Mount Clemens opens public hearing on proposed 2018'019 budget and proposes 22.0334 mills citywide

The Mount Clemens City Commission opened a public hearing on the proposed 2018'019 fiscal year budget and 2018 property tax millage rates and heard public comment before closing the hearing.

City staff read the proposed rates: total citywide millage of 22.0334 mills and a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) district millage of 1.6101 mills, and confirmed the hearing had been advertised according to the city charter.

During the hearing Gloria Haller (260 Cass) criticized continued transfers to the DDA and described the proposed millage as "too high," urging options that would reduce burdens on fixed-income residents, including the possibility of a city income tax or a rollback ballot question. Another resident proposed LED street-light conversion and a regional recycling strategy to save the city money and reduce energy costs.

The commission closed the hearing after public comment. No final millage adoption vote occurred at this meeting; the public hearing record will feed into forthcoming budget deliberations.