Washtenaw County Budget-2006-2007

Official Policy
October 26, 2005

The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce and the Ypsilanti Area Chamber of Commerce have jointly reviewed the 2006-2007 County Budget and there is one major aspect of the budget that precludes us from supporting it.  The proposed budget is balanced only because it reduces reserves and relies on a one-time timing event (the shift in the timing of property tax payments from December to July) to boost revenue.  We encourage the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners not to follow this course of action and, given an expected shortfall in 2008, the Board of Commissioners should make provisions for this shortfall in the 2006-2007 budget cycle.  Specifically, the County Board of Commissioners has a responsibility to county taxpayers to set aside some of the extra property tax revenue realized in the current budget cycle to cover the anticipated shortfall in 2008. 

The Chambers encourage the County to address financial problems now rather than wait until they are forced to address them in the near future.  Anticipating additional property tax revenue and using cash reserves are not going to make the reality of Washtenaw County’s current situation go away—personnel costs are rising faster than revenues.  The business community has been forced to address these issues and to greatly modify current and planned business operations to reflect national and local economic conditions.  We encourage the County to do the same.