2024-2025 fiscal year millage rate increases for city

By Grace Lovins

The budget resolution for the 2024-2025 fiscal year for Birmingham was adopted by the city commission during the Monday, May 22, meeting, establishing millage rates that will be levied for the next fiscal year.

A new fiscal year will begin on July 1, 2024, and run through June 30, 2025. The approved budget for the upcoming fiscal year will levy 13.2995 mills, an increase from the previous fiscal year by .0169 mills.

Finance director Mark Gerber said that there were some changes from the budget hearing that was held last month regarding property taxes due to the taxable value change and Headlee rollback amounts.

On top of the changes from taxable value and Headlee rollbacks, the number of mills for the sewage disposal fund was adjusted for the actual costs of stormwater and sewage disposal, said Gerber. Infrastructure costs built into the rate will reflect an increased rate.

According to a memorandum written by Gerber, water rates will increase by $1.25 or 20 percent. The cost will now be $7.38 per 1,000 gallons of water used, showing the increase in funding for infrastructure improvements.

Roughly $90,000 was also removed from the budget after the commission decided to not move forward with a parking meter modem project originally included. This decreased the city’s automobile parking fund to about $8.2 million.

The commission voted unanimously, 7-0, to adopt the budget resolution and establish the increased millage rates for the upcoming fiscal year.