MENOMINEE — The Menominee City Council unanimously approved its yearly budget on Wednesday night, with all members present.
The tax rate will be $13.69 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, a 1% decrease from last year’s $13.84 per $1,000 millage.
The overall budget is $16,871,036, up 2.5% from last year when it was $16,459,288
Capital expenditures represent $501,000 of the budget. The most significant expenditures are $140,000 for a leaf vacuum, $67,000 for a new police patrol car and outfitting it with the equipment, $50,000 for alley restoration and $14,000 for trailers for the Department of Public Works.
City Manager Brett Botbyl said the leaf vacuum is a completely new piece of equipment for the city. Collecting leaves in the fall usually takes five or six people. With the new system, one person with a single vehicle will vacuum up the sticks, leaves and catch basins for the storm sewers.
Botbyl said the alley restoration is part of their five-year plan, in which the city will seal the gravel in two layers to keep it in place.
“Hopefully, we can restore these alleys and make them more user-friendly and accommodating to the residents,” Botbyl said.
Mayor Casey Hoffman said they’re not working with much wiggle room in the budget this year.
“This is a skeletal budget,” Hoffman said. “We do have our eyes, though, on beautification in the city.”
He mentioned the library’s roof, which would need repair within the next couple of years. This is not in the budget this year, but is included in long-term plans.
He said he preferred to have more money for the Spies Public Library, which received $55,000. The library’s budget increased by $5,000 this year, but that doesn’t represent the $250,000 it used to receive prior to 2021. He said he hopes to have this fixed within four years.
“This is more disappointing than I had hoped, but it is a step in the right direction,” Hoffman said. “My hope is by the time I have completed my first term in office, the Spies Public Library will be funded at their regular allocation of $250,000 yearly from the general fund.”
Last year, Hoffman led an effort to bring attention to the library’s funding cuts from the city. The library is using donations, including two gifts from the Klar and Hunter families, to pay for its operational expenses, something Hoffman said the money wasn’t designated for in previous reporting with the EagleHerald.
Hoffman said the $295,000 in state money received for marijuana licenses has been incorporated into the year’s budget.
“The marijuana money is a part of the city’s general fund,” Hoffman said.
He said the city started the year with a revenue shortfall of about half a million dollars — the money makes up for more than half of that. The general fund represents $8,052,520 of the overall $16.8 million.
“That has allowed the city of Menominee to continue critical and extremely important projects that we can’t do without,” Hoffman said.
The budget also mentions garbage collection through the garbage millage. City manager Brett Botbyl said residents will pay the millage, which falls under the $13.69 tax rate, and a separate quarterly payment on their water bills. The quarterly payment went up $15 for the new cart service from Green for Life, which amounts to $5 a month.
Botbyl put the budget together with Kathy Brofka, city clerk and treasurer.
“I could not compile or prepare the budget or do my job without Kathy and the staff around me,” Botbyl said. “I have an amazing, dedicated team.”
In other business, the council approved a 3% raise for Botbyl’s city manager position.
Hoffman thanked Botbyl for his budgetary knowledge and asked Botbyl how long he wanted to remain in the position.
“If you’re comfortable sharing, do you have an estimate as to how long you would like to be in this position or when you might like to retire from it?” Hoffman said.
“I guess that depends on the council,” Botbyl said.
He said the council needs more training, and they’re only as good as their training.
“I’ve been here almost 15 years,” Botbyl said. “The problem has not been the manager, the problem has been the council… but it doesn’t mean we can’t work together toward a common goal.”
There was no public comment on the budget, with about five audience members in attendance.
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