Richmond Common Council debates using police/fire pension levy for budget shortfalls, advances 12 ordinances on first reading

The Richmond Common Council on Monday, Sept. 29, discussed reallocating portions of property-tax levies tied to older police and fire pension plans to help cover city budget shortfalls and approved a motion to suspend the rules and read ordinances 38–49 by title on first reading.

The discussion began during the mayor’s financial update, when he said a recent county calculation estimated roughly $680,000 “and change” would flow to Richmond in 2026 from a Wayne County levy that will be deposited into two new funds intended to support streets and matching grants. The mayor also told the council the Board of Works approved a 2026 Wayne Township fire protection contract for $894,254 — about $79,000 more than 2025 — and a Spring Grove fire protection contract for $78,005.89.

Why it matters: council members pressed city officials for clarity about whether and how money from multiple levies — including longstanding pension levies created in 1925 and 1937 — might be redirected to cover shortfalls in the 2025 and 2026 budgets and to fund parks services. Several members said they need firmer, auditable numbers before voting on a balanced 2026 budget.

Sherry Hemingway, identified as benefits administration staff, described how the city budgets and uses three pension-related funds. Hemingway said the 1925 police and 1937 fire funds (“the old plans”) currently pay monthly pensions to retirees and surviving spouses and that the funds will naturally shrink over time as beneficiaries age. She told the council both funds entered 2025…