You will continue to see work done over the next month or so on the Cedar Creek. Josh Zuiderveen from Streamworks LLC has truly been a friend to the City of Cedar Springs. If you see Josh, be sure to tell him “thanks” for all of his hard work.

Regrettably, the cost to operate the fountain at North Park didn’t justify it’s installation this summer. Considering that we have had to layoff staff and reduce other more critical services to residents, taxpayers and even the Red Flannel Festival, it was a decision that could no longer be avoided. We hope that our revenue stream improves over the course of the next couple of years and that we can bring it back.

“Scrapping the Police Department” – As a matter of fact, this idea was explored when Jerry Homminga was the City Manager. As you can see by perusing the budget, the PD makes up a large portion of our General Fund. This is typical in every City that provides police protection. However, there are a number of factors that you must consider when looking to disband a department. First of all, is the County even interested in undertaking the endeavor and more importantly, at what cost and what would the coverage be? What are response times for the Kent County Sheriff’s Department (KCSD) to respond to a call? If they have a Deputy on a call in another part of the county, response time could be hours. While we appreciate the job the KCSD does and love the fact that Sheriff Stelma lives in Cedar Springs, he will readily admit that his Deputies do not know our residents by name and cannot provide the same service that the CSPD does. At the time that the study was done (2006, I believe) there was not much, if any, cost savings. Weighed against the level of service that Cedar Springs residents demand and deserve, it was decided that it was not in the City’s best interest to disband. Once a decision like that is made and assets are liquidated, there would be no going back if the relationship with the KCSD didn’t work out.

Cooperation and Consolidation with CSPS – This idea has also been explored. We have met with school officials on several occasions to discuss possible savings on items such as snow plowing, fuel purchases, IT services, office supplies and grounds maintenance. With Governor Snyder’s new mandates for cooperation and consolidation, we will certainly continue to explore these options with the schools and do whatever we can to save money for the taxpayers.

School Board/City Council Conflict of Interest – This topic came up recently when a school board member ran for Council and won. A preliminary legal opinion was presented to the candidate (and now Council Member) that, due to contractual obligations between the City and the School, she could not serve on both boards. By the time it was all said and done and the Attorney General issued his opinion stating that it was, in fact, a conflict of interest to serve on both boards, the taxpayers of the City and the taxpayers within the school district had committed approximately $10,000 for legal expenses. Here is a link to the article in the Cedar Springs Post:

http://cedarspringspost.com/2010/03/%e2%80%9cincompatible-offices%e2%80%9d-issue-costs-taxpayers-over-9000/

Economic Development – The City continues to try to attract new businesses to the area. However, it is a difficult task, at best, in this economic climate. It’s not as if businesses are going elsewhere because we are exceptionally difficult; they aren’t. New business start ups are darn near non-existent in Michigan right now. In order for a business to move into Cedar Springs, they must first fill out a Zoning permit and do their homework to see if the business they want to open is allowed (per ordinance) in the location they desire. If the zoning ordinance does not permit that particular type of business at that particular address (such as an automobile dealership in a Residential District or an industrial manufacturer in a Central Business District) the business person can either request a variance from the ordinance or find a location that is suitable. City staff makes every attempt to find suitable locations for anybody who approaches us about a business venture. Keep in mind, though, that zoning districts are established to maintain the integrity of various neighborhoods; we have never, I repeat never told a business that “we did not want them” but they are required to follow the same laws/ordinances that other businesses are currently following. Last year, we had a new restaurant relocate from 131/Post Road to downtown Cedar Springs as well as a new Rite Aid constructed. Both businesses would tell you that opening a business in Cedar Springs is no more difficult than anywhere else in Michigan.

Here is a really cool link that you can utilize to see what your taxes would be in another community (using your current taxable value in Cedar Springs.) https://treas-secure.state.mi.us/ptestimator/ptestimator.asp Council and staff recognize the financial challenges that some of our residents face and have taken a very firm stance about not increasing the millage rate. The challenge for us is maintaining the same level of services with drastically reduced revenues. As in your own personal life, when your income decreases, your standard of living must change, too. As a City, we are no different; we can’t spend what we don’t have. If you were to come back to visit this summer, you would notice that we’re not chipping brush monthly, we are not mowing the parks as frequently, we’re not string trimming along the trail, etc. because we are down two staff people in the Department of Public Works. Another, less visible reduction is with the office personnel. Our part-time office assistant, who worked 8 hours per week, was our primary grant writer/administrator (although he performed numerous other functions as well.) We have received tens of thousands of dollars in grants due to his expertise. Grant writing has now fallen by the wayside in his absence. Our Deputy Clerk position is currently vacant; people will notice that it will take additional time to receive their voter registration cards, absentee ballots or Code Enforcement letters as the City Clerk is attempting to pick up those additional duties now. Staff members have participated in the budget process and offered cost-saving suggestions (i.e. printing on the back-side of computer paper, eliminating one of two street lights on each corner downtown, etc.) while Council Members have donated their time to plant flowers in the downtown boxes and weeded public gardens. Honestly, I have been overwhelmed by the dedication and commitment of Council and staff this past few months. Trust me when I say, it hasn’t been an easy process and until people walk a mile in the shoes of their local elected officials or City staff, then they have no right to judge or criticize the job that is being done on their behalf, because these folks live here too and want to do the best job they possibly can.

In the words of Plato – “Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

Again, I thank you for your balanced position, open mind and interest in this process. You set a very good example for every taxpayer to follow. Participate. It does matter.

Has anyone ever ran the numbers on how much it would cost/save if we scrapped our police department and paid the County to fill in the gap with patrols? Can such a thing be done? Have we looked into it? How much would we paying for it?

Just so everyone knows since you put my tax value up here. My payment is $534 per month with escrow ins ect ect…. So it is significantly lower than many mortgages. That is why the escrow almost doubles the payment. Given other things I will not get discuss on here it is a significant bill for me every month although it is still small compared to the payments of others. We are all aware that economic times are tough, so I am certain I am not the only resident who is struggling.

I guess the way I view my taxes is as one big lump. The school taxes push my tax bill up as well. The part of my tax bill that the city can not help is the CSPS. Which combined with the City bill adds up. I do not understand why someone can not serve on the school board and City Counsel. I know this issue came up in late 2009 time frame.

To me it makes perfect sense that you would want someone who has knowledge of the city on the school board. Perhaps someone in both positions would be in a better position to see how the City and School can not just keep taking more and more money from the tax base forever . Perhaps they would tell the school they need to control their cost and not build and a outrageous synthetic turf field with no consideration of maintenance, and continue to use the perfectly fine Skinner Field. Perhaps they could tell them that one day these little pet projects they build will need to be maintained. CSPS continuously ask for more money like it is a unlimited resource. They have even less of a clue than the City about how their tax rates negatively effect people.

What if any cooperation has been made between the City and the School as far as taxes go? Has the City or the School tried to coordinate their efforts in this area? Has one of these two ever decided not to ask for money because of what the other is asking? I see you have a Committee that interfaces with the school when needed. How often do they meet?

You make an interesting point about Greenville and Rockford. They do have larger commercial bases. I am sure everyone agrees if we could build up our commercial base like that then it would benefit all of us.

For as long as I can remember, I have heard about City Hall turning business’ away. About the business being fed up with us be it the taxs ect ect…. I would like very much to quantify this statement with examples. But…. in all fairness to you (the City) that is just hearing things. Anyone can make a negative statement it does not mean it is true.

The last time I was home in late March I had heard the City turned away a business because it did not fit in with their (the cities) “vision”. What are the requirements for a Business to move into Cedar Springs? Are they offered any tax breaks for the first couple of years? Is there a “vision” that the City wants the business to conform too? If so then what is that “vision”? Has the City told a business that we do not want them? How many business’s where looking to move into Cedar Springs in the last year and decided not to and went somewhere else? What where their reasons?

I do not pretend to be as educated as some who work for the City. I have only taken one class in economics and did not do very well at it. I did however take away from it that there are two basic sides of thinking; supply side and demand side. Both have valid points. Supply side folks would probably argue that a higher tax bill is more than likely to push business’s away.