Budget back-and-forth to go virtual again in Warren

WARREN — Warren Mayor James Fouts has announced that deliberations about his proposed budget will again be on the city’s website for all to see.

This process was first implemented last year.

“I get residents (who) say, I like that better,” said Fouts. “Because I don’t want to go and attend a whole meeting, I may just be interested in (the) police, or maybe I’m interested in animal control, (the) library or what have you. No one wants to be at a meeting (for) four, five or six hours.”

The mayor contends this process is more transparent and takes the political gamesmanship out of play.

“What’s best is its transparency. Plus, it makes it fair, there is no politicization, there’s no cheap shots,” said the mayor. “You just ask it and then we respond. I think it’s a pretty good process the way we did it last year.”

Some members of the Warren City Council are not convinced.

“The proposed budget, and every budget, contract and resolution, requires reading and conferring,” said Council President and Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Green. “We submitted questions to the mayor last year and they did not answer the questions. They responded to our request but did not answer questions.”

The mayor said he began the online process last year because of what he was told by City Council Secretary Mindy Moore.

“It started because Mindy Moore announced the council no longer wanted to hear my budget presentation. I said, OK, fine, they really don’t want to talk to me, so what we’ll do is we’ll do it online. That way it will be straight forward,” said Fouts.

Moore refuted what the mayor said.

“The mayor was never told we didn’t want to ‘hear’ his budget. He was told he didn’t have to give a speech,” Moore said, “That usually has very little to do with the budget.”

In an email Moore sent to City Controller Rick Fox, Moore wrote, “The charter requires the mayor to submit a recommended budget to council and a formal presentation or speech is not a requirement. So, there is no need to schedule anything on April 11, 2022.”

According to the mayor, how the online questions work for the proposed budget is that if council members have a question on any budget issue, they can go to that section, because it is labeled by the department, and ask their questions. The questions go through the city controller, and then to the departments. The questions are answered and listed on the website by department staff. Residents and others can go on the website and see the questions and the answers about the topics that interest them.

Neither Moore nor Green have submitted online questions.

“I have not submitted any questions online to various city departments about the proposed budget,” said Green. “We have a meeting this upcoming Tuesday to confer with department heads on the proposed budget. We will ask our questions to the department heads.”

When asked how many questions the website had received, the mayor said, “They have not put any question up yet.”

Moore has said the mayor does not allow department heads to attend their meetings.

“We were told he (Fouts) was not going to allow his department heads to attend our hearings which we usually schedule on a Saturday, so we scheduled the budget hearings to take place at next Tuesday’s council meeting so council can ask questions and the residents can also hear the answers,” said Moore.

When asked if his department heads were attending the next City Council meeting to discuss the budget, Fouts reinforced the online process.

“It’s (the online process is) much fairer than having a circus-like atmosphere.  When in the past, the department heads have gone before these people and they personally insulted them and made comments about them,” said Fouts.  “It brings it down to fair(ness) and objectivity, which is what a budget hearing should be.”

In a written release, the mayor included an overview of the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget, which emphasizes public safety and service.  Fouts said it is “a balanced budget with no tax increase.”

Fouts provided additional details about his plans for the budget.

The big initiatives will be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act funds. The police, fire and parks and recreation departments will receive the lion’s share of nearly $10 million in funding.  This funding will also be applied to major capital improvement projects, amounting to $27.3 million. Thirty new positions will be added, two-thirds of which are in the police and fire departments. Planned capital improvements include $3.2 million for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. The budget includes plans to build two new fire stations with new parking lots, as well as funds allotted for a new library, police department drones, police body cameras and new vehicles, and $3.75 million for water main replacements.

As part of an ongoing dispute over city finances, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in December 2022 that the mayor has the authority to propose the budget and that the Warren City Council has the authority to amend and approve the budget and authorize spending.