26BUDGET(FULL-LINKED) - Flipbook - Page 20
City of Plymouth 2025 / 2026 Budget
There are other “outside” influences on our operations. In particular, the status of the Plymouth
Canton Community Schools, as they continue to use school of choice to fill vacant seats. The loss
of students to private or charter schools may affect the long-term overall quality and test scores
for the district. Having a high-quality school district is vital to maintaining property values in the
City.
Annually, I make a comment to the City Commission in this message on weather. We need to be
aware of the additional expenses that can hit us if multiple polar vortexes and/or significant snow
events or spring wind/rain or even if tornado-like weather strikes our community. This affects
us in many ways, from the cost of snow removal to the additional costs of utilities, tree removal,
brush chipping, removing and stockpiling snow, higher maintenance costs on equipment, the
need for additional supplies, and so on. We also staff the fire station during periods of extreme
cold and other significant weather events as a precautionary measure. We have had few years in
a row of relatively “light” winters, and we are hopeful that we can be in a weather pattern, without
extremes of snow, cold, ice, wind or rain for the next several years, because our budget is built
on “normal” weather patterns.
Streets and maintenance of streets are a statewide issue, and it is no different here in Plymouth.
Our residents have passed a road bond package which shows that streets are a huge factor in the
Quality-of-Life for our residents. In this budget, we will continue to move forward with our
infrastructure plan, but we will need to be aware of the anticipated escalating costs for labor,
supplies and financing for 2025 and beyond. Higher bond rates means less money for road
repairs. Higher contractor costs means less road work for the amount of money available.
Something to keep in mind is that as we continue to reduce our millage rate in ten of the last
eleven years, there will be new property taxes placed on our residents in the form of a mass
transportation millage. The City and several other western suburban communities currently opt
out of the mass transportation millage (SMART), but our legislators voted in favor of taking this
opt out option away from the local units, and the Governor signed this legislation into law. This
will mean a new tax of about one mill to our residents in 2026, with a currently unknown service
delivery for another source. We are working in partnership with Canton Township on alternatives
for our communities. In addition, Mayor Pro-Tem Pobur is working closely with the Conference
of Western Wayne on this issue, to help ensure that we will receive at least some benefit for the
new tax.
Our Finance Director John Scanlon, along with our Department Heads and I, will attempt to answer
any questions the Commission may have related to the budget document. We have scheduled
dates, if needed, for multiple Budget Study Sessions, but it is entirely up to the City Commission
to determine how many sessions we will need. We strongly recommend that Commissioners
come in and talk with John Scanlon and/or myself to answer any questions that they may have
related to the document and how we put this together.
As always, the budget should be treated as a fluid document that will change as the year
progresses. There are multitudes of internal and external factors which will affect the budget
during the year. We must be constantly aware of the stresses that weather, government
regulations, emergencies, elections, inflation, changes in procedures or equipment, and changes
in staffing will have on the budget.
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