Last-minute budget talks

Representatives from the Lansing Fire Fighters, Fraternal Order of Police, United Auto Workers and Teamsters unions are asking the Lansing City Council to raise property taxes as high as it can.

Because of the failure last week of the special election to raise property taxes by 4 mills to generate revenue for police, fire and roads services, union officials are hoping the Council will raise taxes unilaterally to help maintain those services, said Bryan Epling, president of the Lansing Fire Fighters union.

The unions wrote a joint letter to the Council this week seeking the increase.

Epling said the roughly 16 percent voter turnout is not representative of the whole city.

“I have absolute respect for the Democratic process in place,” Epling said. “I know only 16 percent came out to vote. I know there’s the concern (about whether) the general populace spoke.”

Epling called those who voted against the millage the “vocal minority.”

“With the cuts facing my membership and degradation of services in the community, sometimes as leaders we’re in positions to make tough decisions. Sometimes those go against the vocal minority,” he said.

City Council can approve up to about 3.7 mills more in property tax without exceeding the state limit. However, at least one council member, Kathie Dunbar, said no to the idea. Dunbar led the effort to place the millage increase on the ballot.

Meanwhile, City Council members Brian Jeffries, Carol Wood and Eric Hewitt co-authored a list of budget ideas that suggest upwards of $5.3 million in savings and new revenue at Monday’s Council meeting. This money would be in lieu of the $8.5 million that was expected to be generated by the millage.

Some of the ideas include selling the downtown Oliver Towers at an estimated $2 million, annexing the Capitol Regional International Airport into the city so the city can collect taxes from it and closing the north and south police precincts to run the department out of City Hall. Oliver Towers housed senior citizens until a fire in 2000. It still houses offices for the Lansing Housing Commission.

Jeffries said the four-page memo is a list of “ideas that merit further discussion.”

A spokesman for the Bernero administration said “it’s not a budget plan — it’s more of a hodge-podge of reckless” and “irresponsible” ideas.

“It’s gum drops, lollipops and pipe dreams masquerading as a serious proposal,” said Randy Hannan, Mayor Virg Bernero’s deputy chief of staff. “You can’t just pull the plugs on police stations without having an alternative, and the alternative costs millions of dollars.”

As for selling Oliver Towers, Hannan said “it’s not a bad idea” but that the sale process is much more complicated than the city deciding it’s going to sell it. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has the final say on a sale, he said.

Epling hadn’t seen the Jeffries, Wood and Hewitt list of budget suggestions, but he said if other potential cuts and new revenue exists, it should be explored.

“If there’s a chance to identify savings that could bring in the same revenue or savings, that’d be a great opportunity. If they’re unable to do that, consider raising the mills,” he said.

Hannan said it’s “highly unlikely” Bernero would support a millage increase by Council that’s “very close to scale and size” to the proposal that failed. He said the May 3 vote “is what it is.”

“It’s always disappointing to see low voter turnout in any circumstances,” he said.