The River Country Journal has sought comments from a variety of area leaders regarding the budget proposal put forth this week by Governor Rick Snyder.
City Manager Joe Bippus put together the following thoughts regarding the budget’s impact on the City of Three Rivers:
“In all likelihood, we will have to adjust costs in order to provide a balanced budget. There are a couple of issues that we are watching at the moment. One is the budget announcement of eliminating statutory revenue sharing. Three Rivers could lose $302,000 if this passes. The second issue is SB-34. We are unclear if the governor supports this bill which is having hearings at the moment. This bill proposes eliminating personal property taxes for businesses. If passed it could be an additional $619,000 budget reduction.
“The City of Three Rivers has responded to previous losses in revenue, by reducing staff, outsourcing services, passing costs on to employees, delaying capital purchases, consolidating services and entering into shared service agreements. All of these efforts have allowed the submission of a balanced budget to the City Commission. There is the potential for local governments that have acted responsibly like this to get back some revenue sharing.
“The City will continue to look for strategic, creative and alternative ways to maintain a balanced budget. Our continuing goal is to provide quality services to the public.”
EDITORS NOTE: The governor’s recommended budget and related material are available online at www.michigan.gov/budget.
