My Speech to City Council on the 2015-16 Budget and Mini-circles

I represent those in our town that want the mini-circles gone. 

 Last April a majority of Council voted to remove the mini-circles, this action was delayed due to end of year bids that were above estimates.  Everyone knows that when you bid road work before winter end the cost goes sky high so it made sense to defer the project until this spring.

City staff told us the cost would be around $2 to 3 thousand per intersection and it can be even lower if city workers remove them.  In fact one city worker told me Give me a jack hammer and I’ll have one out in a day. I even have a spreadsheet from our engineer HRC that says they would be $1800 to remove.

When Council made the motion to remove the mini circles, it was major metro news. I’d say the ratio of Thank You’ s was 10 to one in favor of removal.  No one likes to waste tax dollars but sometime you have to admit a mistake and correct it.

The one thing I heard was make sure we have the money to do it right. Well I believe we have more than enough money in this year’s budget but City Hall has refused to acknowledge the majority vote to remove and left it out of the upcoming budget. In fact the last time I checked the vote to remove still stands, it has not been repealed.

Council raised the garage tax a few years ago citing lack of funds. Well the economy is picking up, tax revenue is up and now we have the funds.  

The City has been conservative in budgeting. The state recommended undesignated fund balance (or extra cash) is 15% of operating funds.  Howell has been at 20%. This year we are about 22% percent or 1.4 million unbudgeted dollars. (Compare this to schools that reserve only 5% of cash on hand.)

If this year’s budget is approved there will be an extra $180,000 above the 20% undesignated fund balance. That’s a lot of extra unbudgeted taxpayer money to hold on to that could be put to use.

I believe there is so much extra money left over in the undesignated funds we could pull all the Mini-circles and have plenty to spare.

I have been told by the Mayor I should have brought this up at the study session. 

I ask who’s responsibility is it to remind the City Manager to put it in the budget?

Is it my role to be the ONLY person to remind the city manager of the council vote to remove?

And why would I bring up the subject when we were missing several council members at both budget sessions? We never had a whole council at either study session.

Yes I did waited, as I believed we needed to see if there would have enough money in the city budget

And now I believe we do we have more than enough money in the city budget and I believe the still city wants us to remove them.

Council can no longer cry poor and say we don’t have the money to remove even one single mini-circle.  If fact we don’t even have to spend all the money at once, we can budget to take them out over time. I would definitely start with removing the ones at four way stop sign intersections as they make no sense.  

The City just bought a new $17,000 mechanical beach rake for goose poop, which by the way was $7000 under budget. That’s a lot of money for something that benefits a few during the year when the mini-circles impact everyone every day. Recently bids to repave the parking lot at the Bennett Recreation Center were $16,000 under budget. That is also extra money saved that could be used. So where did it go?

 The mayor proposed taking down the old building by Paige field and now I see an extra $20,000 which was not discussed at the budget session and is not in the work session minutes. Why was this been added to the budget when it was never discussed at the budget session?   If we can add money for this we can add money to remove the mini-circles.

What has more impact all the citizens of this town? A beach rake pooper scooper, an fenced old building off or the unsafe mini circles?    

The bottom line is the city can remove them without any impact to the proposed budget. 

The city also has millions of dollars tied up in vacant property which I have been pushing to sell since I’ve been on Council.   Its’  hard to look the public in the eye and say we are land rich and cash poor, in reality we are rich land and cash rich.

Removing the mini-circles this year is not even close to being a budget buster

The city budget is about 15.5 million this year. For example if we budget money to remove one at $2500 that is about is .02% of the city budget which is such a minuscule amount it’s a blip on to the total budget.   

They damage vehicles, the trees in the middle are dying or have been cut down, and the roots grow into the sewer below. I keep asking the City what to you do when the trees get bigger and all I get is a blank look. Is the city going to waste more money to replace the dead and missing trees and root out the sewer system? 

 I’ve personal witnessed an ambulance blow a rim after hitting one and watched a school bus hop over the circle curb at West and Clinton. How much more damage to our vehicles need to be done before they come out? You can see the tire marks and scrapes on the curbs so that tells you they are not a safe design.   

Last year’s Council vote to remove still stands and last time I checked we are a government of laws not men. If Council believes the majority of the city likes them, then let’s have a referendum and debate their real value and impact on our City reputation. Surveys done during the second and third year of the street projects told us residents were overwhelming opposed, so they did not go in.  I’d say the same still holds true for the ones installed.  

The town believes and I believe the mini circles are a cancer to the face of Howell.

The excuse we don’t have the money is gone, so it’s time to listen to the people and budget money to get them out.