Publication select ▼TROY — At its meeting May 11, the Troy City Council unanimously approved the city budget for the new fiscal year. With it, the typical residential Troy household will see an increase in city taxes of 3.4% from the previous year.
Troy Chief Financial Officer Robert Maleszyk presented the budget and noted four areas that were prioritized in the budget: public health and safety, infrastructure and facility upkeep, quality-of-life amenities, and communication and community engagement.
The total for the general operating fund clocked in at roughly $95.5 million, which includes about $47.4 million for public safety, $14.3 million for general government, $12.8 million for recreation, $5.8 million for community development and $3 million for public works.
The city also projects about $32.2 million in revenue, transfers and expenditures for its capital projects fund, $7 million for the refuse fund, and $11.1 million for the library fund.
“A lot of it is deferred maintenance and keeping the assets that we own today in good working order for not only the residents, but the employees to do the work of the residents,” Maleszyk said.
Other items in the new budget include about $9.9 million for the major street fund and $8.3 million for the local street fund, as well as $168,000 for the Transit Center, $45,000 for the forfeiture fund, $135,000 for the Community Development Block Grant Fund, $1.388 for the cemetery fund, and $965,000 for the Series 2013 and 2020 DDA Debt Fund.
The budget also allocates about $3.4 million for Sanctuary Lake Golf Course and $2.1 million for Sylvan Glen Golf Course, as well as $17.4 million for the sanitary sewer fund, $27.9 million for the water fund, $2.7 million for building operations, $7.2 million for fleet maintenance, $3.3 million for information technology, $6.5 million for the compensated absence fund, $908,000 for the worker’s compensation fund, and $4,110 for the unemployment insurance fund.
Maleszyk said some positions are being consolidated into a single department in the general fund called “communications,” which will also see a new position added. He said that the goal is to foster a “better, stronger, (more) meaningful department for community engagement.”
Troy Mayor Pro Tem Hirak Chanda was upbeat about the new budget.
“As always, we’re prioritizing public safety, infrastructure and quality of life, in that order, and a modest increase in staffing to account for retirement and succession plans, and to account for the increase in service needs that reflect our growing population,” Chanda said. “I think we’re looking at a 1.2% increase in tax revenue from new buildings, and a 1.3% increase in new staff. So, this is actually accounting for the way we’re growing.”
For more information, visit troymi.gov.
