Grosse Ile holds wide-ranging budget study session; major items include fire and police finances, toll bridge planning, water/sewer projects

Grosse Ile Township held a budget study session on Feb. 25 to review draft numbers for the 2025–26 fiscal year and to flag items for further public hearings and final action. Department leaders presented detailed line-by-line summaries and asked the board to note a small number of proposed rate and fee changes, the timing of several capital projects and one large, federally supported sewer lining project.

The session opened with a presentation on the fire department budget and equipment fund. Chief Camilleri (fire chief) reviewed the department’s operating revenues (including roughly $200,000 a year in ambulance billing) and the equipment fund used to purchase apparatus. The department has a new aerial on order; the purchase is approximately $382,000 and the township has prepaid roughly $40,000 toward that cost, leaving about $340,000 due on delivery. The chief noted modest overall operating increases and modeled a possible salary change in the chief’s position in light of labor-market pressures; he characterized the added salary line as a planning placeholder, not a committed raise. The fire department’s overall operating budget items shown to the board were described as modest year-to-year increases after accounting for growth in staffing and equipment needs.

Police finance and forfeiture funds drew extended discussion. Police Chief Doug reported current balances in multiple seizure/forfeiture accounts: a state forfeiture account (around $178,000 as printed for this report) and a larger federal/DEA account (about $1.1 million). The department uses portions of those funds for eligible activities such as task-force staffing, training and equipment, but federal and state rules limit how each pool may be spent. Chief Doug warned of near-term overtime pressure and staffing gaps that he expects during the summer because of anticipated leave, workers’ compensation and retirements; the department plans temporary reassignments (including pulling a detective from a task force at times) to maintain road coverage, and said those moves could reduce task-force activity and related forfeiture income. The department also identified small dedicated revenue lines — for example, an opioid-settlement account and restricted training funds the state provides — whose allowable uses are narrow and are tracked as separate special revenues.

Recreation and Centennial Farm revenues were next. Zade (recreation director) reviewed the community block grant and senior-transportation funding, Centennial Farm rents and activity revenues, and a newly captured $10 per-resident dog-park fee that had not been previously recorded in the recreation fund. Rentals at the farm generated about $12,215 last year (pavilions, activity rooms and similar), and a long-term stable contract for equestrian facilities at the farm was highlighted — the farm receives roughly $1,900 per month under a lease that has no escalator and runs through 2027. Zade also presented Island Fest revenue and cost lines, including a planned $20,000 fireworks budget (up from a prior drone show) and the existing practice of reimbursing police and public services for some event support, a practice several board members asked to review.

The airport, Commerce Park and fuel-farm budgets were presented together. Janelle (airport director) outlined three enterprise components — the fuel farm, the airfield and Commerce Park — and said fuel sales (Avgas and Jet-A) are a steady revenue source; she identified a new tenant generating about $55,000 annually and noted hangar occupancy is high (roughly 90–95%). Janelle also said Building 63 (a Commerce Park redevelopment) generated positive returns and that $61,000 in capital reserves had been budgeted pending decisions about future build-outs. She noted a modest increase in insurance and planned replacement of aging field equipment (including a 15-foot batwing mower budgeted) and said some of the airport’s mortgage and installment loan payments are recorded in the enterprise accounts.

The Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and community-planning budgets were discussed. Ross (DDA director) said the DDA’s proposed budget includes $50,000 in grant-supported work to update the DDA TIF plan and zoning documents, work intended to extend the life of the TIF and enable larger bonding for streetscape and Macomb Street improvements. Ross also described $107,000 earmarked for Lions Park capital work (site grading, benches, a sculpture foundation, landscaping) and said the DDA is shifting some event-supply money into professional-services support for smaller, community-led events through a modest sponsorship program.

Community development and building-services staff briefed the board on permit revenues and a long-running backlog of developer bonds and cash guarantees. Staff reported a large number of old, unreleased bonds dating back many years; the township attorney is reviewing options to resolve or liquidate long-unused bonds, with an emphasis on achieving compliance rather than simply retaining the funds. Ross and staff also said they are reviewing inspection and bond amounts to align bonds with the actual risk and likely remediation costs.

The clerk and elections budgets were presented. Brian (township clerk) described the timing of a major next-decade equipment replacement: Michigan’s election equipment cycle (the state-mandated 10-year replacement) will make 2026 a potential purchase year for new tabulators and associated technology. Because state cost-sharing is not guaranteed, the clerk recommended beginning a two-year planning and reserve approach (budgeting $50,000 this year as a partial set‑aside, with additional funding in the next budget year) so the township will be prepared if the state does not fund replacement fully.

Finance staff (Teresa, finance director) summarized the general fund and debt positions and noted the board’s public hearing and final vote schedule: the public hearing on the preliminary budget will be on March 10 and the final budget vote is set for the March 24 regular meeting. She also outlined a multi‑fund administrative charge (4% of applicable fund revenue) that the general fund will record as internal revenue for services such as payroll and finance support.

Toll-bridge planning and initial budget assumptions were a key topic. Teresa presented an initial toll-bridge enterprise draft tied to the township’s pending purchase. The township received bond proceeds (approximately $21 million), expects to pay the seller and closing prorations (about $14 million) and plans to reserve roughly $7.5 million of the bond proceeds for near-term bridge capital work and engineering. The draft enterprise budget shows total nominal revenues of about $13.5 million in the first planning year, but that number includes carry-over bond proceeds set aside for capital; when those funds are separated the first full-year operating revenue forecast is lower. The board will receive more detailed cost, staffing and operations proposals after the two RFPs the township has issued (one for staffing/operations and one for maintenance/operations) are returned and evaluated. The township’s first debt service payment tied to the bridge is scheduled for April 1, 2026; that payment aggregates interest owed through that date and is larger than subsequent annual debt-service amounts.

DPS director Derek reviewed road, drainage, water and sewer budgets and the refuse account. Road-construction millage bond proceeds left an $800,000 capital balance that the department plans to spend on approved contracts and the 2025 construction program. Drainage work and the township’s long-running drainage‑grant program (50% matching up to $5,000, with deed restrictions on maintained improvements) continue but the department recommended holding some funds in reserve after several years of steady capital use. On utilities, Derek said the township will not propose a commodity-rate increase for water or sewer this budget year but recommended a change to the water service charge: the proposed service fee would move from $17.50 per quarter to $24.32 per quarter to generate an additional roughly $111,000 in stable revenue for water operations. He also noted an anticipated wholesale cost increase from the regional supplier (GLWA) that the staff partially absorbed in the draft so residents would not see the entire wholesale increase this year.

A federally funded sewer-lining project was highlighted: the township plans a citywide lining program with an estimated total cost of roughly $1.9 million; federal grant support of about $1.321 million was shown in the draft revenue, leaving township funding for the balance of the project. Staff said televising and cleaning work is planned and the township recently bid the cleaning/televising contract; the estimate for that specific program is larger than past years’ contracts.

Other items and next steps. The cell-tower fund (shared with the fire department) was discussed; staff noted an existing balance and described an engineering and procurement plan for a new generator to provide resilient power at the tower site. The board heard that the planned generator program, including engineering and installation, could use a substantial portion of the cell-tower reserves and that staff would refine costs before the board commits to purchase or an RFP. Police and rec leaders agreed to follow up on Island Fest reimbursement and event-support cost lines after board members requested further review. Staff will prepare the amended budget for board review before the required public posting and will circulate final draft materials ahead of the March hearings.

Meeting schedule and formal steps. Staff said the public budget hearing is scheduled for the March 10 regular meeting and the final vote on the 2025–26 budget will be on March 24. Department heads will return with refined line items where major capital decisions remain pending (toll-bridge operating contracts, generator procurement, sewer‑lining schedule and scope). The board asked for additional written clarifications on recurring items that drew questions (Island Fest reimbursements, cell-tower accounting, and the archive of unliquidated developer bonds) and told staff they would convene follow-up discussions as needed before the public hearing.

The study session closed with department heads noting follow-up actions and the board confirming the public‑hearing schedule.