Aside from decisions pending from the school district about winterizing its Glendale, Roosevelt and Lindberg buildings, city clerk Sharon Gibbs noted that census figures due to arrive in August may reorganize precincts further. Until then, the City Clerk’s office chose to go to the city council for the temporary move.
Read MoreChief Gill indicated that members of the city’s police force previously ran the auction of items and were paid overtime to run the event.
Mayor Darrel Paige indicated that having professionals like Midwest Liquidators could help drive final buying prices higher. Professional auctioneers are more skilled and could generate more revenue than the police force could.
Read MoreOn a recommendation from the city manager, the city council voted 5-1 to charge residents a 2 dollar “Transaction Service Fee” for payments made without bills present at the time of payment. The fee is meant to offset the administrative costs associated with locating the resident’s account and verify the payment amount on demand.
Read MoreNew fiber lines will not need to be run to city hall for the service, as the city’s police and fire departments already have the lines; this is a significant cost savings for implementation. New phone equipment will need to be purchased, and will cost $40,000 over 5 years. According to the city’s finance department, this will still save the city $7,000 a year for until the equipment is paid off; after that, savings of roughly $15,000 a year will be achieved.
Read MoreFrom budget documents, the city anticipates $6,109,828 in revenues and $5,975,597 in expenditures in 2012. This leaves a $134,231 operating fund balance. Under the umbrella of Public Safety, the city’s police and fire departments have a budget of 2,813,084, which includes grants received by both departments and is roughly 47% of the city’s total expenditures.
Read MoreBefore Monday’s full council meeting, City Manager Natasha revisited the four focus areas the council defined in a planning workshop at the start of their 2011 fiscal year in January: fiscal responsibility, infrastructure, blight elimination and marketing. Tying into the marketing goal, Henderson spoke about economic development of the city and recommended the council assess their visions of the future of the city from an economic development perspective.
Read MoreDorothy Scott says “She is concern about the police force and our safety”.
Read MoreWhile the city bills its residents for sewer services, it must pay that money forward to the countywide wastewater system. When the county elected to increase rates for use of its wastewater system, cities and townships across the county must now consider finding a way to pay for it.
Read MoreNext Tuesday’s deadline to file to run for Mayor or City Council of Muskegon Heights is fast approaching. At 4 p.m. on August 16, no more candidacies will be accepted for the three city council positions plus mayor, all of which will be voted on this November.
Read MoreAs a component of the plan, Muskegon Heights’ plant would give up control of the operation of the plant. In return, Muskegon would pay the Muskegon Heights $1.2 million per year for 5 years, paying a total of $6 million to take full operational control of the plant. Muskegon Heights, however, would retain ownership of the plant itself and the waterfront land it sits on.
Read MoreCouncil members unanimously approved the use of $500,000 from a grant awarded by the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund for the park. To get that money for the park, the city needs to put up a $200,000 match. The city has chosen to use $200,000 they got from a grant from another state government organization, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
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