Farmington Hills Resident Disputes City Millage Information

Richard Harpster has lived in less than a year, but already, he has made an impression on city officials.

Harpster has taken a close look at the information officials are presenting about a public safety millage on the Nov. 8 ballot. Officials voted to put the 1.7 mill question to voters, due to a steady decline in revenues from property taxes and state revenue sharing.

After learning city manager Steve Brock was going to talk about the millage at a homeowner association meeting, Harpster said, "I decided I'd go research his presentation."

Using information he said is readily available on the city's website, Harpster came up with a presentation of his own, which he brought to the Oct. 24 Hills city council meeting. (Harpster's presentation PDF is posted with this article. Brock's presentation and budget documents can be found on the city's website.)

During public comment, Harpster raised a number of issues, ranging from an assertion that the city's overall spending has increased by 13 percent this year, to labor costs being higher, despite a reduction in the number of employees.

In an interview Tuesday, Brock said required governmental accounting changes, designed to improve transparency, added more than $5 million to the general fund budget. That includes rolling the ice arena fund into the general fund, according to the city's 2011-2012 budget document. Actual spending has not increased, he said.

A city budget document shows a $932,000 decrease in public safety spending between 2007-2008 and 2011-2012, without the new millage, and a $7.4 million decrease in overall spending during that same time period, with the 2011-2012 numbers modified to "back out" the accounting changes.

Compensation challenged

Taking total compensation and dividing it by the number of employees, Harpster calculated that the average city employee compensation package has increased by 17 percent, to over $92,000, which he said is 53 percent above the local median income. He calculated the average public safety employee salary at more than $142,000.

"They're claiming they cut 40 police," Harpster said, "but labor costs went up from 2007-2008 ... by well over $100,000. All they're doing is maintaining compensation levels."

Brock said aside from seniority and step increases tied to negotiated contracts, salaries have remained flat for all employees for two years, and three years for some. One-time payouts were made to employees who took early retirement in 2009-2010.

Brock said the city already requires employees to pay more in deductibles and co-pays than in years past. New state legislation requiring employees to contribute at least 20 percent of their health care costs could save the city about $600,000, he said.

The city is currently in negotiations with employees, Brock said, and concessions will be sought. But Harpster believes it's time for the city to get tougher in the bargaining process.

"All you have to do is look at the UAW (United Auto Workers), they get it," he said, referring to auto-maker unions that have taken concessions as their companies have struggled financially. "There is in the global marketplace a recalibration of wages going on."

Brock said when it comes to police and fire, the city does pay higher wages. He said most police officers hold college degrees, and "in the past, we've rewarded that. We want people, especially on the fire side, who are well-trained."

Public safety, general fund

Perhaps most importantly, Harpster believes the ballot question should be presented as a general fund millage. What officials will do, he said, is put millage dollars into public safety, and then remove general fund dollars that have been supporting the public safety budget, making it a windfall for the general fund.

"There's one truth here they don't want to talk about," Harpster said. "This is not a public safety increase. This is a general fund increase ... But the public would never vote for a general fund millage."

Police and fire budgets are funded by both a dedicated 1.4764 mills, in place until 2015, and general fund dollars, Brock said. The public safety millage currently generates less than $5 million of the $27 million spent on police and fire, and adding the new millage won't fully fund both departments, he added.

He acknowledged that, in the first few years, the requested public safety millage will likely generate more than is needed to balance the public safety budget. He said those dollars will go toward boosting the fund balance, a reserve officials keep on hand for cash flow and emergency purposes. He said that was also done when the last public safety millage was approved.

Harpster believes it's time for the city's budget to adjust to a different future, and Brock pointed out that's exactly the question before the voters. Officials approved the millage question to give voters a choice about whether they want to continue current service levels.

"If they want us to budget to the 'new normal', that's what we'll do," he said. "To me, it's a choice. People can choose, and as city manager, I will manage to the money on hand. If that's a lot less, I'll manage to that."

Harpster said he's amazed that officials unanimously voted to bring a millage question to voters, given the information available. "I can't see how in good conscience any of them could vote to put this on the ballot," he said. 

Harpster has requested that his presentation be added to the city's website. However, Brock said other residents have made similar requests, and he's not able to accommodate everyone. Just attempting to vet that information before posting it could be construed as advocating for the millage, which the city can't do.

You can view Harpster's presentation during the Oct. 24 city council meeting at swoccstudios.com (click on "Video on Demand").