Royal Oak ― Oakland County officials are making significant investments in public transportation and safety as part of the county’s 2024 fiscal year budget, widening transit options throughout the county after a millage was approved last year.
The $1.08 billion budget, which was unanimously approved by the board of commissioners, lays the groundwork for existing SMART bus service lines to expand to high-growth areas in Novi and Rochester. A transit division also has been established within the county’s department of economic development and officials are looking at creating “micro-transit” shuttle systems in northern, more rural areas.
“One of the largest increases in funding (is) to improve transit, new routes, expanded service, more hours of service,” said Dave Woodward, chair of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners. “By the end of this year, we should have a base level of service… throughout the entire county.”
The county’s new fiscal year began Oct. 1 and the budget was passed in September. County leaders say this year’s budget is the first structurally balanced budget to have passed in several years, meaning it does not assume any use of a one-time fund balance to support ongoing county operations, with the exception of $2.5 million for one-time information technology projects and nearly $250,000 in one-time General Fund equipment purchases.
“All of our expenditures match up with the revenues that we have to pay for them,” said Woodward. “Past budgets, relied heavily on pulling from fund balance, pulling from our savings accounts.”
But the county’s fund balance remains high and its AAA bond rating is intact, said Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter. The rating means that the county has the highest possible creditworthiness in the eyes of lenders and can be expected to easily meet financial obligations
“(The) AAA bond rating is sort of an external validator to residents and voters and taxpayers that we are spending your money in a prudent and wise way,” Coulter said.
Most county departments saw the same level of support from the county as in previous years, Coulter said. But county parks, public transportation and small businesses all received significant investments this year.
“Even though budgets are numbers… it’s also a reflection of your values,” Coulter said. “Where you put your money is a reflection of your values as a public servant.”
The county, which is home to 62 cities, villages, and townships and roughly 1.2 million people, will also allocate all of its American Rescue Plan Act funding by the end of 2024. The national deadline to spend these dollars is in 2026.
Transportation
Oakland County voters approved a 10-year countywide millage to expand public transportation in November 2022, replacing a previous millage that was only levied on some communities. The new tax will generate roughly $64.3 million in 2023.
The county will use $50 million in 2024 to enter into contracts with four transit providers: Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), Older Persons’ Commission (OPC), North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA), and Western Oakland Transportation (WOTA).
SMART bus routes will expand to portions of the county that haven’t had access to public transportation in 20 years, or in some cases ever, Woodward said.
“We already have new routes so residents can get out to 12 Oaks Mall in Novi, that just started last month,” Woodward said. “We’ll have new routes going up to Rochester, Rochester Hills area,” hopefully by January 1, 2024.
Public transportation will look different across the county though, Coulter said. The county is also looking to expand “micro-transit” shuttle systems in the northern, more rural areas.
“It’s the smaller vehicles that can pick you up at your home and take you to a doctor’s appointment or to the grocery store for instance,” Coulter said.
Public Safety
The largest portion of Oakland’s budget, $202 million, will go to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office this year, the largest percentage of the budget going to a single source, Woodward said. Much of these funds are meant to address staffing needs and will be used for bonuses for new hires and retention bonuses for current employees, Coulter said.
“It’s an additional expense that I think was justified in order to keep our staffing levels where they need to be,” Coulter said. “The sheriff’s deputy is our largest department by employees. And so we have made sure to maintain and invest in those employees and the equipment that they need.”
The budget sets aside $725,000 to begin purchasing new tasers for the sheriff’s office A full taser replacement may cost as much as $7 million over 10 years, Woodward said.
“The tasers, which help reduce the use of lethal force, are approaching end of life and it is a pretty big expenditure to replace them,” Woodward said. “We’re going to be going to tasers that have the ability to be launched 10 times, so, it increases the likelihood of landing the target but also I mean… reduces the need for lethal force.”
The budget will also continue to fund the body-worn camera initiative in the Sheriff’s Department that was first paid for using a federal grant.
ARPA, housing, parks
The county received $244.3 million of federal funding from the ARPA Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund beginning in 2021 and the deadline to appropriate those funds is December 2024. All but $79.8 million have been allocated and the executive and board of commissioners are working to finalize plans for the remaining dollars, according to the recommended budget.
Except for $5.3 million appropriated for pandemic-driven operational costs in 2024, the remaining funds will happen on a project-by-project basis.
ARPA dollars were initially used to seed Oakland County’s Housing Trust Fund, which supports the expansion of affordable housing. The fund will now receive an additional $2 million per year from County funds to help finance affordable housing projects.
Forecasts indicate that Oakland County will need an additional 12,000 housing units over the next decade to support its economy, Woodward said.
“These funds are meant to be a gap for developers… so that they can offer units at market rate and below market rate,” Coulter said. “This housing trust fund now has a board and is now accepting applications.”
County employees also will get a 3% raise across the board to help them deal with inflation and help the county attract more workers, Coulter said.
“Inflation was particularly high in the last couple of years, and that directly impacts the cost of living,” Coulter said. “3% doesn’t get us to where inflation was, unfortunately, but it does help our employees stay as current as we can to help them pay their bills.”
Oakland County Parks’ budget is set at over $38 million, with a specific focus on increasing access to park services in the county’s urban centers. Oakland County Parks will assume responsibility for four new parks in Pontiac, Oak Park, Madison Heights and Southfield.
“Our budget provides for new investment, and management of large parcels of land to ensure that residents all across this county have access to one of our many beautiful, natural preserves, trails or other parks or recreation opportunities,” Woodward said.
