Utica Mayor Pushes for 'Collaboration, Consolidation' to Reduce Costs in New Year

Collaboration, consolidation and bargain hunting are the policies that top Utica Mayor Jackie Noonan’s plans for her city in 2013.

Noonan joined Sterling Heights Mayor Richard Notte and Shelby Township Supervisor Richard Stathakis Wednesday at the annual Heritage Luncheon hosted by the Sterling Heights Regional Chamber of Commerce to give an overview of 2012 and highlight the pros and cons the city will face in 2013.

Like hundreds of cities and townships in Michigan, Noonan said Utica’s financial situation is far from ideal. In the year ahead, the mayor said she and other city officials plan to renegotiate collective bargaining agreements to eliminate overtime and reduce spending wherever possible.

From city employees paying 5 percent more toward their pensions to businesses in the Downtown Development Authority paying for new curbs and lighting along Van Dyke, Noonan said the mantra of the last three years has been “collaboration and consolidation” wherever possible.

This policy will continue in 2013 as Noonan expects property values, and therefore revenue to the city, to drop another 2-3 percent.

“The hurt is big,” Noonan said, adding that she’s looking to bid out services for everything from towing and refuse to legal and engineering to get the best deal possible and “be the best little city in Macomb County.”

Securing $2.5 million in grants last year, Noonan said the city would continue to work with its grant writer to drum up additional dollars in 2013 and improve the services available to residents whenever possible.

“If you have no money and you can get someone to give you some for nothing, that’s the best improvement I can think of,” Noonan added. “We know we will improve service and use purchasing programs and whatever we can do – short of beg, borrowing and stealing – we really want to make the biggest bang for our buck.”

This includes enhancing the city’s riverfront and downtown with special events such as the upcoming Utica Ice Festival and Fireworks and minimizing the red tape business owners face when looking to open shop in Utica.

“We really are working very hard on that quality of life issue,” Noonan said, “making ourselves a walk-able community. We have the beautiful Clinton River flowing through. We’re developing a riverfront with canoeing, kayaking and the Blue Water Trail … It is what makes us who we are and why people settled here in the first place 196 years ago.”

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to correct two references mistakenly referring to Utica as a township. Utica is a city.