City of E.L. to approve expanded budget

The city of East Lansing plans to approve its $95 million budget for 2009-10 fiscal year during its meeting Tuesday.

And despite the downturn of Michigan’s economy, East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis said the city has managed its budget well.

“The city has done a very good job at conducting itself from a financial standpoint,” he said. “We have benefited from some smart growth in the city.”

The $95 million budget is a 41.52 percent increase from last year’s $67 million budget. The main reason for the increase is because City Center II bonds were incorporated into the budget, specifically money for a theater and parking ramp planned for the project. The City Center II project would revamp the area bounded by Grand River Avenue, Abbot Road and Valley Court Park.

Several large park projects also are adding to the total funds for the new budget.

Loomis said there were no planned job cuts for current employees, but some open positions would go unfilled, including some in the city clerk’s office.

“Job preservation is very important to me. The last thing I want to do is to reduce positions,” he said.

City officials are concerned about receiving decreased revenue from the state, after the state treasurer and state fiscal agencies met at the Capitol on May 15 and voted to accept the lowest revenue estimate since 1991, which is $7.4 billion. That’s $871 million below a January estimate.

“I think we distinguish ourselves for having a budget that is balanced and that doesn’t raise taxes,” East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said. “Our ability to do that next year will be significantly challenged.”

City officials plan to advocate for fewer cuts for communities at the state Capitol before the state budget is approved in October. Without funding from the state, the city could face cuts in all departments, Loomis said.

“We already think we know what the worst case is for East Lansing,” Staton said. “The worst case is sort of death for the community. We can’t take that kind of money out of the city’s budget without completely fraying the community life.”

Terry Stanton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Treasury, said there would be a 4 percent reduction for the entire state budget, but specifics were unknown at this time and couldn’t be predicted.

“What changes would occur with revenue sharing would be speculation at this point,” he said.

Both Staton and Loomis acknowledged the cut in government revenue could hurt East Lansing, but there would be no immediate change.

“We will have to deal with it when it happens,” Loomis said.