Courtesy photo

ALPENA – Alpena Township is going to do some creative budgeting to balance its fire department budget that is projected to be nearly $300,000 in the red next fiscal year.

The fire department is currently over budget so far this fiscal year, which runs from April 1 through March 31.

The Alpena Township Board of Trustees addressed the budget shortfall and took action on how to address it.

The trustees have been considering different options to more adequately fund the fire department and are considering a millage request for the ballot in August.

The last two millage proposals presented to voters in the township failed and it has been a challenge to fully fund and staff the fire department since.

The trustees discussed numerous options to make up for the budget shortfall. Among them, the option to impose a special assessment which would bypass the millage vote in August. An assessment does not need voter approval. The township is still in the information gathering state for a possible assessment.

The board is still gathering information on the possibility of going that route.

Numerous line items pertaining to the fire department were discussed and could have been the target of cuts, among them were the cost of uniforms.

Ultimately the board decided against any cuts to public safety items and made the decision to find another route to make up for the deficit.

At one point during discussion Trustee Russ Rhynard discussed the option of merging the Alpena Fire Department. That option was on the table at one point, but voted down by the board in June of 2021.

Rhynard said contracting with the city is likely not a good option any longer.

“I know that going with the city fire department is not palatable, and it’s not terribly palatable to me, because then we are getting rid of our staff, and the township is going to grow, and the city will not,” Rhynard said. “I think we need a full-time fire department, and we need a better one that pays more.”

Township Treasurer Laura Ellery-Somers said there were other options that could be utilized to help stabilize the fire department’s budget, including making a larger allocation of money from the general fund. Township Supervisor Abbi Kaszubowski said the general fund doesn’t have enough wiggle room to contribute more to the fire department budget.

“We only have $100,000 to contribute,” she said.

Township Clerk Michele Palevich told the board that another option is to take money from fund balance to help overcome the fire department’s deficit. A municipality’s fund balance is its general fund savings that is often tucked away.

“The general fund does have a savings, I know we don’t want to take money from there but if it gets us through one year until we can get a special assessment or get a millage passed, we might have to do that,” Palevich said. “I am not saying we should do that every year but if we need to, to get by, it’s an option.”

The board ultimately decided to take $182,941 out of the fund balance and combine it with a $100,000 surplus from the general fund to erase the deficit.

The board will hold a special session prior to their March 23 meeting to vote on the proposed budget. That session begins at 5:30 p.m.