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Madison Heights council adopts FY2026 budget, holds tax millage steady; water and sewer rates to rise
Summary
At its May 12 meeting the Madison Heights City Council approved the fiscal year 2026 budget resolution and tax levy, keeping the city operations millage at 25.4572 but approving increases to water and sewer rates effective with July 1 bills.
Madison Heights City Council on May 12 approved the fiscal year 2026 budget resolution and tax levy, maintaining the city operations millage at 25.4572 mills and approving adjustments to water and sewer rates that take effect for bills on or after July 1.
City officials said the FY2026 plan holds the general millage steady while proposing a 6.366% adjustment to combined water and sewer billing to reflect higher wholesale costs passed on to the city. Under the changes described at the public hearing, the water charge would move from $4.44 per unit to $4.74 per unit and sewer would increase from $6.56 per unit to $6.96 per unit.
The resolution was presented during a public hearing required by the city charter and the manager/finance staff recommended council adopt the budget, establish the tax levy and approve fee changes for water, wastewater and other department fees. The charter citation provided to council was section 8.4; council was also told that adoption under the charter’s section 7.6(b) requires a supermajority of five votes. The motion to adopt passed 6-0.
Council members and staff emphasized the tight fiscal context the budget reflects. Council members thanked the finance team for producing a plan that limits tax increases while trimming capital outlays and other spending. During the discussion, councilors noted that a sizeable share of property tax revenue is already committed to legacy pension and health-care obligations and encouraged additional public education on how those fixed costs affect annual budgets.
No member of the public spoke at the budget hearing; the council opened a separate public-comment period for other topics later in the meeting. The adopted fee changes and the tax levy resolution will be implemented according to the timeline described by staff, with the new water and sewer charges reflected on billing cycles starting after July 1.
The council vote on the resolution was recorded as 6 in favor, 0 opposed.
Looking ahead, staff will finalize the implementing ordinance/resolution language, update billing systems to reflect the new unit rates, and distribute public education materials explaining how fixed legacy costs and property-assessment differences affect individual tax bills.
