Mount Pleasant and Union Township begin year with different budgets
Residents of Mount Pleasant and Union Township can expect some increased fees and reduced services as a result of newly approved budgets.
The plan for Mount Pleasant calls for nearly $960,000 in reduced spending, while Union Township’s total budget remained about the same.
Cuts to the city budget will affect areas such as public safety, but most spending was reduced through employee attrition, said City Manager Kathie Grinzinger.
“The City Commission took input from the public and made the very best decisions they could in a difficult economic environment,” Grinzinger said. “The dive in state revenue sharing has been an extreme factor.”
Mount Pleasant eliminated one detective position, one records professional and one fire prevention officer position. Any reduction in personnel is significant, said Police Capt. Tom Forsberg.
The number of detective positions was reduced from three to two and will have an impact on crime solvability, development and training of patrol officers in investigations and the timely completion of investigations, he said.
The work performed by the records position included direct support to the police administration. Those duties have been absorbed by the remaining staff and the timeliness of the completion of those tasks has been diminished, Forsberg said.
Public Safety cuts also include reduced overtime hours and education and prevention spending.
“The reductions in overtime have been somewhat offset by changes in the scheduling of the work and some reduction in assignments to special events,” Forsberg said.
City residents also now must pay more for services with the newly adopted budget.
Residential bag-and-tag prices for trash pickup have risen 50 cents per bag. Rental housing licensing and inspection fees rose 10 percent and new fees for non-residential usage of parks and recreation were established as well.
Union Township
Union Township’s 2011 budget is set at $6.9 million and includes several changes.
“It’s about level with last year,” said township Manager Brian Smith. “There was a decrease in $800,000 from the general fund.”
Road funding made up a significant portion of the cuts to the general fund.
Union Township spent a considerable amount of money on roads last year because a survey conducted by CMU indicated they were a high priority for residents, said township
