Rochester Hills council hears favorable community survey, approves budget amendment and series of votes including gas station conditional use

Rochester Hills City Council members on Monday heard results of a citywide community survey, received a seven‑year financial forecast and approved a package of budget and land‑use items that city staff said keep the municipality on sound financial footing while highlighting a few near‑term pressures.

The council opened the meeting to a presentation of the 2025 community survey conducted by Prabalski Research. Nathan Mueller, Rochester Hills chief of communications, said the firm surveyed 400 residents by phone and online and found exceptionally high satisfaction: 94% rated quality of life as excellent or good and 99% said they feel safe at home. Elise Basile of Prabalski told council the sample was balanced to match census demographics and reported margins of error around ±5% for the 400‑person sample.

The survey results followed a lengthy presentation by City CFO Joe Snyder of a seven‑year financial forecast (fiscal years 2026–2032) the administration said will inform the upcoming three‑year budget process. Snyder told council the forecast assumes conservative revenue growth, modest increases in state shared revenue and Act 51 road funds, and continued strength in investment income. He highlighted that recent contract increases—particularly external cost increases in the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office contract—are driving pressure on the police fund and said the forecast includes a proposed modest police millage increase to maintain fund balance targets. Snyder recommended maintaining conservative assumptions and said city capital funds generally look strong while noting a particular concern about the fire capital fund’s long‑term cash flow and upcoming apparatus replacement needs.

After the presentations, the council took several formal actions.

Votes at a glance - Fiscal year 2025 second‑quarter budget amendment: approved unanimously. The amendment increases total revenues by about $4.6 million, reduces total…