EAST LANSING — The city’s new parks millage proposal doesn’t offer anything new in the way of programs or services. It’s intended to help residents keep what they already have, at an added cost.
Call it a hedge against future budget cuts that could affect East Lansing’s Parks, Recreation and Arts department and all of its programming, including the Hannah Community Center, children’s programs, the soccer and softball complexes, summer concerts and festivals and the Northern Tier trail systems.
Right now, money for those types of things comes from the city’s general fund, and there’s no guarantee the parks budget won’t be cut as city leaders strive to make ends meet during a time of budget deficits.
“Without a dedicated revenue stream for these programs, the Parks, Recreation and Arts department may reduce hours of operations, limit program offerings or make staffing reductions due to competition for General Fund resources from other priorities,” officials said on the city’s website.
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Residents will decide in the Nov. 4 general election whether they want to amend the city charter to allow for an extra 2 mills to maintain parks-related services at current levels. The charter now limits the city’s total tax levy at 13 mills in years it collects an income tax. If it passes, the ballot measure would hike that to 15 mills.
That extra 2 mills would generate an estimated $2.9 million a year.
The owner of a home with an average taxable value of about $113,700 would pay an extra $277 a year if the measure passes, officials said.
The parks proposal was among various budget strategies discussed before the City Council in June voted to put it on the Nov. 4 ballot. It is viewed by some as a referendum on how much city residents value their parks system and services.
The millage won’t pay 100% of the cost of every program, Interim Parks, Recreation and Arts Director Justin Drwencke said.
For the current fiscal year − Fiscal Year 2026 − about $2.6 million of the parks department’s budget is coming from the general fund, he said. The rest of the total $6.2 million budget is coming from other sources, such as grants and license and user fees.
East Lansing faces a structural deficit of about $4.2 million, part of which “has been around for a couple of years” and has been masked by staff vacancies, Councilmember Erik Altmann said during the council’s Oct, 21 meeting. The loss of revenue from the recently nixed Lansing Board of Water & Light franchise fee, bond payments and lower revenue sharing payments from the state are other factors, he said.
Altmann spoke in support of the parks millage proposal.
Councilman Mark Meadows said he voted against putting the measure on the ballot and opposes its passage. He said it’s unlikely the parks budget will be cut.
“I think we have time to deal with this in another way, and let’s see what happens,” he said.
The parks millage would not necessarily continue in perpetuity if voters pass it.
When voters approved an income tax in 2018, the city’s maximum levy was reduced to 13 mills. If the income tax isn’t renewed before it expires at the end of 2030, the city’s maximum levy would revert to its pre-income tax level and the parks millage would expire, officials have said.
Here’s the ballot language:
“Currently, Section 10.5 of the City Charter allows the City to levy up to 13 mills on real and personal property each fiscal year for City operations in years the City levies, assesses and collects an income tax. Shall the City Charter be amended to provide, in such years, for a levy of up to 2 additional mills on real and personal property each fiscal year dedicated to City parks and recreation operations and maintenance, which would increase the total annual authorized levy to 15 mills?”
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing voters to decide on dedicated parks millage in Nov. 4 election
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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