The city’s projected general fund budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year is about $31.5 million.

Starting April 16, about 14 employees who currently staff the emergency dispatch center located at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road, will transfer to a consolidated facility in Lansing that will service all of Ingham County, City Manager George Lahanas said.

City officials project the move will shrink East Lansing’s public safety expenditures from about $18.8 million for the 2011-12 fiscal year to about $17.8 million during the 2012-13 fiscal year, according to estimates.

Under preliminary plans, the city’s hazardous sidewalks program also would be eliminated starting with 2012-13 fiscal year. The move is projected to decrease spending on the program by more than $360,000.

Although the city should be able to balance its budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year using money from its undesignated fund balance, Councilmember Kevin Beard said East Lansing needs to be proactive when addressing its budget problems for the upcoming year.

The city has about $4.2 million in undesignated funding set aside in its 2011-12 fiscal year budget.

Undesignated funding is not allocated for specific use and instead acts as a “rainy day fund” to cover emergencies or unforeseen expenses, Beard said.

Councilmember Don Power said city officials must be cognizant of a changing community when examining possible budget solutions, including increasing property taxes.

“Public bodies, if we don’t plan way ahead, we will fail,” he said.

East Lansing officials are looking at other options to balance the budget in the face of a struggling economy.

In 2011, the city implemented a policy for existing employees that pushed back the age of access for retiree health care benefits to 58, from either 50 or 55 years old, depending on the employee’s department.

“At this point, there are some things that hopefully will go to the positive,” Lahanas said when
speaking of the city’s financial situation. “We are hopeful that perhaps we’ll realize some reductions.”

Less than five community members attended the open meeting on Saturday. But community input is important when addressing city finances, Beard said.

“Part of this conversation has to be to demonstrate what has already been done,” Beard said. “People just don’t know about it — they believe nothing has changed, frankly.”