Mount Clemens commission adopts interim budgets, delays and then sets tax rate at 21.6528 mills

The Mount Clemens City Commission on May 18 adopted interim budget resolutions for fiscal 2020-21 and set a compromise tax rate after an extended debate over how to balance resident relief and looming revenue shortfalls.

The commission first adopted the General Appropriations Act and a resolution limiting expenditure authority to quarterly allotments through Sept. 30, 2020, directing staff to return with a revised annual budget before the end of September. City Manager Johnson and Finance Director Cliff Mason told the commission the adopted figures were interim and would be revisited during strategic planning and the full budgeting process.

The meeting turned to a prolonged argument over Resolution 3, which would set tax rates for the coming year. One commissioner opposed keeping the rate the same as the previous year, saying, "Keeping the tax rate the same at 21.5125 mills blows a $111,000 hole in the budget on top of an already projected $697,000 shortfall," and warned the gap could rise to more than $1.3 million by June 30 without action. Opponents countered that raising the millage during economic uncertainty would further burden homeowners and that staff could explore equitable alternatives such as service-fee credits or temporary garbage-fee reductions.

Finance Director Cliff Mason presented a compromise that split the difference between earlier competing proposals, recommending a citywide operating millage of 21.6528 mills and a Downtown Development Authority component of 1.59345 mills, for a total millage of 23.24625. After the commission revisited the question later in the agenda and asked staff for the breakdown by component, a motion to set the operating millage at 21.6528 (total 23.2463) passed by roll call (recorded votes in the meeting transcript: Mensah NO; Voorhees YES; Campbell YES; Fournier YES; Hammond YES; a recorded "begrudgingly" YES was entered by another member).

The commission emphasized the temporary nature of the adopted figures. "These numbers will be amended come September," a commissioner said, and staff repeated that a revised budget would be brought forward for full consideration before Oct. 1.

What happens next: commissioners directed staff to prepare a revised budget and provide the component breakdowns of the millage for public records and for the next meetings where final appropriations will be considered.