Grosse Ile board approves amended 2024–25 budgets and adopts 2025–26 budget; HUD timing could cause temporary block-grant deficit

The Grosse Ile Township Board approved a set of amendments to the 2024–25 fiscal budgets and adopted the township’s fiscal year 2025–26 budget at its March 24 meeting.

Finance Director Teresa McLaughlin explained the amendments were driven by audit adjustments, escrow closings and the need to record revenue and expenditures that were previously held in an escrow fund. McLaughlin said one large item moved from the escrow into specific fund accounts was a state donation balance of about $483,000 (amount recorded following audit adjustments).

McLaughlin described bookkeeping and timing issues tied to prior administrations that required some activity to be recorded in the current year. She said a 2023 land sale to the open-space fund had not been cash-transferred properly; auditors allowed a current-year adjustment because the amount was not material.

McLaughlin also flagged a potential timing shortfall on a federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) reimbursement for work on the township pool house. She told the board: “If we do not receive the revenue by the May, '60 days after our year end, the revenue that I recorded has coming in has to be moved to a deferred inflow, and we will have a deficit in that fund.” She said the total grant for the project was “over $600,000,” and the township had incurred preliminary reimbursable costs; the project is a reimbursement grant and cannot be submitted for reimbursement until Wayne County/HUD releases the funds.

Why it matters: The approved amendments and the new fiscal-year budget set spending authority and appropriations for township operations and capital projects. The CDBG timing issue could create a temporary deficit in a special revenue fund that would require a deficit-elimination plan under state accounting rules if the reimbursement is delayed past the township’s reporting deadline.

Board action: Trustees approved the amended 2024–25 budgets and then adopted the fiscal 2025–26 budget in separate votes; both actions were approved by the board at the meeting.

Additional details: McLaughlin said amended-budget reports and the adopted budget will be posted on the township website once finalized. She noted the police department shortfall projected for next year was smaller than previously reported and the budget shows a reduced shortfall of $153,530 in the general fund police line.

No further board action was required beyond formal adoption and posting of the amended and adopted budgets.