New Baltimore Budget Surplus Could Improve Roads

A budget in the black could lead to smoother streets in New Baltimore, Mayor Larry Smith said Tuesday.

After independent auditing firm Alan C. Young and Associates of Detroit presented a financial report Monday night to New Baltimore City Council, Smith said the estimated $300,000 surplus could improve city streets down the road.

"We'll look at that time, but in all probability we'll need road work," he said. "Some of our subdivision streets are in pretty bad shape."

Specific streets that could benefit from potential repairs have not been determined at this time, he said.

The presented budget report for the July 1, 2012 to the June 30, 2013 fiscal year is not unlike the previous fiscal year. At that time, the surplus was $271,940, of which $222,000 was transferred to the public improvement fund for capital projects like those at the new police station, according to the city.

"We have been having somewhat of a surplus so we're actually living within our means," New Baltimore Treasurer Jeanne Bade said Wednesday.

As the auditing firm pointed out, that's not common in these economic conditions in Metro Detroit, city officials said.

"Like most other communities in Michigan, particularly southeast Michigan, the city continues to struggle with providing necessary services with limited revenue," the report states.

However, New Baltimore boasts a health reserve fund of about $1.5 million. The city's general fund had roughly $5.6 million in revenues the last fiscal year with about $5.4 million in expenditures--which are similiar amounts to this fiscal year, Bade said.