City is taking right step in forecasting finances

City officials are doing the right thing in taking a long-range view on finances.
In last week’s editorial, we urged city officials to consider what the city’s financial picture will look like in the next few years now that Wayne County is going to close its jail in Hamtramck.
That will be a devastating loss of about $1 million a year in revenue from the county.
At the last city council meeting, the council agreed to hire a financial team to take a deep dive into the city’s finances, and try to figure out what the future will hold for the city.
Also, the city is teaming up with the state treasury department to study what can be done about the lost revenue from the jail.
For the past few years, the city has enjoyed financial stability that also featured a budget surplus.
That was due largely to a massive infusion of federal and state dollars through various once-in-a-lifetime grants due to the covid pandemic.
Good times indeed.
Some city officials had the galling egos to think that the city’s stability had something to do with their financial acumen. The truth is far from it.
We’ve seen Hamtramck go through many financial ups and downs – but mostly downs. The “downs” weren’t so much due to financial mismanagement, but rather to legacy costs in the form of promised pensions to city employee retirees, including police and fire personnel.
We are now at a point, once again, where we have to take some quick action to stay ahead of the financial reaper.
Good times, unfortunately, can come to an end rather abruptly.
Posted Oct. 18, 2024