On September 18th, City Council held its annual Finance and Budget Committee meeting to go over the proposed 25-26 budget. The public hearing will be held on September 29th at 7pm

You can find the proposed budget and Powerpoint presentation here: https://livoniami.portal.civicclerk.com/…/attachment/20527

Budget highlights:

• It is balanced: The $77M budget is balanced with a cushion of $9k
• There is a 23% fund balance – which is well within best practices Livonia remains the lowest tax rate in Wayne County and due to the Headlee rollback the mill rate is lower this year. Plymouth is second (approx a mill higher that amounts to $5.6M difference in budget)
• Public Safety is prioritized
• There is no reduction in services
• Taxable value is up 4.3% and beat CPI Taxable value has finally returned to 2010 levels
• Disabled veterans receive tax exemptions, in 2025 242 veterans received exemptions and in 2026 275 veterans qualify (This amounts to $375k)
• 37 household will receive a partial tax exemption due to poverty (this amounts to $18,349)
• Livonia receive approximately $5M from the state for small business and manufacturing personal property reimbursement this state law impacts the PRDA. The year the PRDA was created the base value was set and the city could capture taxes above that line, when the crash happened the levels dropped to a level that cannot be recovered. A 2mil was implemented providing the authority with about $400k annually used for improvement and maintenance. The city will look to remake the PRDA to change the base value.
• Overall 2.7% increase in general revenue.
• In 2026 there are two millages up for renewal that account for $10M; over 24% of general fund (between 40-45 public safety positions).
• 77% of the general fund is used for staffing. Public Safety levels are stable, above minimum required and similar to pre-crash levels; other departments have seen a decline in 76 positions since 2000 Capital investment is 2.2% ($1.7M) of general fund but requests were $69M (only 48% funded from general fund) and of the $69M most was identified as critical need by department heads.
• Refuse millage is currently operating at a deficit and uses fund balance to maintain service levels (including trash/recycling collection, leaf pick up, porta potties, animal control and tree trimming). The city does not leverage the full mileage amount approved by voters but will likely need to in order to maintain services. The fund will also have to address a landfill membrane repair that costs $2.5M. If the full mill is levied, it would only provide an excess of $160k to go towards fund to accumulate for that future expense.
• Cable television does have two proposed position cuts out of 4 positions due to insufficient funding from franchise fees (less people have cable). Note: this department operates under the communications department but is separate from the social content you see on Livonia Community, Parks and Recreation, Library, LPD and LFD social media pages.
• AFSME has contract negotiations this year, if their contract is similar to IAFF and LPOA it could mean a 3.5% increase.
• The notice of intent for a new City Hall was not levied but the funds related to that project are available to be redirected (it will be explored but there are no plans/direction at this time)
• State shared revenue is a significant portion of budget and likely to face a delay and possible decline due to budget battle in Lansing, the fund balance will be able to see us through any delays.