By: Gary Winkelman | Sterling Heights Sentry | Published May 18, 2026
STERLING HEIGHTS — On May 5, the City Council approved a 2026-27 spending plan that features a tax rate officials say is among the lowest in Macomb County.
At 17.5323 mills, the levy is unchanged from the prior year, while the $295 million budget covers key areas ranging from road improvements to Fire Department staffing. It also adds about $165,000 to the city’s fund balance of more than $43 million.
According to Sterling Heights Finance and Budget Director Jennifer Varney, budget highlights include an additional nine firefighters and a traffic safety engineer, along with sustainability plans covering solar power and composting. The budget also includes $12.7 million for major road improvements and $6.5 million for neighborhood street upgrades.
Among other things, Varney, in her presentation to council members, said the new budget “funds 21 police vehicles, an ambulance, and life-saving EMS and fire equipment.”
“This funds ongoing facilities and infrastructure maintenance, including park trail replacement, drain improvements and the engineering on the ITC corridor extension,” she said. “And, as always, fully funds all of our long-term liabilities.”
The City Council made a handful of amendments during April’s budget hearings, including an additional $150,000 for tree plantings on city-owned property and multifamily residences; $90,000 to fund a strategic plan for the Police Department; $200,000 for crosswalk striping and improvements; and $150,000 to fund the sidewalk installation on Branch Drive.
Councilman Michael Radtke said he was proud to vote in favor of the 2026-27 spending plan.
“I think this is a very good budget,” he said. “We are still putting money in our rainy-day fund. We are taking care of a number of priorities. The city is firing on all cylinders.”
Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko agreed.
“I think we’ve done a really good job with this budget,” she said. “It covers everything that we want to do.”
During her presentation, Varney said the average Sterling Heights resident pays about $1,891 in city taxes, or $158 a month. The numbers are based on a house with a market rate of $320,000 and a taxable value of $108,000.
Councilwoman Maria Schmidt said officials often hear feedback from homeowners about “exorbitant” property tax bills but said the majority of taxes individuals pay are not for city government purposes.
“The majority of our taxes go outside of the city and people fail to realize that,” she said. “They think all of that money is coming to us, and it is not. It’s going to the county, the school district. … It’s going to the zoo, it’s going to the DIA, it’s going to SMART. It’s going to a lot of other entities other than the city.
“We get about a third of your tax bill. So that’s what I would like the residents to realize and to really look at that bill and not blame the city for these exorbitant tax bills that they’re getting, because for $183 bucks a month, we have water coming out of our faucets, our garbage is picked up. We have police, we have fire, a top-notch library, second to none. Our services are amazing. And I think we get a really good bang for our buck.”
Here is the breakdown of taxes levied by the city. A mill is $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of taxable value:
• 9.4940 mills for Operations
• 1.2462 mills for Refuse Collection
• 2.6116 mills for Police & Fire Pension
• 2.3367 mills for Safe Streets
• 0.9069 mills for Recreating Recreation
• 0.9369 mills for Pathway to Play and Preservation