The Romeo Observer - Romeo, Michigan: Northern Macomb County's weekly newspaper since 1866

Breaking News

CURTIS OSTRANDER	DUAINE HARDING
ELEANOR TODD	ELMER "BUD" HAHN
GERVASE KILEY	MARIAN SUTTON
ORLO KIRKUM	SLAVA KOKOTOVICH
Browse Full Text...

» Inside

Public Notices
Links
About Us
News Stands
Subscriptions
Editorial Forms
Archives

» Deadlines

Friday, 2 pm
Inserts

Friday, 5 pm
Retail Display
Editorial

Monday, Noon
Classified Display
Service Directory Display

Monday, 2 pm
Service Directory Liners

Monday, 3 pm
Classified Liners

All Holiday Deadlines are One Full Workday Earlier

Bruce Township passes
budgets for fire, ALS

by SHAUN BYRON
Observer Staff Writer

      The Bruce Township Board of Trustees voted to levy a total of 4.69 mills for the 2006-2007 Bruce Township Fire Department and Advanced Life Support (ALS) budgets.
       The unanimous approval took place during a regularly scheduled meeting, Wednesday, Sept. 21.
       About 1.94 mills will go toward the fire department, while 2.75 mills will be for the ALS budget.
       The proposed 2006-2007 fire budget is $617,590 and the ALS budget is $858,322.
       The current budget for the Bruce Township Fire Department was set at $584,100. The fire millage was established at 1.94 in September 2003.
       The ALS current budget for Bruce Township was set at $755,800. The fire millage was established at 2.55 in September 2003.
       The budgets go into effect April 1, 2006.
       Both budgets are based on a portion of the millage approved in 1994 that allows up to 5 mills each for the fire department and ALS.
       Township Clerk Karol Regius said the township could spend up to 10 mills a year, but so far it has been under what voters approved more than 10 years ago.
       "They are very frugal, and (Bruce-Romeo Fire Chief Floyd Shotwell) is very frugal when he deals with the budget," she said.
       Both budgets included several increases in expenditures from the two previous budget years.
       According to figures from the 2005-2006 fire fund, firefighting and ambulance services decreased $10,600, general services grew by $5,000, health insurance increased by $9,000 and pensions rose by $1,000.
       The ALS budget also showed an increase of $49,100 in paramedic and vehicle expenditures, health insurance increased by about $25,000, and pensions rose by $5,000.
       "We are still less than half of what was voted," Shotwell told the board, adding that as Bruce Township grows, calls have increased, which in turn boosts their expenditures.
       In other business, the board:
       * Heard a report from Plante & Moran representatives, the township's auditors. The representatives told township leaders the fund balance, reserves and expenditures "are clean."
       * Signed an agreement between the Michigan Department of Transportation to pave 35 Mile Road. The agreement has Bruce Township paying $25,581 and MDOT paying $500,000. The agreement was first made last year in April.