No changes in Rochester Hills tax rates, millage

Rochester Hills municipal tax rates will remain unchanged in 2019 under millage rates approved by city council on Monday, September 10, as part of the city's 2019 budget process.

The approved millage rate of 10.4605 mills accounts for about a quarter of the city's overall revenues. The millage rates, which were unanimously approved by council, include 2.4959 mills for the city's general fund; .3444 mills for the local street fund I; .4718 mills for local street fund II; .2886 for local street fund III; 2.7 mills for the fire fund; 1.1742 mills for the special police fund I; 1.2725 mills for the special police fund II; .1803 mills for the pathway millage; .1893 mills for RARA's operating millage; .2334 mills for the Older Person's Commission (OPC) millage; .0971 for the OPC transportation millage; and .7602 for the library operating millage. The total rate also includes a .0394 mill chapter 20 drain debt millage and a .2134 mill OPC building debt millage.

The approved rate marks the fourth consecutive year that the council hasn't raised the overall millage rate.

Approval of the rates came following a public hearing on the city's proposed three-year budget, at which there was no comments from the public.

The overall proposed budget includes general fund revenues of about $24.7 million for fiscal year 2019, which runs from January 1 to December 31. Proposed general fund expenditures are about $36 million, or about $11.3 million below general fund revenues. The budget calls for about $25 million in general fund revenues in 2020, with equal expenditures, and about $25 million in 2021, with expenditures totaling about $177,000 less than revenues.

The city's overall proposed expenditures in 2019 are proposed at $168.1 million, with revenues totaling $149.4 million. The shortfalls will bring the city's fund balance down from about $68.1 million to $57.3 million in 2019, with the city's general fund balance down about $11.3 million, or about 80 percent of overall annual operating expenditures. The reduction is part of the city's recently adopted fund balance policy, in which any funding in excess of 80 percent is to be transferred out to the city's capital improvement fund.

The final proposed budget is to go before city council at its September 24 meeting.