolsky said capital expenditures for next year include $3 million to finish the sewer/water projects on Bailey, Ball, Cuyler and Huron streets. Most of the funding for those will come from state grants and loans.
The capital spending plan has $871,000 allocated for work on the Children's Trail and fishing piers courtesy of a Spark grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Other capital expenditures include $350,000 for sandblasting the Lincoln Street bridge.
The budget was approved on a 4-3 vote by the council. Adam Bedwin, Hayley Dodd, Mayor Brett Mallory and Diane Mills were in favor of the spending plan while Mary Darling, Ken Kwiatkowski and Diane Raab voted no.
Kwiatkowski said he was "all right" with the budget but remains opposed to a new five-mill property tax levy that council approved late last year. The levy, expected to raise about $550,000 annually for public safety, is the result of a special police and fire district that was created by the council in a vote last December.
Kwiatkowski said the five-mill tax "is a burden for most in this town." The city is expected to start collecting money from the tax at the end of the year.
Raab said she is concerned because "it is an unsustainable budget."
"I want to see more revenue-producing businesses in the city," she said.
Bedwin defended the budget as a financial blueprint that allows the city to maintain services while spending on areas that need improvement like equipment, streets and utility projects.
According to city treasurer Casey Clear, the owner of a home with a taxable value of $100,000 will pay approximately $2,120 in property taxes to cover the budget. The budget also includes a reserve fund of about $1.4 million.
"Our auditors said we should be between $1.3 million and $1.5 million and we are right in the middle of that," Sabolsky said.
The fund also acts as a cash management account for the city to enable flexibility in paying bills and other obligations.
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In other matters, Stephen Lindsay is ending his contract as city attorney. Lindsay did not provide a specific reason for the early termination other than to say "circumstances beyond my control are such that I have no choice but to provide this notice at this time."
Council accepted the contract termination with "extreme regret." Lindsay, whose brother and father also served as city attorney, was praised by Sabolsky.
"He knew the community well. Not only does he help us with legal matters sometimes he provides us with some of the history of how things were done in the past. His level of professionalism is unmatched," he said.
Sabolsky is accepting proposals from those interested in providing legal services to the city.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Cheboygan council endorses $10.2 million spending plan for next year on narrow vote
