Shelby Twp. Prepares for Further Decline in Property Taxes

Shelby Township’s governmental revenue remained flat in 2010, according to Plante & Moran, the company hired to conduct a 2010 audit on the township.

Dave Harrington and Lisa Panetta of Plante & Moran said during a presentation of the budget at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting that despite the decline in 2010 property taxes, which is the township’s largest income generator, the budget will remain balanced.

Property taxes saw a decline again in 2010 with only $31,755,655 received in property taxes, a decline from 2009 and 2008. The effects of the continued decline run about two years behind, showing the township will continue to battle these declines in years to come.

“The township once enjoyed a long period of growth in residential homes and development of a large business and industrial tax base. In the past, this growth mitigated some of the impact of changes to state-shared revenue and other economy-driven fluctuations," Plante & Moran’s report said.

Overall expenditures showed an increase in public safety to $26,937,288 in 2010, up from $24,453,410 in 2008. The government fund balance showed an increase overall with the general fund, fire fund and police fund including a good portion of undesignated funds. 

After the company’s presentation, a question by one resident was, "Are we in trouble?" And according to Plante & Moran the answer is “no.”

"This is not a panic situation," said Harrington. “The township is still able to balance the budget with everything being in a decline."

The board has addressed these challenges going forward and is already addressing future issues. Since the board had already been cutting, and saw this coming, planning helped build surplus funds, said Harrington.

Plante & Moran said a slight increase in Shelby Township’s population and a decrease in government expenditures will help the township’s bottom line going forward.