HomeMy WebLinkAboutInterlocal Agreements - 2022.06.23 - 37579
AGENDA ITEM: Interlocal Agreement Equalization Resolution for Assessing Contracts for 2022-
2023 22-216
COMMITTEE MEETING: Board of Commissioners
DATE: Thursday, June 23, 2022 6:00 PM - Click to View Agenda
ITEM SUMMARY SHEET
DEPARTMENT SPONSORED BY
Equalization Gwen Markham
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Resolution authorizing the Equalization Division to enter into one-year renewals of interlocal
agreements with the 32 cities and townships that the County provides property assessing services
for.
BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED: No
Committee members can contact Michael Andrews, Policy and Fiscal Analysis Supervisor at
248.858.5115 (office) or andrewsmb@oakgov.com, or the department contact persons listed for
additional information.
CONTACT
Kyle Jen, Director Management & Budget-
APP
Terry Schultz, Chief Equalization
jenk@oakgov.com, schultzt@oakgov.com
ITEM REVIEW TRACKING
Board of Commissioners Created/Initiated - 6/23/2022
Board of Commissioners Approved - 6/23/2022
Executive's Office Approved - 6/24/2022
Clerk/Register of Deeds Final Approval - 6/24/2022
AGENDA DEADLINE: 06/23/2022 6:30 PM
COMMITTEE TRACKING
2022-06-15 Finance - recommend to Board
2022-06-23 Full Board
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2023 Real Personal Property Agreement Template (Final Draft 05-12-22)
2. M&B_Equalization - Interlocal Agrmt Equalization Assessing Contracts for 2022-2023_SchA
3. 2022-2023 RATES PER PARCEL_EQUALIZATION DIVISION ASSISTANCE SERVICES
4. OCED Contract CVTs Map as of 2022
June 23, 2022
MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION #22-216
Sponsored By: Gwen Markham
Equalization - Interlocal Agreement Equalization Resolution for Assessing Contracts for 2022-2023
Chairperson and Members of the Board:
WHEREAS the Equalization Division provides a number of services to local units of government, including
original assessments, reappraisals, and file maintenance; and
WHEREAS these services are provided under contract with the local units as approved by the Board of
Commissioners; and
WHEREAS the County Executive Administration is recommending one-year renewals of these contracts,
generally with an inflationary increase in rates of 4%, so that the County can perform a comprehensive
assessment of services provided to these local units and ensure that appropriate rates are charged on a uniform
basis prior to entering into new three-year contracts beginning in 2023; and
WHEREAS the estimated annual impact of the 4% increase is $132,000 and a budget amendment is
recommended for FY 2022 - FY 2025.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners hereby approves
entering into the attached Contract for Oakland County Equalization Division Assistance Services covering the
term July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023 with each of the Charter Townships of Commerce, Lyon, Milford,
Oakland, Oxford, Royal Oak and Springfield; the Townships of Groveland, Holly, Novi, Orion, Rose and
Southfield; the Cities of Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Village of Clarkston, Clawson, Farmington,
Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Keego Harbor, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Orchard Lake
Village, Pleasant Ridge, Pontiac, Rochester, South Lyon, Walled Lake and Wixom.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Commissioners’ Chairperson is authorized to sign the
contracts.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk shall receive and file the executed contract
with the concerned unit of government as required by law.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the FY 2022 - FY 2025 budget is amended as reflected in the attached
Schedule A budget amendment document.
Chairperson, the following Commissioners are sponsoring the foregoing Resolution: Gwen Markham.
Date: June 23, 2022
David Woodward, Commissioner
Date: June 24, 2022
Hilarie Chambers, Deputy County Executive II
Date: June 24, 2022
Lisa Brown, County Clerk / Register of Deeds
COMMITTEE TRACKING
2022-06-15 Finance - recommend to Board
2022-06-23 Full Board
VOTE TRACKING
Motioned by Commissioner Charles Cavell seconded by Commissioner Michael Gingell to adopt the attached
Interlocal Agreement: Equalization Resolution for Assessing Contracts for 2022-2023.
Yes: David Woodward, Michael Gingell, Karen Joliat, Kristen Nelson, Eileen Kowall, Angela Powell,
Thomas Kuhn, Chuck Moss, Marcia Gershenson, William Miller III, Yolanda Smith Charles, Charles
Cavell, Penny Luebs, Janet Jackson, Gary McGillivray, Robert Hoffman, Adam Kochenderfer (17)
No: Christine Long, Philip Weipert (2)
Abstain: None (0)
Absent: (0)
Passed
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2023 Real Personal Property Agreement Template (Final Draft 05-12-22)
2. M&B_Equalization - Interlocal Agrmt Equalization Assessing Contracts for 2022-2023_SchA
3. 2022-2023 RATES PER PARCEL_EQUALIZATION DIVISION ASSISTANCE SERVICES
4. OCED Contract CVTs Map as of 2022
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Lisa Brown, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and
accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on June 23, 2022, with
the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Circuit Court at Pontiac,
Michigan on Thursday, June 23, 2022.
Lisa Brown, Oakland County Clerk / Register of Deeds
CONTRACT FOR OAKLAND COUNTY
EQUALIZATION DIVISION ASSISTANCE SERVICES
WITH THE <CVT>
(Real and Personal Property Services)
This CONTRACT FOR OAKLAND COUNTY EQUALIZATION DIVISION ASSISTANCE
SERVICES WITH THE <CVT> (hereafter, this "Contract") is made and entered into between the
COUNTY OF OAKLAND, a Michigan Constitutional and Municipal Corporation, whose address
is 1200 North Telegraph Road, Pontiac, Michigan 48341 (hereafter, the "County"), and the CVT,
a Michigan Constitutional and Municipal Corporation whose address is street address Michigan,
zip code (hereafter, the "Municipality"). In this Contract, either the County and/or the
Municipality may also be referred to individually as a "Party" or jointly as "Parties."
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS
A. The Municipality, pursuant to State law, including, but not limited to, the Michigan
General Property Tax Act (MCL 211.1, et seq.) is required to perform real and personal
property tax appraisals and assessments for all nonexempt real and personal property
located within the geographic boundaries of the Municipality for the purpose of levying
State and local property taxes.
B. The Parties recognize and agree that absent an agreement such as this, or pursuant to
an order of the State Tax Commission mandating the County to perform all or some of
the property tax appraisal and tax assessment responsibilities for real and/or personal
property located within the Municipality's geographic boundaries (MCL 211.10(f)), the
County, has no obligation to provide these Services to or for the Municipality.
C. The Michigan General Property Tax Act (MCL 211.34(3) provides that the County Board
of Commissioners, through the Equalization Division, may furnish assistance to local
assessing officers in the performance of certain legally mandated property appraisal and
assessment responsibilities.
D. The Municipality has requested the County's Equalization Division assistance in
performing the "Equalization Division Assistance Services" (as described and defined in
this Contract) and has agreed in return to reimburse the County as provided for in this
Contract.
E. The County has determined that it has sufficient "Equalization Division Personnel," as
defined herein, possessing the requisite knowledge and expertise and is agreeable to
assisting the Municipality by providing the requested "Equalization Division Assistance
Services" under the terms and conditions of this Contract.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of these premises and the mutual promises,
representations, and agreements set forth in this Contract, and for other good and valuable
consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, the County and the
Municipality agree as follows:
§1. DEFINED TERMS. In addition to the above defined terms (i.e., "Contract", "County",
"Municipality", and "Party" and "Parties"), the following words and expressions when
printed with the first letter capitalized as shown herein, whether used in the singular or
plural, possessive or nonpossessive, and/or either within or without quotation marks,
shall, be defined and interpreted as follows:
1.1. "County Agent" or "County Agents" means all Oakland County elected officials,
appointed officials, directors, board members, council members, commissioners,
authorities, other boards, committees, commissions, employees, managers,
departments, divisions, volunteers, agents, representatives, and/or any such
persons' successors or predecessors, agents, employees, attorneys, or auditors
(whether such persons act or acted in their personal representative or official
capacities), and/or any persons acting by, through, under, or in concert with any
of them, excluding the Municipality and/or any Municipality Agents, as defined
herein. "County Agent" and/or "County Agents" shall also include any person
who was a County Agent anytime during the term of this Contract but, for any
reason, is no longer employed, appointed, or elected and serving as a County
Agent.
1.2. "Equalization Division Personnel” means a specific subset of and included as
part of the larger group of County Agents as defined above and shall be further
defined as all County Agents specifically employed and assigned by the County
to work in the Equalization Division of the County’s Department of Management
and Budget as shown in the current County budget and/or personnel records of
the County. For all purposes in this Contract, any reference to County Agents
shall also include within that term all Equalization Division Personnel, but any
reference in this Contract to Equalization Division Personnel shall not include any
County Agent employed by the County in any other function, capacity, or
organizational unit of the County other than the Equalization Division of the
Department of Management and Budget.
1.3. "Municipality Agent" or "Municipality Agents" means all Municipality officers,
elected officials, appointed officials, directors, board members, council members,
authorities, boards, committees, commissions, employees, managers,
departments, divisions, volunteers, agents, representatives, and/or any such
persons' successors or predecessors, agents, employees, attorneys, or auditors
(whether such persons act or acted in their personal, representative, or official
capacities), and/or all persons acting by, through, under, or in concert with any of
them, except that no County Agent shall be deemed a Municipality Agent and
conversely, no Municipality Agent shall be deemed a County Agent.
"Municipality Agent" shall also include any person who was a Municipality Agent
at any time during this Contract but for any reason is no longer employed,
appointed, or elected in that capacity.
1.4. "Claim(s)" mean all alleged losses, claims, complaints, demands for relief or
damages, suits, causes of action, proceedings, judgments, deficiencies,
liabilities, penalties, litigation costs and expenses, including, but not limited to,
any reimbursement for reasonable attorney fees, witness fees, court costs,
investigation and/or litigation expenses, any amounts paid in settlement, and/or
any other amounts of any kind whatsoever which are imposed on, incurred by, or
asserted against a Party, or for which a Party may become legally and/or
contractually obligated to pay or defend against, whether direct, indirect or
consequential, whether based upon any alleged violation of the constitution
(Federal or State), any statute, rule, regulation or the common law, whether in
law or equity, tort, contract, or otherwise, and/or whether commenced or
threatened and arising out of the performance or participation in this Contract.
1.5. "Municipality Taxpayer" means all residents, property owners, persons, or
taxable entities within the Municipality, or their representatives or agents, who
may be liable or responsible for any property taxes assessed by the Municipality
pursuant to any applicable State Property Tax Laws.
1.6. "State" shall be defined as the "State of Michigan," a sovereign governmental
entity of the United States, and shall also include within its definition all
departments or agencies of State government including specifically, but not
limited to, the State Tax Commission, the State Tax Tribunal, and/or the State
Department of Treasury.
§2. COUNTY EQUALIZATION DIVISION ASSISTANCE SERVICES. The full and complete
scope of all County Equalization Division Assistance Services shall be as described and
limited in the following subsections (hereinafter defined and referred to as either
“Equalization Division Assistance Services” or "Services”).
2.1. "EQUALIZATION DIVISION ASSISTANCE SERVICES" OR "SERVICES" TO BE
PROVIDED. Equalization Division Assistance Services or Services, to be
performed by County for the Municipality as those terms are defined in this
Contract, shall only include and shall be limited to the following activities:
2.1.1. This Contract is to provide for annual assessment of real and personal
property from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 as required by laws of the
State of Michigan. The County shall make assessments of real and
personal property within the Municipality pursuant to MCL 211.10d.
2.1.2. The Equalization Division personnel will appraise all property, process all
real and personal property description changes, prepare the assessment
roll for real and personal property in the Municipality; attend March, July
and December Boards of Review and other such duties as required by
the State General Property Tax Laws. The Equalization Division
personnel will also be available for consultation on all Michigan Tax
Tribunal real and personal property and special assessment appeals and
will assist the Municipality in the preparation of both the oral and written
defense of appeals, as long as there is a current Contract in effect.
2.2. PURPOSE OF COUNTY "SERVICES". The purpose of all Equalization Division
Assistance Services or Services to be performed under this Contract shall be to
assist (e.g., to help, aid, lend support, and/or participate as an auxiliary, to
contribute effort toward completion of a goal, etc.) the Municipality in the
performance of that Municipality's official functions, obligations, and the
Municipality's legal responsibilities for property tax appraisal and assessment
pursuant to the applicable State Property Tax Laws.
2.3. MANNER COUNTY TO PROVIDE SERVICES. All Equalization Division
Assistance Services or Services to be provided by the County for the Municipality
under this Contract shall be performed solely and exclusively by the County's
Equalization Division Personnel.
2.3.1. Equalization Division Personnel, including those certified as Michigan
Master Assessing Officers (MMAO), shall be employed and assigned by
the County in such numbers and based on such appropriate
qualifications and other factors as decided solely by the County.
2.3.2. The County shall be solely and exclusively responsible for furnishing all
Equalization Division Personnel with job instructions, job descriptions,
and job specifications and shall in all circumstances control, supervise,
train, or direct all Equalization Division Personnel in the performance of
all Services under this Contract.
2.3.3. Except as otherwise expressly provided for herein, the County shall
remain the sole and exclusive employer of all County Agents and
Equalization Division Personnel and that the County shall remain solely
and completely liable for all County Agents' past, present, or future
wages, compensation, overtime wages, expenses, fringe benefits,
pension or retirement benefits, travel expenses, mileage allowances,
training expenses, transportation costs, and/or other allowances or
reimbursements of any kind, including, but not limited to, workers'
disability compensation benefits, unemployment compensation, Social
Security Act protection(s) and benefits, any employment taxes, and/or
any other statutory or contractual right or benefit based on or in any way
related to any County Agent's employment status.
2.3.4. This Contract is neither intended, nor shall it be interpreted, to create,
change, grant, modify, supplement, supersede, alter, or otherwise affect
or control, in any manner, form, or at any time, any right, privilege,
benefit, or any other term or condition of employment, of any kind or
nature whatsoever, in, upon, or for any County Agent or Equalization
Division Personnel with the County, any applicable County employment
and/or union contract, and/or any County rule(s), regulation(s), hours of
work, shift assignment, order(s), policy(ies), procedure(s), directive(s),
ethical guideline(s), etc., which shall, solely and exclusively, govern and
control the employment relationship between the County and any County
Agent or Equalization Division Personnel and/or the conduct and actions
of any County Agent or any Equalization Division Personnel. To
illustrate, but not otherwise limit, this Contract does not and shall not be
interpreted to limit, modify, control, or otherwise affect, in any manner:
2.3.4.1. The County's sole and exclusive right, obligation,
responsibility, and discretion to employ, compensate, assign,
reassign, transfer, promote, reclassify, discipline, demote,
layoff, furlough, discharge any Equalization Division Personnel
and/or pay all Equalization Division Personnel's wages,
salaries, allowances, reimbursements, compensation, fringe
benefits, or otherwise decide all such terms and conditions of
employment and make all employment decisions that affect, in
any way, the employment of any Equalization Division
Personnel with the County, subject only to its applicable
collective bargaining Contracts.
2.3.4.2. The County's sole and exclusive right, obligation, and
responsibility to determine, establish, modify, or implement all
operational policies, procedures, orders, rules, regulations,
ethical guidelines, and/or any other judgment, policy or
directive which, in any way, governs or controls any activity of
any County Agent or Equalization Division Personnel, any
necessary County Agent or Equalization Division Personnel's
training standards or proficiency(ies), any level or amount of
required supervision, all standards of performance, any
sequence or manner of performance, and any level(s) of
experience, training, or education required for any Equalization
Division Personnel performing any County duty or obligation
under the terms of this Contract.
2.3.5. Except as expressly provided for under the terms of this Contract and/or
laws of this State, no County Agent or Equalization Division Personnel,
while such person is currently and/or actively employed or otherwise
remains on the payroll of the County as a County Agent shall be
employed, utilized, or perform any other services, of any kind, directly or
indirectly, in any manner or capacity, or otherwise be available to
perform any other work or assignments by or for the Municipality during
the term of this Contract. This section shall not prohibit the Municipality
from employing any person who was a former County Agent but is no
longer employed in that capacity by the County.
2.3.6. Except as otherwise expressly provided by the Contract and/or
applicable State law, neither the County, nor any County Agent, nor any
Equalization Division Personnel, by virtue of this Contract or otherwise,
shall be deemed, considered or claimed to be an employee of the
Municipality and/or a Municipality Agent.
2.3.7. The Municipality shall not otherwise provide, furnish or assign any
Equalization Division Personnel with any job instructions, job
descriptions, job specifications, or job duties, or in any manner attempt to
control, supervise, train, or direct any Personnel in the performance of
any County's Equalization Division Assistance Services duty or obligation
under the terms of this Contract.
2.4. LIMITS AND EXCLUSIONS ON COUNTY "SERVICES". Except as otherwise
expressly provided for within this Contract, neither the County nor any County
Agents shall be responsible for assisting or providing any other services or
assistance to the Municipality or assume any additional responsibility for
assisting the Municipality in any other way or manner with any Municipality
obligations under all State Property Tax Laws, including, but not limited to,
providing any attorney or legal representation to the Municipality or any
Municipality Agent at any proceeding before the Michigan Tax Tribunal or any
other adjudicative body or court, except as expressly provided for in this
Contract.
2.4.1. The Municipality shall, at all times and under all circumstances, remain
solely liable for all costs, legal obligations, and/or civil liabilities
associated with or in any way related to any Municipality tax appraisal or
assessment functions or any other Municipality legal obligation under
any applicable State Property Tax Laws. The Municipality shall employ
and retain its own Municipality legal representation, as necessary, to
defend any such claim or challenge before the State Tax Tribunal or any
other court or review body.
2.4.2. Except for those express statutory and/or regulatory obligations
incumbent only upon licensed Equalization Division Personnel (i.e., State
Licensed and Certified Real and/or Personal Property Tax Assessors) to
defend property tax appraisals and assessments that they either
performed, or were otherwise performed under their supervision, before
the Michigan Tax Tribunal, no other County Agents, including any
County attorneys shall be authorized, required and/or otherwise
obligated under this Contract or pursuant to any other agreement
between the Parties to provide any legal representation to or for the
Municipality and/or otherwise defend, challenge, contest, appeal, or
argue on behalf of the Municipality before the Michigan Tax Tribunal or
any other review body or court.
§3. TERM OF CONTRACT. The Parties the term of this Contract shall begin on July 1, 2022
and shall end on June 30, 2023, without any further act or notice from either Party being
required. All Services otherwise provided to the Municipality prior to the effective date of
this Contract, shall be subject to the terms and conditions provided for herein.
§4. NO TRANSFER OF MUNICIPALITY LEGAL OBLIGATIONS TO COUNTY. Except as
expressly provided for in this Contract, the Municipality agrees that this Contract does
not, and is not intended to, transfer, delegate, or assign to the County, and/or any County
Agent or Equalization Division Personnel any civil or legal responsibility, duty, obligation,
duty of care, cost, legal obligation, or liability associated with any governmental function
delegated and/or entrusted to the Municipality under any applicable State Property Tax
Laws.
4.1. The Municipality shall, at all times and under all circumstances, remain solely
liable for all costs, legal obligations, and/or civil liabilities associated with or in
any way related to any Municipality tax appraisal or assessment functions or any
other Municipality legal obligation. Under no circumstances shall the County be
responsible for any costs, obligations, and/or civil liabilities associated with its
Municipality function or any responsibility under any State Property Tax Law.
4.2. The Municipality shall not incur or create any debts, liens, liabilities or obligations
for the County and shall take all necessary steps to ensure that any debts, liens,
liabilities, or obligations that the Municipality may incur shall not become a debt,
liability, obligation, or Claim(s) against the County.
4.3. The Municipality shall at all times remain responsible for the ultimate completion
of all Municipality duties or obligations under all applicable State Property Tax
Laws. Nothing in this Contract shall relieve the Municipality of any Municipality
duty or obligation under any applicable State Property Tax Law.
4.4. The Municipality and Municipality Agents shall be and remain responsible for
compliance with all Federal, State, and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and
agency requirements in any manner affecting any work or performance of this
Contract or with any Municipality duty or obligation under any applicable State
Property Tax Law.
§5. NO DELEGATION OR DIMINUTION OF ANY GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY. The
Parties reserve to themselves any rights and obligations related to the provision of all of
each Party's respective governmental services, authority, responsibilities, and
obligations. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, this Contract does not, and
is not intended to, create, diminish, delegate, transfer, assign, divest, impair, or
contravene any constitutional, statutory, and/or other legal right, privilege, power, civil or
legal responsibility, obligation, duty of care, liability, capacity, immunity, authority or
character of office of either Party.
5.1. Notwithstanding any other term or condition in this Contract, that no provision in
this Contract is intended, nor shall it be construed, as a waiver of any
governmental immunity, as provided by statute or applicable court decisions, by
either Party, either for that Party and/or any of that Party's County or Municipal
Agents.
5.2. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Contract, nothing in this Contract shall
be deemed to, in any way, limit or prohibit the Oakland County Board of
Commissioners statutory rights and obligations to review and/or further equalize
Municipality property values or tax assessments and/or further act upon any
Municipality assessment(s) of property taxes under any applicable State Property
Tax Laws, including, but not limited to challenging any Municipality assessment
before the Michigan Tax Tribunal.
§6. PAYMENT SCHEDULE. The Municipality shall pay to the County the following: For the
contract year 2022-2023 the sum of $xx.xx for each real property description and $xx.xx
for each personal property description rendered. Payment for the contract year 2022-
2023 is payable on or before July 1, 2023.
If during the term of this Contract, there are additional services requested of the County,
the Parties shall negotiate additional fees to be paid by the Municipality.
6.1. All time incurred for Board of Review dates beyond the regular County working
hours to be billed at the applicable Equalization Division personnel’s overtime
rate and charged to the Municipality over and above any other fees described in
this Contract, with the following exceptions:
6.1.1. One evening meeting as required by law under MCL § 211.30(3).
6.1.2. Dates requiring overtime set by the Municipality Charter.
6.2. The Municipality shall be responsible for postage on all personal property
statements and personal property notices mailed relating to work performed
under this Contract. The Municipality agrees to be responsible for all
photographic supplies.
6.3. If the Municipality fails, for any reason, to pay the County any monies when and
as due under this Contract, the Municipality agrees that unless expressly
prohibited by law, the County or the County Treasurer, at their sole option, shall
be entitled to a setoff from any other Municipality funds that are in the County’s
possession for any reason. Funds include but are not limited to the Delinquent
Tax Revolving Fund (“DTRF”). Any setoff or retention of funds by the County
shall be deemed a voluntary assignment of the amount by the Municipality to the
County. The Municipality waives any claims against the County or its Officials for
any acts related specifically to the County’s offsetting or retaining such amounts.
This paragraph shall not limit the Municipality’s legal right to dispute whether the
underlying amount retained by the County was actually due and owing under this
Contract.
6.4. If the County chooses not to exercise its right to setoff or if any setoff is
insufficient to fully pay the County any amounts due and owing the County under
this Contract, the County shall have the right to charge up to the then-maximum
legal interest on any unpaid amount. Interest charges shall be in addition to any
other amounts due to the County under this Contract. Interest charges shall be
calculated using the daily unpaid balance method and accumulate until all
outstanding amounts and accumulated interest are fully paid.
6.5. Nothing in this Section shall operate to limit the County’s right to pursue or
exercise any other legal rights or remedies under this Contract against the
Municipality to secure reimbursement of amounts due the County under this
Contract. The remedies in this Section shall be available to the County on an
ongoing and successive basis if Municipality at any time becomes delinquent in
its payment. Notwithstanding any other term and condition in this Contract, if the
County pursues any legal action in any court to secure its payment under this
Contract, the Municipality agrees to pay all costs and expenses, including
attorney’s fees and court costs, incurred by the County in the collection of any
amount owed by the Municipality.
6.6. Notwithstanding any other term or condition in this Contract, should the
Municipality fail for any reason to timely pay the County the amounts required
under this Contract, the County may discontinue, upon thirty (30) days written
notice to the Municipality, without any penalty or liability whatsoever, any
Services or performance obligations under this Contract.
§7. LIABILITY. Each Party shall be responsible for any Claims made against that Party and
for the acts of County Agents or Municipality Agents, as applicable. In any Claims that may
arise from the performance of this Contract, each Party shall seek its own legal
representation and bear the costs associated with such representation including any
attorney fees.
7.1. This Contract does not and is not intended to create or include any County
warranty, promise, covenant or guaranty, either express or implied, of any kind or
nature whatsoever in favor of the Municipality, and/or any Municipality Agents, or
any Municipality Taxpayer or any other person or entity, or that the County’s
efforts in the performance of any obligation under this Contract will result in any
specific monetary benefit or efficiency, or increase in any tax revenue for the
Municipality, or will result in any specific reduction or increase in any property
assessment, or guarantee that any Services provided under this Contract will
withstand any challenge before the State Tax Tribunal or any court or review
body, or any other such performance-based outcome.
7.2. In the event of any alleged breach, wrongful termination, and/or any default of
any term or condition of this Contract by either the County or any County Agent,
the County and/or any County Agent shall not be liable to the Municipality for any
indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, including, but not limited
to any replacement costs for Services, any loss of income or revenue, and/or any
failure by the Municipality to meet any Municipality obligation under any
applicable State Property Tax Laws, or any other economic benefit or harm that
the Municipality may have realized, but for any alleged breach, wrongful
termination, default and/or cancellation of this Contract, or damages beyond or in
excess of the amount(s) of any amount paid to, received or retained by the
County at the time of the alleged breach or default in connection with or under
the terms of this Contract, whether such alleged breach or default is alleged in an
action in contract or tort and/or whether or not the Municipality has been advised
of the possibility of such damages. This provision and this Contract is intended
by the Parties to allocate the risks between the Parties, and the Parties agree
that the allocation of each Party's efforts, costs, and obligations under this
Contract reflect this allocation of each Party's risk and the limitations of liability as
specified herein.
7.3. Neither Party has any right pursuant to or under this Contract against the other
Party to or for any indemnification (i.e., contractually, legally, equitably, or by
implication) contribution, subrogation, or other right to be reimbursed by the Party
based upon any legal theories or alleged rights of any kind, whether known or
unknown, for any alleged losses, claims, complaints, demands for relief or
damages, judgments, deficiencies, liability, penalties, litigation costs and
expenses of any kind whatsoever which are imposed on, incurred by, or asserted
against a Party and which are alleged to have arisen under or are in any way
based or predicated upon this Contract.
7.4. If the Municipality requests and the County agrees, the County may prepare the
actual tax statement for mailing by the Municipality to Municipality residents. In
preparing any such tax statement the County shall rely upon certain data
provided by the Municipality beyond the data gathered by the County under this
Contract, including, but not limited to, the applicable millage rate. Under no
circumstances shall the County be held liable to the Municipality or any third
party based upon any error in any tax statement due to information supplied by
the Municipality to the County for such purposes.
§8. MUNICIPALITY AGENTS AND COOPERATION WITH THE COUNTY. The Municipality
shall be solely responsible for guaranteeing that all Municipality Agents fully cooperate with
Equalization Division Personnel in the performance of all Services under this Contract. The
County shall be solely responsible for guaranteeing that all Equalization Division personnel
fully cooperate with Municipality agents in the performance of all Services under this
Contract.
8.1. Municipality Agents shall be employed and assigned based on appropriate
qualifications and other factors as decided by the Municipality. The Municipality
shall be solely responsible for furnishing all Municipality Agents with all job
instructions, job descriptions and job specifications and shall solely control,
direct, and supervise all Municipality Agents and shall be solely responsible for
the means and manner in which Municipality's duties or obligations under any
applicable State Property Tax Laws are satisfied.
8.2. The Municipality shall be solely liable for all Municipality Agents' past, present, or
future wages, compensation, overtime wages, expenses, fringe benefits, pension
or retirement benefits, travel expenses, mileage allowances, training expenses,
transportation costs, and/or other allowances or reimbursements of any kind,
including, but not limited to, workers' disability compensation benefits,
unemployment compensation, Social Security Act protection(s) and benefits, any
employment taxes, and/or any other statutory or contractual right or benefit
based on or in any way related to any Municipality Agent's employment status or
any alleged violation of any Municipality Agent's statutory, contractual (e.g.,
union, employment, or labor contract), constitutional, common law employment
right, and/or civil rights by the Municipality. The Municipality agrees to indemnify
and hold harmless the County from and against all Claim(s) which are imposed
upon, incurred by, or asserted against the County or any County Agent by any
Municipality Agent and/or which are based upon, result from, or arise from, or are
in any way related to any Municipality Agent's wages, compensation, benefits, or
other employment-related or based rights, including, but not limited to, those
described in this section.
8.3. No Municipality Agent shall, by virtue of this Contract or otherwise, be considered
or claimed to be an employee of the County and/or a County Agent. This
Contract does not grant or confer, and shall not be interpreted to grant or confer,
upon any Municipality Agents or any other individual any status, privilege, right,
or benefit of County employment or that of a County Agent.
8.4. The Municipality shall provide the County with information regarding any activity
affecting the tax status of any parcel including but not limited to the following:
Downtown Development Authorities, Redevelopment Plans, Tax Increment
Financing Authorities. In addition, the Municipality shall notify the County
immediately of approval of any application for abatement or tax exemption.
8.5. The Municipality shall inform the County Agents regarding any increase in
taxation which is governed by the Truth in Taxation Act. Further, the Municipality
shall inform the County Agents regarding any millage increase (new) or renewal.
8.6. The Municipality is responsible for Special Assessment billings, maintaining a
paper trail of roll changes, maintaining the rolls in balance, and providing the
Oakland County Equalization Division with the information necessary to prepare
the warrant.
8.7. The Municipality Agents shall perform the following functions:
8.7.1. Mechanically make name changes to Sidwell numbers on a monthly
basis using the County’s Computer terminals.
8.7.2. Provide a copy of all building permits with Sidwell numbers to the
County’s Equalization Division on a monthly basis.
8.7.3. Be responsible for the establishment, accuracy, and compilation of all
Special Assessment rolls in the Municipality.
8.7.4. Forward all exemption applications, transfer affidavits, personal property
statements and all other documents affecting the status or value of
property located within the Municipality to the County’s Equalization
Division in a timely manner.
8.7.5. Forward all information on splits and combinations after approval by the
Municipality to the County’s Equalization Division.
8.8. In the event that Municipality Agents, for whatever reason, fail or neglect to
undertake the tasks in Section 8.7 above, the County’s Equalization Division may
perform these tasks and it shall be paid on a time and material basis. Such rate
shall be based upon the wages plus benefits of the County Agents performing
said tasks.
§9. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR. The County's and/or County Agents' legal status and
relationship to the Municipality shall be that of an Independent Contractor. No liability,
right, or benefits arising out of an employer/employee relationship, either express or
implied, shall arise or accrue to either Party as a result of this Contract.
§10. COUNTY PRIORITIZATION OF COUNTY RESOURCES. This Contract does not, and is
not intended to, create either any absolute right in favor of the Municipality or any
correspondent absolute duty or obligation upon the County, to guarantee that any specific
number(s) or classification of County Agents will be present on any given day to provide
Services to the Municipality.
§11. CANCELLATION OR TERMINATION OF THIS CONTRACT. Except as follows, and
notwithstanding any other term or provision in any other section of this Contract, either
Party, upon a minimum of ninety (90) calendar days written notice to the other Party, may
cancel and/or completely terminate this Contract for any reason, including convenience,
without incurring any penalty, expense, or liability to the other Party. The effective date
for any such termination is to be clearly stated in the notice.
11.1. At 5:00 p.m. on the effective date of the cancellation of this Contract all
Municipality and/or County obligations under this Contract, except those rights
and obligations expressly surviving cancellation as provided for in this Contract,
shall end.
11.2. All Municipality obligations, including, but not limited to, waivers of liability,
record-keeping requirements, any Municipality payment obligations to the
County, and/or any other related obligations provided for in this Contract with
regard to any acts, occurrences, events, transactions, or Claim(s) either
occurring or having their basis in any events or transactions that occurred before
the cancellation or completion of this Contract, shall survive the cancellation or
completion of this Contract.
§12. EFFECTIVE DATE, CONTRACT APPROVAL, AND AMENDMENT. This Contract,
and/or any amendments thereto, shall be approved by resolutions of both the Oakland
County Board of Commissioners and the Governing Body of the Municipality. The
approval and terms of this Contract, and/or any amendments thereto, shall be entered in
the official minutes and proceedings of both the Oakland County Board of
Commissioners and the Governing Body of the Municipality and shall also be filed with
the office of the County Clerk, the Clerk for the Municipality, and the Secretary of State.
§13. NO THIRD-PARTY BENEFICIARIES. Except as expressly provided herein for the
benefit of the Parties, this Contract does not, and is not intended to, create, by implication
or otherwise, any direct or indirect obligation, duty, promise, benefit, right to be
indemnified (i.e., contractually, legally, equitably, or by implication) and/or any right to be
subrogated to any Party's rights in this Contract, and/or any other right of any kind, in
favor of any person, including, but not limited to, any County Agent or Municipality Agent
or any Municipality Taxpayer, any Taxpayer's legal representative, any organization, any
alleged unnamed beneficiary or assignee, and/or any other person.
§14. CONSTRUED AS A WHOLE. The language of all parts of this Contract is intended to
and, in all cases, shall be construed as a whole according to its fair meaning, and not
construed strictly for or against any Party. As used in this Contract, the singular or plural
number, possessive or nonpossessive shall be deemed to include the other whenever
the context so suggests or requires.
§15. CAPTIONS. The section headings or titles and/or all section numbers contained in this
Contract are intended for the convenience of the reader and not intended to have any
substantive meaning and are not to be interpreted as part of this Contract.
§16. NOTICES. Except as otherwise expressly provided for herein, all correspondence,
invoices, and/or any other written notices required, permitted or provided for under this
Contract to be delivered to either Party shall be sent to that Party by first class mail. All
such written notices, including any notice canceling or terminating this Contract as
provided for herein, shall be sent to the other Party's signatory to this Contract, or that
signatory's successor in office, at the addresses shown in this Contract. All
correspondence or written notices shall be considered delivered to a Party as of the date
that such notice is deposited with sufficient postage with the U.S. Postal Service.
§17. WAIVER OF BREACH. The waiver of a breach of any provision of this Contract shall not
operate or be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach. Each and every right,
remedy and power granted to either Party or allowed it by law shall be cumulative and not
exclusive of any other.
§18. ENTIRE CONTRACT. This Contract sets forth the entire agreement between the County
and the Municipality and supersedes all prior agreements or understandings between
them in any way related to the subject matter hereof. All terms and conditions herein are
contractual and are not a mere recital and that there are no other agreements,
understandings, contracts, or representations between the County and the Municipality in
any way related to the subject matter hereof, except as expressly stated herein. This
Contract shall not be changed or supplemented orally and may be amended only as
otherwise provided herein.
The undersigned execute this Contract on behalf of the Parties and by doing so legally obligate
and bind the Parties to this Contract.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Name of Mayor, Mayor of the <CVT> acknowledges that he has been
authorized by a resolution of the Governing Body of the <CVT> to execute this Contract and
accepts and binds the <CVT> to this Contract.
EXECUTED: ___________________________ DATE: __________________
Name of Mayor, Mayor
<CVT>.
WITNESSED: ___________________________ DATE: __________________
Name of Clerk, Clerk
<CVT>.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, David T. Woodward, Chairperson, Oakland County Board of
Commissioners, acknowledges that he has been authorized by a resolution of the Oakland
County Board of Commissioners to execute this Contract and accepts and binds Oakland
County to this Contract.
EXECUTED: _________________________________ DATE: __________________
David T. Woodward, Chairperson
Oakland County Board of Commissioners
WITNESSED: ______________________________ DATE: __________________
(Print Name) ______________________________ DATE: __________________
County of Oakland
Oakland County, Michigan
MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET - EQUALIZATION DIVISION - INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT EQUALIZATION RESOLUTION FOR ASSESSING CONTRACTS FOR 2022-2023
Schedule "A" DETAIL
R/E Fund Name Division Name Fund #Division #Program #Account #Region
Fund
Affiliate
Budget
Reference
Project
Unit Project #Activity Analysis Account Title
FY 2022
Amendment
FY 2023
Amendment
FY 2024
Amendment
FY 2025
Amendment
R General Fund Equalization Administration FND10100 CCN1020501 PRG186020 RC631813 Reimb Equalization Services $33,000 $132,000 $132,000 $132,000
R General Fund Non Departmental FND10100 CCN9010101 PRG196030 RC665882 Planned Use of Balance (33,000)(132,000)--
Total Revenue $-$-$132,000 $132,000
E General Fund Non Departmental FND10100 CCN9010101 PRG196030 SC796500 Budgeted Equity Adjustments $-$-$132,000 $132,000
Total Expenditures $-$-$132,000 $132,000
EQUALIZATION DIVISION
ASSISTANCE SERVICES
2022-2023
RATE PER
PARCEL
REAL
PROPERTY
2022-2023
RATE PER
PARCEL
PERSONAL
PROPERTY CVT
(Cities )
Berkley 15.00$ 13.72$
Birmingham 19.50$ 14.25$
Bloomfield Hills 20.04$ 14.68$
Clarkston 15.43$ 13.72$
Clawson 15.00$ 13.72$
Farmington 18.76$ 13.72$
Ferndale 15.00$ 13.72$
Hazel Park 13.40$ 13.29$
Huntington Woods 15.00$ 14.25$
Keego Harbor 15.43$ 13.72$
Lathrup Village 15.43$ 13.72$
Madison Heights 16.39$ 13.72$
Orchard Lake 26.48$ 13.70$
Pleasant Ridge 15.00$ 13.72$
Pontiac 16.39$ 14.68$
Rochester 15.43$ 13.72$
South Lyon 15.31$ 12.54$
Walled Lake 15.43$ 13.72$
Wixom 18.76$ 14.25$
(Townships )
Commerce 19.29$ 14.13$
Groveland 15.00$ 13.72$
Holly 16.17$ 13.72$
Lyon 16.17$ 13.72$
Milford 16.17$ 13.72$
Novi 15.86$ 15.86$
Oakland 17.58$ 13.72$
Orion 16.62$ 13.72$
Oxford 16.62$ 13.72$
Rose Township 16.39$ 13.72$
Royal Oak 14.68$ 12.11$
Southfield 16.17$ 13.72$
Springfield 15.86$ 14.36$
Troy
Rose
Novi
Holly
Orion
Lyon
Oxford
Milford
Oakland
Addison
Brandon
Highland
Waterford
Groveland
White Lake
Springfield
Southfield
Pontiac
Commerce
Bloomfield
Rochester Hills
Farmington Hills
West Bloomfield
Wixom
Auburn Hills
Royal Oak
Holly
Birmingham
Rochester
Milford
Franklin
Oxford
Madison
Heights
South
Lyon
Bloomfield
Hills
Hazel Park
Clawson
Farmington
Walled
Lake
Orchard Lake
Village
Lake Angelus
Lake
Orion
Leonard
Wolverine
Lake
Northville
Ortonville
BerkleyLathrup
Village
Beverly Hills
Farms
Sylvan Lake Keego Harbor
Huntington
Woods
Independence
Village of
Clarkston
Novi
Southfield
Bingham
Fenton
Southfield
Pleasant
Ridge
FerndaleRoyal
Oak
Oak
Park
Oakland County Equalization Division
Contracted CVTs as of 2022
September 12, 2022
Michigan Department of State
Office of the Great Seal
Richard H. Austin Building, 1st Floor
430 W. Allegan
Lansing, MI 48918
Dear Office of the Great Seal:
On June 23, 2022 the Board of Commissioners for Oakland County entered into an agreement per MR #22216 –
Equalization – Interlocal Agreement Equalization Resolution for Assessing Contracts for 2022 -2023.
As required by Urban Cooperation Act 7 of 1967 - MCL 124.510(4), a copy of the signed agreement with the County of
Oakland and the City of Wixom, and the authorizing Board of Commissioners Resolution are enclosed for filing by your
office.
Send confirmation of receipt of this a greement to:
Mr. Joseph Rozell, Director of Elections
Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds
County Service Center, Building #14 East
1200 N. Telegraph Rd.
Pontiac, MI 48341
(Please include our Miscellaneous Resolution number on the confirmation of receipt letter for filing purposes.)
Contact our office at (248) 858-0564 if you have any questions regarding this matter.
Sincerely,
COUNTY OF OAKLAND
Joseph J. Rozell, CERA
Director of Elections
Cc: Donna Dyer, Corporation Counsel, Oakland County
Erika Munoz-Flores, Corporation Counsel, Oakland County
Catherine Buck, Clerk, City of Wixom
Kimberly Hampton, Technical Specialist, Equalization Division
Enclosures
CITY OF WIXOM
49045 PONTIAC TRAIL
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2022
Mayor Beagle called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. and the Pledge of Allegiance
was recited.
Present: Mayor: P. Beagle
Deputy Mayor: T. Rzeznik
Councilmembers: P. Behrmann
K. Gottschall
T. Gronlund-Fox
P. Sharpe
R. Smiley
AGENDA CHANGES:
Mr. Brown added New Business #8 – Recommendation to Authorize a Resolution to
Adopt a Revised Policy Relative to the Review and Granting of Financial (Poverty)
Hardship Exemptions by the City of Wixom Board of Review
MINUTES:
CM-06-73-22: Moved and seconded by Councilmembers Smiley and Gronlund-Fox
to approve the Regular City Council meeting minutes of May 24, 2022.
Vote: Motion Carried
CORRESPONDENCE:
1.) Letter of Resignation from the Cemetery Board from Kay Ash
Mayor Beagle thanked Kay Ash for her service to the City. She’d been on the
Cemetery Board for 18 years and they wished her the best.
CALL TO THE PUBLIC:
There were no comments at this time.
CITY MANAGER REPORTS:
1.) Fire Monthly Reports – April 2022
Councilmember Gottschall asked what percentage of total calls were not being
adequately staffed. Interim Chief Geistler figured 10% of monthly calls were being
staffed by one person. Councilmember Gottschall asked what would be a standard
staffing expectation. Interim Chief Geistler said in order to be suitable to transport
advanced life support medical calls, they needed a minimum of two personnel.
Councilmember Gottschall heard about a multi-vehicle accident that only one
firefighter responded to. Interim Chief Geistler confirmed they had a five-car
accident at Maple and Wixom Road with only one person responding. Council-
member Gottschall asked how frequently were they concerned that they wouldn’t
have an adequate number of people responding to an emergency. Interim Chief
Geistler replied every single day. Councilmember Gottschall asked what he thought
it would take to address/adjust the staffing issue within the Department. Interim
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 2
Chief Geistler said the first thing they’d have to do was find a way to staff the
station every day with a minimum of two people. He said that it could be done with
the current staffing schedule but it would highly exceed overtime hours. Council-
member Gottschall asked if morale would improve if the schedule was worked out.
Interim Chief Geistler said that it would. Councilmember Gottschall asked if morale
was playing a factor in getting people to respond. Interim Chief Geistler said he did
not believe morale was a factor in response, but it was more of the personnel trying
to find a work/life balance. They had a total of nine personnel and that included a
new hire with zero training and who just started EMT classes. Councilmember
Gottschall thanked Interim Chief Geistler for his dedication to the City and stepping
up over these last few months.
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox asked out of the eight fully-trained personnel, how
many were full and part time. Interim Chief Geistler said they had four full-time and
four part-time.
2.) Police Monthly Report – April 2022
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox noticed the larcenies increased. She inquired if
notification was given to residents to make them more aware; and if not, would
giving notice be beneficial. Director Moore said they didn’t notify anyone because a
majority of the larcenies were catalytic converters. Most of the theft took place in
parking lots, businesses and apartment complexes. Director Moore said that a
reminder notification and sharing safety advice would be helpful.
Councilmember Sharpe asked what sorts of topics fell under non-criminal
complaints and other service requests and why the increase. Director Moore said
that encompassed warrant arrests, assists to the Fire Department, assists to other
law enforcement agencies or government agencies, extra patrols, burglary alarms,
fire alarms and animal complaints. He wasn’t sure why the numbers increased but
could speculate that as they get more out of the pandemic, those types of calls
increase.
CONSENT AGENDA:
CM-06-74-22: Motion and seconded made by Councilmembers Behrmann and
Gronlund-Fox to approve the Consent Agenda as presented which included:
1.) Approval to receive and file:
a.) Cemetery Board Minutes – June 2, 2021
b.) Planning Commission Minutes – May 2, 2022
c.) Planning Commission Minutes – May 23, 2022
Vote: Motion Carried
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: (None)
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 3
DISCUSSION:
1.) Road Millage
Councilmember Gottschall asked they touch base on discussions held a year ago
with HRC and Mr. Sikma regarding the roadway’s PASER ratings and infrastructure
investments. He recalled some shared fear that they were not adequately funding
the local road program.
Mr. Sikma said the data available was from last year because they hadn’t
completed the new PASER ratings yet; however, they haven’t done any road
projects that would have improved the numbers from last year. Mr. Sikma noted
the current road millage was set to expire in 2026, but they hoped to act before
then in order to continue the road program. He stated that they needed to
determine how much funding would be enough and hoped the information given to
them would assist them in making that decision. He reminded them that the goal
was to maintain or increase the overall PASER ratings for the next several years. He
explained that each road was rated on a system from 10-1. The scale displayed the
types of road maintenance involved. A PASER rating of 8-10 would require routine
maintenance (crack seal and minor patching), a PASER rating of 5-7 rating required
preventive maintenance (patchwork, crack sealing, surface treatments, sealing,
joint repairs and overlay) and a PASER rating of 1-4 required a complete repair.
Mayor Beagle inquired about surface overlay. Mr. Sikma said a surface overlay
meant the removal of 2” of asphalt then add new asphalt. Mayor Beagle asked if
any Wixom roads needed to be torn out and relayed with a new base and surface.
Mr. Sikma said there were several. He explained that you could tell if the base was
gone when you saw web-cracking on the surface. He indicated that only the web-
cracking section may need repair because the base may still be okay in another
section.
Mayor Beagle commented that engineering started on West Maple in the Fall of
2022 with a new surface in the Spring of 2023.
Councilmember Behrmann noted the information given showed that Maple Run
needed total reconstruction; however, they were only planning on performing an
overlay. He questioned if an overlay would last when the PASER rating was poor.
Mr. Brown said that it would be a judgement call indicated by the base. He
explained that the surface may appear to look bad but the base could still be strong
enough for an overlay.
Councilmember Behrmann understood they would install a higher slope for run-off.
Mayor Beagle asked how many years would you get from only milling. Mr. Sikma
said a typical asphalt road was good for twenty years, and an overlay had a 15-20-
year lifespan. He explained that once they lay the asphalt or concrete road, the
PASER rating would become an 8-10. He said it’s their goal to keep up the
preventative maintenance in order to keep the PASER rating from going lower than
a 5.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 4
Deputy Mayor Rzeznik asked if they were getting closer to knowing a dollar amount
required to keep the City’s roads within the 6-10 PASER rating category. Mr. Sikma
said once the new PASER rating results were available, he would have a clearer
picture. Deputy Mayor Rzeznik asked how much did a PASER rating study cost. Mr.
Sikma indicated that the study was performed by trained staff. Deputy Mayor
Rzeznik knew of many technologies being developed based on dash cameras and
sensor data that could perform continuous real time PASER studies. He suggested
they keep an eye out for that sort of technology over the next five years because it
could be worth deploying.
Councilmember Smiley trusted that Mr. Sikma had a system and knew how to
prioritize what road needed certain maintenance. He questioned their method of
concentrating on the roads that fell in the middle category. He figured if they spent
all the money on the roads that fell within the 5-7 PASER rating, they wouldn’t be
able to fund the roads that needed to be completely replaced. Also, he asked if they
were concerned that the resources and manpower wouldn’t be available to perform
the road maintenance. Mr. Sikma was concerned because they were limited by
financial circumstances and the engineers performing the reviews.
Mr. Brown said the firms within the State capable of doing the road projects were
not sufficient to fix every road throughout the State, and they were being stressed
further by the additional monies available for infrastructure. He figured that more
and more dollars were still chasing that insufficient pool of contractors so costs
would increase; not withstanding what was going on with larger macroeconomic
sense where inflation would cause it to increase further still. He asked that they
keep in mind the level of investment would have a decreasing impact because of
the increasing costs. He explained that when costs went up, less roads were
repaired and the PASER ratings were corresponding less positively impacted. He
expressed how difficult it was to get roads repaired because of the many factors
involved.
Mr. Sikma said the majority of the State of Michigan’s roads were in the same
situation as our roadways. Mr. Brown said that Wixom did okay with the roads that
fell within the middle categories, but poorly with the roads that fell in the higher
and lower ends of the scale. Mr. Sikma noted the anticipated road projects were the
Maple Run II Subdivision, Courts of Highgate Subdivision, Cliffs on Loon Lake
Subdivision and West Maple Road. He explained the current road millage was
1.1439 mills which expired in 2026, and they could only increase the millage by 5%
or CPI, whichever was lower.
Mr. Brown said with Proposal A capping the increase they didn’t receive the benefits
of a large inflationary surge. He explained that even with higher property values,
you didn’t receive the full benefit because of the cap. Ultimately, Proposal A created
a losing proposition for municipalities that relied on those valuations to help them
maintain the costs they were experiencing that were growing beyond those
inflationary figures. The current millage was a 20-year millage and the millage rate
was lower than what it used to be because the Headlee Amendment.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 5
Councilmember Smiley assumed if they needed additional funding for roads, they
had to create their own millage. Mr. Brown agreed because they would never catch
up with the problem based on only receiving the funding for any other sources.
Councilmember Behrmann wondered if they knew what the millage needed to be
for the new potential road millage. He asked if it was possible to survey the
residents asking them their feelings on the following: a potential special assessment
when the local road millage expired, the possibility of extending the current millage
where they were not making headway but fixing what they could, or pay more
money to get the roads up to par. He would like to see some data of what the
residents wanted before any decisions were made.
Mr. Brown said to project the amount of money needed for road repairs would
require a pretty heavy investment of time and money with consultants. Before
going that far, they wanted to get Council’s reaction to a potential millage. They
could put together a survey but cautioned that the special assessment could be a
pretty high dollar amount over a 10-20-year period.
Councilmember Gottschall thought they could adequately explain to residents the
difference between a millage and special assessment. He wouldn’t recommend a
special assessment because it usually depended on road frontage and a potential
lien on the property.
Councilmember Behrmann wasn’t sure he’d recommend a special assessment
either, but he did want to obtain feedback from the residents.
Mr. Sikma said special assessments could require legal and banking fees, bonding
and potential interest.
Mr. Brown said they were currently funding road maintenance by the money they
had within their budget, but they had the ability to bond for road construction that
would allow them to do more work at one time instead over a period of time. A
bond gave short term satisfaction, but your hands were tied for a period of time
paying back the money you’ve borrowed.
Councilmember Smiley wasn’t in favor of asking folks because some residents lived
on poorer roads than others. He felt it was their job to find what was best and
represent the residents.
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox wasn’t in favor of a bond. She approved extending
the millage.
Mr. Brown said that Council should discuss the possibility of putting the question
before the voters to maintain, decrease or increase the millage collection for road
projects within the City.
Mayor Beagle couldn’t picture anything coming together quickly enough for this
November’s ballot. He thought it would be best to take their time and obtain as
much information possible so they could successfully inform the residents.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 6
Councilmember Gottschall asked what the ideal PASER rating should be annually.
Mr. Sikma liked to keep the average rating above 5. Councilmember Gottschall
thought when they reviewed data, they needed to ask themselves what amount of
funding would it take to keep the roads above a 5 PASER rating over a ten-year
period. He understood the City operated on a Ten-Year Capital Improvement Plan.
Given that the roads lasted roughly 20-years, perhaps they create a plan for only
roads. He figured they had to perform their own math to figure out what it would
take today and for the future.
Mr. Brown commented that a 1 mill increase wouldn’t get the City roads to a 5 on
the PASER rating scale.
Councilmember Behrmann thought they needed to be cautious because they could
potentially be asking voters to approve multiple millage proposals at the same time.
Councilmember Sharpe agreed with Councilmember Behrmann. He noticed an
enormous amount of 4 PASER ratings throughout the City’s roadways. He figured at
some point they would reach capacity but wouldn’t be able to make all the repairs
at one time. They needed to understand how much money it would cost, how many
mills would generate that goal amount, where they would use the funding in year 1,
2, 3, etc. They needed to know more than just the PASER ratings. If they needed to
sell property owners on this millage, they must have a dollar figure, not
conversations of mills and PASER ratings. He felt they needed to hear data on
dollars, lane miles, which roads/subdivisions and the course of time. He would like
to find out if they could work within the amount of money they had before they
went to residents asking for more.
Mayor Beagle stated that 1 mill was equivalent to $700,000.
Deputy Mayor Rzeznik figured the tax payers welcomed well-constructed and
maintained roads. He agreed they needed to acquire data and stated he was in
favor of a continuation of the road millage.
Councilmember Gottschall was curious to find out how fast HRC could get back to
them with quality information. He said the money they had came from a taxable
income budget so if they voted on the proposal next year, they wouldn’t be able to
make any impact for two years. He didn’t want to cut corners or rush any decisions,
but he would like to put some pressure on HRC to get the information back
relatively soon.
Mr. Brown stated the additional operating millage and sidewalk millage expired in
2024 and the road millage expired in 2026.
Councilmember Behrmann asked if they didn’t want to wait until 2026 to create a
new local road millage or if they wanted to create a supplemental millage and they
asked voters to renew the road millage in 2026.
Mr. Brown said they would replace the existing millage and change it to a different
amount.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 7
Mayor Beagle believed the consensus of Council was to obtain adequate data so
they could move forward in the road millage process.
Councilmember Gottschall asked they obtain figures from HRC that would give
updated numbers plus what it would take on a 20-year basis to get the roads to a 5
or above on the PASER scale.
Councilmember Sharpe wanted the data behind the ratings and the average
expense it took to get them to those ratings. He would also like to see a plan and
dollar amount.
NEW BUSINESS:
1.) Recommendation to Approve a One-Year Contract with Oakland
County Equalization Division for Assessing Services for the Period of
July 1, 2022 Through June 30, 2023 and Authorize Mayor Patrick
Beagle and Clerk Catherine Buck to Sign the Contract
CM-06-75-22: Motion and seconded made by Deputy Mayor Rzeznik and Council-
member Gronlund-Fox to approve a one-year Contract with Oakland County Equal-
ization Division for Assessing Services for the Period of July 1, 2022 Through June
30, 2023 and authorize Mayor Patrick Beagle and Clerk Catherine Buck to sign the
Contract.
Mr. Brown explained that this contract was to provide Assessing Services from
Oakland County. This includes appraisals of property, processing of real and
personal property affidavits, attendance at Board of Review meetings, defense on
all Tax Tribunal appeals, and assessment roll maintenance. There was a 4% cost
increase reflected, which brings in an estimated cost of $90,802. The cost would
increase to $94,434 next fiscal year.
Mayor Beagle said that in years past, we signed a multi-year contract. Mr. Brown
confirmed that was correct. He said this was for one year. He heard there might be
something different coming from Oakland County next year.
Deputy Mayor Rzeznik asked if most of our surrounding communities used Oakland
County for assessing services. Mr. Brown said that the majority don’t have their
own assessor. It is difficult to provide that level of service without a very large
budget. He recommended that we continue for another year. Deputy Mayor Rzeznik
said he did support this.
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox said she would be surprised if we could get an
assessor for this amount or less.
Vote: Motion Carried
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 8
2.) Recommendation to Authorize an Extension and Third Contract
Addendum, Effective July 1, 2022, of a Professional Services
Agreement with Laura Cloutier to Provide Services to the Wixom
Downtown Development Authority as Executive Director for a Period
Ending June 30, 2023
CM-06-76-22: Motion and seconded made by Councilmember Smiley and Deputy
Mayor Rzeznik to authorize an extension and third Contract Addendum, effective
July 1, 2022, of a Professional Services Agreement with Laura Cloutier to provide
services to the Wixom Downtown Development Authority as Executive Director for a
period ending June 30, 2023.
Mr. Brown indicated there was a prior Council action in March of 2022 that
extended this contract so the expiration date would match to our fiscal year. This
was for an additional one-year contract extension, from July 1, 2022 to June 30,
2023. Action was taken by the DDA and they will be using DDA funding to increase
the annual cost from $45,000 to $50,000 annually. Laura Cloutier is the contractor
that is providing the services to the DDA as the Executive Director.
Mayor Beagle commented that the DDA Chairperson, Vanessa Willett, and the Co-
Chairperson, Kristin Rzeznik, were present.
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox said there wasn’t anything negative about Ms.
Cloutier’s work or services that she provided, but she couldn’t support a 10%
increase in a contract. She called to ask questions because she was confused as to
why it was coming to Council if it was in the DDA’s budget. Her understanding was
that’s the way it has always been. She said she just couldn’t support a 10%
increase.
DDA Chairperson, Vanessa Willett, said the initial contract was approved by the City
Council with an amount not to exceed $50,000. This was the third year of that
contract. Ms. Cloutier has put in additional hours, well beyond the minimum,
especially with the first and second years being in COVID. There has never been an
increase. We are not increasing, but maximizing the contract value that was
previously approved by City Council for this position. In addition, the DDA did
budget for this year at $50,000, so it was included. There was a request of an
increase to more of a full-time Executive Director and with the addition of the DDA
helping to share in some City staffing costs, the DDA decided to keep it where it
was to see how the next year goes. She continued by saying that the
responsibilities of that position have increased along with The Junction, the
activities, the funding and projects. Ms. Cloutier has put a lot of hours in getting
volunteers and committee members for a lot of activities for the City.
Councilmember Sharpe asked how many hours a week Ms. Cloutier worked. DDA
Chairperson Willett said the initial hours during the first year and a half were closer
to 33 hours per week. When you start a new position, it takes longer to do certain
tasks. She said they have increased her responsibilities since the contract began.
She thought she averaged 28 to 30 hours per week. She was confident that other
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 9
DDAs paid significantly more and she thought Ms. Cloutier had earned that as a
contractor. She is not a City employee; we are not paying benefits for her.
Mr. Brown commented that under Section 1, Duties and Performance, of the
Contract, the last paragraph talks about an hourly estimate of what would be
required. It indicates that it was unlikely that the level of effort would be less than
25 hours on average. He said she was working hours beyond that and that would
be part of the justification for the increase.
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox said she appreciated the additional information as far
as the additional hours and the comparable with other communities. She thought
that would have been nice to have as more justification because just looking at the
report, it looks like almost an 11% increase.
Councilmember Smiley said his understanding was that this was a relatively new
position. It has been a little over two years and she started at $45,000. It was an
evolving job and after two years, the DDA allowed the $50,000 in the budget. He
heard she works tremendously and the DDA likes the job she is doing. He was fine
with this.
Deputy Mayor Rzeznik added that the independent contractor was also required to
have their own insurance policy and pay their own employee taxes. He strongly
supported this.
Vote: Motion Carried
3.) Recommendation to Renew a One-Year Professional Services
Agreement for Information Technology Support Services with BPI
Information Systems of Southfield, Michigan at an Annual Cost of
$76,287 with Funding Allocated from Account #101-228-801.282 IT
Support and Authorize Mayor Patrick Beagle to Sign the Renewal
Agreement
CM-06-77-22: Motion and seconded made by Councilmembers Smiley and
Behrmann to renew a one-year Professional Services Agreement for Information
Technology Support Services with BPI Information Systems of Southfield, Michigan
at an annual cost of $76,287 with funding allocated from Account #101-228-
801.282 IT Support and authorize Mayor Patrick Beagle to sign the agreement.
Mr. Brown stated that this related to an existing contract being extended for an
additional year. It reflects a 2.5% increase in service fees, which was reasonable. It
was based on the number of computers that are supported through the contract.
The change in that was negligible so the increase was also negligible. It resulted in
the projected expense being $76,287 for the upcoming year. He was advocating
that made sense given the critical nature of the relationship with the IT service
provider. We are also in the middle of penetration testing and he thought it would
behoove us to continue to have those services through our IT support provided by
BPI. We could take a look at bidding this service out next year as he felt the time to
bid it out was not appropriate in 2022.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 10
Deputy Mayor Rzeznik asked if they were also assisting us on reviewing our cyber
policy or insurance policy. He wondered if that was provided through MMRMA. Mr.
Brown said that we do have insurance through there and we have looked at that
through BPI in the past. We felt we were solid on that front. He stated that Mr.
Blackburn recently retired and that was why he was not here. Deputy Mayor
Rzeznik commented that municipalities were #2 on the ransom ware target for the
last two years. He wanted to make sure our cyber policies were keeping pace with
what goes on in the world.
Councilmember Smiley said he would miss Mr. Blackburn. He asked if the Council
would get the results of the penetration testing when it was completed. Mr. Brown
replied yes. He expected that to be completed during the first six months of the
next fiscal year.
Vote: Motion Carried
4.) Recommendation to Authorize Resolutions for Special Liquor License
Applications for Events at Sibley Square Park on June 23, 2022 and
July 21, 2022 and for an Event at the Community Center on December
2, 2022
CM-06-78-22: Motion and seconded made by Deputy Mayor Rzeznik and
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox to authorize resolutions for Special Liquor License
Applications for events at Sibley Square Park on June 23, 2022 and July 21, 2022
and for an event at the Community Center on December 2, 2022.
Mayor Beagle said this was a routine item we do every year. This will allow us to
have a beer tent for the Lite the Night, the Hot Blues and BBQ, and the Tree
Lighting Ceremony. Ms. Magee said that we are allowed 12 special liquor licenses
each year and we are applying for three.
Vote: Motion Carried
5.) Recommendation to Approve an Agreement for Auxiliary Sheriff’s
Deputy Services with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office and
Authorize Mayor Patrick Beagle to Sign the Agreement
CM-06-79-22: Motion and seconded made by Councilmembers Smiley and Sharpe
to approve an Agreement for Auxiliary Sheriff’s Deputy Services with the Oakland
County Sheriff’s Office and authorize Mayor Patrick Beagle to sign the Agreement.
Director Moore said this was a three-year agreement between the City of Wixom
and Oakland County for auxiliary sheriff’s deputy services. Since 2015, we have
supplemented the ranks of the Wixom Police Department for the fireworks event
with a supervisor and 13-15 deputy sheriffs. When he first became Chief, the
number was 15-16. Over the years, he reevaluated that and his plan this year is to
have a supervisor, a sergeant and 13 deputies.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 11
Councilmember Sharpe said he was totally in support of this. He thought a presence
was a great deterrent. He wondered how much that would cost. Director Moore said
that he budgets for this every year and this year, it will be about $6,400.
Deputy Mayor Rzeznik agreed that presence was a deterrent. He recalled that for
the last seven years, we have had no issues. He supported this.
Vote: Motion Carried
6.) Recommendation to Award a Bid to Highway Maintenance and
Construction of Romulus, MI for Chip Seal of Howell Lane at a Cost of
$37,083.54 from the Capital Improvement Plan Account #411-283-
976.355 – Road Replacement in Fiscal Year 2022/2023 and Approve
the Related Budget Amendment
CM-06-80-22: Motion and seconded made by Councilmembers Gronlund-Fox and
Sharpe to award a bid to Highway Maintenance and Construction of Romulus, MI for
Chip Seal of Howell Lane at a cost of $37,083.54 from the Capital Improvement
Plan Account #411-283-976.355 – Road Replacement in Fiscal Year 2022/2023 and
approve the related budget amendment.
Mr. Sikma said he was looking to place a chip seal overlay on Howell Drive. It will
be a 3/8-inch gravel base with an asphalt fog seal over it. It will be similar to the
roads that we do in the parks. We get about 5-7 years out of the chip seal. He
stated that we are only going to the fences at DPW. We will have some work in the
future to do toward Spurt and at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. We have some
upgrades to the Wastewater Treatment Plant that are programmed in and we don’t
feel that it would be of value to go any further than the fences at this time. We
have to plan this for next fiscal year. We had it programmed for this fiscal year and
Highway Maintenance cannot get to it until September.
Councilmember Gottschall asked if this was the same company that does the parks.
Mr. Sikma replied yes.
Councilmember Sharpe said he was a frequent user of those roads because he
takes advantage of Spurt. If there was a road in Wixom other than Wixom Road
and Potter that needed to be redone, it was this one. He clarified this would just go
from Charms Road to the fences of the DPW offices. Mr. Sikma said that was
correct. Councilmember Sharpe said that Spurt brings in a lot of big truck traffic
and he knew they paid us something. He asked if we take the wear and tear on the
facilities into account. Mr. Sikma said that we do take that into account and we will
look at that again when we update their contract. They do fund $50,000 to
$100,000 a year into the program. He stated this was coming out of the ten-year
capital plan.
Mr. Brown noted that Howell Lane was named after our former DPW Director, Mike
Howell, who passed away at a very young age.
Vote: Motion Carried
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 12
7.) Recommendation to Award the Water System Cross-Connection
Control Program Contract for Five Years to Hydro Corp, Inc. of Troy,
Michigan for an Annual Amount of $49,128 for the First Two Years and
Three Additional Years with an Increase of up to 5%, Authorize Mayor
Patrick Beagle and City Clerk Catherine Buck to Sign the Agreement
and Approve the Associated Budget Amendment
CM-06-81-22: Motion and seconded made by Deputy Mayor Rzeznik and
Councilmember Smiley to award the Water System Cross-Connection Control
Program Contract for five years to Hydro Corp, Inc. of Troy, Michigan for an annual
amount of $49,128 for the first two years and three additional years with an
increase of up to 5%, authorize Mayor Patrick Beagle and City Clerk Catherine Buck
to sign the agreement and approve the associated budget amendment.
Mr. Sikma said part of the water distribution requirements from the State was to
verify that we eliminate cross connection to our drinking water system. They go
through the residential areas and require any irrigation system to have a backflow
prevention apparatus that is certified by a plumber. If they do not wish to
participate in that program, they would have to dig out their irrigation system. If
we ever lost pressure in our system and the irrigation system was on, the water
has a potential of coming back into our drinking water system. The residential areas
have fertilizers and insecticides that could get into the drinking water system. The
backflow preventers prevent that. Industrial areas have high priority pieces that are
inspected on an annual basis. Those have a higher probability and a higher
potential for impact to our water system. We do those on an annual basis. There is
a system in the middle of that where industrial and commercials are inspected
every three years. Over the last three or four years, we have increased the
residentials considerably. Those are inspected every ten years; the low impact ones
are every three years and the high priority ones are annually.
Deputy Mayor Rzeznik said he was approached by a Hillsborough resident who was
quite irate asking what this was. He told him the program was put in place by a
Public Act in 2007 and it had been going on for years. He was surprised it took this
long to get to Hillsborough because he has lived there for 27 years. Deputy Mayor
Rzeznik suggested that something be put into the next water bills explaining what
the cross-connection program is and explain what they have to do. Most of the
time, they just need a plumber to do an inspection. Mr. Sikma said Oakland County
has a list of certified plumbers who are capable of doing this kind of inspection.
Councilmember Behrmann asked if they were picking homeowners at random or if
they were doing subdivisions at a time. Mr. Sikma explained that they are
systematically going through the entire residential areas. Each year they are given
the list of residents from the utility billing system. Councilmember Behrmann asked
what the average cost was for the homeowner. Mr. Sikma said it can vary. He
thought it was between $50-$100, depending on the irrigation system that they
have. If you can get your neighbors together, they can inspect several at a time
which can bring the price down.
Councilmember Gottschall asked what Department the Appropriation of Retained
Earnings was under. Mr. Sikma said that the 591 accounts are all in the Water
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 13
budget. Councilmember Gottschall asked if this was built into what we charge for
water and Mr. Sikma replied yes. He said we have anticipated over the last few
years that it was about $38,000 and it has gone up because of the increases in the
number of inspections. Councilmember Gottschall asked if there would ever be a
point where we wouldn’t need a vendor to do it. Mr. Sikma explained that this was
a Public Act for the drinking water systems and he didn’t expect it to go away in his
lifetime. He said that he did talk about this and we could work that in in future
contracts. We do have members on staff who are able to do some of the inspections
but it was a matter of time and expense. Councilmember Gottschall asked if we bid
this out and Mr. Sikma said yes. They were the only one to respond.
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox asked if we had anyone on staff that was certified to
do this. Mr. Sikma said that we have someone who is certified to test but not
maintain the program. Councilmember Gronlund-Fox said she liked the idea of
putting something on the water bills to explain the cross-connection program. Most
people have no idea what that is. Lastly, she asked how many inspections they do
for us each year. Mr. Sikma said they do just over 300 inspections a year. We have
3,600 accounts and 150 of those are done annually. Our compliance rate is running
about 85%.
Vote: Motion Carried
8.) Recommendation to Authorize a Resolution to Adopt a Revised Policy
Relative to the Review and Granting of Financial (Poverty) Hardship
Exemptions by the City of Wixom Board of Review
CM-06-82-22: Motion and seconded made by Deputy Mayor Rzeznik and
Councilmember Behrmann to authorize the following resolution to adopt a revised
policy relative to the review and granting of financial (poverty) hardship exemptions
by the City of Wixom Board of Review:
CITY OF WIXOM
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-40
CITY ADOPTED POLICY RELATIVE TO THE REVIEW AND GRANTING OF FINANCIAL
(POVERTY) HARDSHIP EXEMPTIONS BY THE CITY OF WIXOM BOARD OF REVIEW
WHEREAS, P.A. 390 of 1994, which amended Section 7u of Act No. 206 of the Public Act of 1893,
as amended by Act No. 313 of the Public Acts of 1993, being sections 211.7u of the
Michigan Compiled Laws, requires that the governing body of the local assessing unit
determine and make available to the public the policy and guidelines used by the
Board of Review in granting reductions in property assessments due to limited income
and assets, referred to as “poverty exemptions.”
AND WHEREAS, P.A. 253 of 2020 also amended Section 7u of Act No. 206 of the Public Act of 1893, as
amended by Act No. 313 of the Public Acts of 1993, being sections 211.7u of the
Michigan Compiled Laws, and required the use of state prescribed forms and limited to
certain percentages the exemption amount which could be granted.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that to be eligible for a poverty exemption in the City of Wixom,
• An applicant or applicants must physically occupy and be the “sole” owner(s) of
the property for which the exemption is requested.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 14
• The subject property must be classified as an “improved single family residential”
or “residential condominium” property with a valid Homeowner’s Principal
Residence Exemption currently in effect.
• The applicant or applicants must complete and timely file the Michigan Department
of Treasury Form 5737, Application for MCL 211.7u Poverty Exemption. The
application with all supporting documentation must be received by the City after
January 1st but before the day prior to the last day of the Board of Review session
at which the property owner is requesting consideration.
• The applicant must include with the application a copy of all documents required
by Form 5737.
• The applicant must supply a copy of a current driver’s license of other form of
identification.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the applicant’s total household income, cannot exceed one and one-
half times the poverty income figure, as reported by household size, in the “Federal Poverty
Guidelines” updated annually in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. The annual allowable income includes the income for all persons residing in the principal
residence.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the value of the applicant’s total assets, excluding the property for
which the exemption is requested and one automobile, but including all savings, retirement accounts,
stocks and bonds and other real estate, cannot exceed two times the poverty income figure, as
reported by household size, in the “Federal Poverty Guidelines” updated annually in the Federal
Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any reduction in the Taxable Value of a property is granted for one
year only and must be applied for and reviewed annually based on the applicant’s current situation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in reviewing the application and all supporting documentation, the
Board of Review will consider income, assets, and all other matters as permitted by statute.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Review may grant a 100%, 50% or 25% reduction in
taxable value for the tax year in which the exemption is granted.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any prior resolutions adopting Financial (Poverty) Hardship Exemption
Guidelines is hereby repealed and rescinded.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to conform with the provisions of P.A. 390 of 1994, this resolution is
hereby given immediate effect and will stay in effect for subsequent years until amended or voided.
Mr. Brown indicated that this was related to financial or poverty hardship
exemptions that are potentially requested by homeowners who are in a bad
financial situation and they cannot afford to pay their property taxes. Those
requests are heard by our Board of Review. In October of 2020, the Council
authorized a resolution to adopt a policy and in January of 2021, the State Tax
Commission came up with some additional changes that they were requiring. That
was brought back to Council for another action in February of 2021 where changes
were made to the policy. In the last several days, we started hearing there would
be another issue to this. We had an audit performed through the State Tax
Commission of our policies that are set by our assessor. We have learned that there
were problems with the wording in our policy that was determined by the State Tax
Commission. He apologized for adding this to the agenda but it is due by June 24th.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 15
If the Council doesn’t take action by that date, the Board of Review would not be
able to hear cases in July.
Vote: Motion Carried
CALL TO THE PUBLIC:
George Spencer, 51225 Pontiac Trail, said he was addressing the City Council in
regards to a proposal that he sent to Council about a strategic plan for the Fire
Department. He said strategic plans are critically important. It is not just a catch
phrase or something that we do to fit in with the rest of the cities around us. It is
critically important in charting a new direction for your new stand-alone
Department, which has not been a stand-alone Fire Department for about 19 years.
A critical part of this strategic plan would be performing a SCOT evaluation or
analysis. It is done by an outside individual. SCOT stands for the Strengths of the
Department, the Challenges that the Department has, the Opportunities that the
Department has to serve the public, and the Treats that exist to those
opportunities. From the SCOT analysis, the information is developed to take to City
leadership and our key community members so we can start to develop a plan of
action. A plan of action typically has about six to ten items in which the Department
is going to move towards achieving. These items are then boiled down to smart
goals, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timeframe which considerably
helps in the management of future budgets as well as giving Council an idea of
what is coming down the road. Typically, strategic plans are done for about five
years so you know what the Fire Department is going to be asking for and we know
what the performance of that Department is going to be for the next five years.
Good strategic plans can also be continued so there is a reanalysis of the
Department every year or two so we can continue that planning process. There are
no surprises, except for the inevitable changes in government that we all have to
deal with. There is a good plan out there so we know what is coming. Some people
have said we would never want to put extra work onto the Fire Department right
now considering the critical staffing that they have. He said when he worked in the
State of Washington, he worked in a group of fire chiefs who managed large scale
wild fires. They might have 100-200 people working on the line at the time, but the
planning section was always doing planning for the next operational period or the
next day. They did not burden the operational people with that plan. It was done
from its own separate planning group that was developing the resources and the
action plan for the next operational period. He said he has volunteered to help with
the strategic plan for the City. We would not be burdening the Department with
extra work. However, after the action items are boiled down, it gives a new
Department Head some very specific and good guidance so they know where to
start. As a fire chief, if he had a strategic plan like this in the last two departments
he went to, it would have really been a benefit instead of trying to figure out things
as he went. If we start sooner than later, we could have a plan for those action
items charted out by mid-August, which was the hiring range for the new Fire Chief.
Strategic planning can sometimes be tough. We have to set our egos aside and be
very honest when that SCOT analysis is done, but when it is done properly, we can
really develop a comprehensive plan with no surprises. It will not only benefit
members of the Department, but members of the City and our constituents.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 16
James Lowe, 2945 Maganser Drive, wanted to address the Council about the
poisoned fish in Loon Lake. This happened four years ago from a local business and
he lost access to a natural food source. He wondered how he would be made whole.
He said he lives on the block of death. When this happened, he contracted
Legionnaires disease. He spent ten days on do not resuscitate. There have been
three deaths in five houses on his block, two cancers and kidney disease. He knew
that there was a study going on about PFAS affecting human health. When the
manufacturers are told it is poison, they will make some minor adjustments to the
chemical compound and say it is safe. He knows enough not to eat toxic fish but he
sees the bald eagle down there. Our national bird is being poisoned in Wixom. He
sees the osprey being poisoned in Wixom. We pay millage to the Metro Parks. They
build a platform for the osprey to nest and it is being poisoned here in Wixom. That
water runs all the way down the Huron River poisoning all the fish. It runs into Lake
Erie, a Great Lake, where 80% of our Country’s drinking water comes from. He
asked if this would be the City’s legacy. He didn’t know what has been done or even
said for the last four years. He asked who this company was. He knew they
changed their name. He asked for their address. If he catches a fish, he will deliver
it. He could throw the fish in the pond or deliver it to the City Manager’s Office. He
hoped something can be done and he hoped something from this Council will be
done. He said he was following the chain of command. He came to Council first. The
County will be next, then the State, and then the feds. If no one is going to do
anything about this, he wondered if we wanted environmental activists coming to
Wixom. Somebody asked him what his concern was with this and he replied clean
water. He asked who did it and where are they. It is against the law in this country
to poison birds. Our national bird is being poisoned. He asked who was going to be
held accountable. He hoped the Council would do something right on this issue. He
thanked them for listening.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
Mr. Brown said that the Community Services team recently received recognition
from a vendor at a recent event. He congratulated them and brought attention to
the Schedule of Events.
Councilmember Smiley asked for an update on the Highland Park water issue. Mr.
Brown explained that they haven’t been paying their water bills over the years and
it was now being assessed to communities across the GLWA service area, including
the City of Wixom. Mr. Sikma stated that we received information from GLWA
recently saying they are taking this off of our bill. We are planning to negotiate with
them on future rates based on pressures and the water usage that we have.
Councilmember Behrmann said three weeks ago he asked whether or not residents
could sign up to get agendas for the Planning Commission and ZBA meetings. At
that time, Mr. Brown indicated he would be getting back to him. Mr. Brown said
that he would provide an update as he didn’t have the response in front of him at
this time. There was a personnel change in his Department that had caused the
delay.
COUNCIL COMMENTS:
Councilmember Behrmann stated that during the last three weeks, he had the
opportunity to walk the new portion of the Air Line Trail. It is coming together really
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 17
well. He was able to go right down to Pontiac Trail where it ended. He also walked
the trail behind the City Hall complex and that was also coming together very well.
Both of those projects came together quickly. He has been to the concerts during
the last two weeks and both of those seemed to be very well attended. The
Employee Appreciation Dinner was also well done. He thanked everyone who put
those things together.
Councilmember Gottschall thanked Kay Ash for all her dedication on the
Cemetery Board during the last 18 years. He enjoyed the Employee Picnic. It was
very well put together. On a more serious topic, and related to the questions he
asked Chief Geistler, as well as the strategic plan Mr. Spencer sent each of the
Councilmembers, he thought that would be a phenomenal thing to have for our
Department. We all recognize that was somewhere we have been struggling with
during the last few years in terms of recruitment, having a plan, scheduling, and
retention. He hoped we could engage Mr. Spencer because he has a lot of
experience in Wixom and other departments. This hasn’t been discussed since he
has been on Council. He thought it would be great to have for any City department.
It was very concerning to keep hearing we are having 10% or more of our calls get
responded to by one person and that doesn’t even meet the State’s requirements
for medical transport. He didn’t know how we were even allowed to operate. For
two years, a number of Council have been urging to get a deal done and to get a
schedule and recruiting worked out. It has gone nowhere for the last two years.
There seems to be some disconnect between the Council wanting to get something
done and the firefighters union wanting to get something done. It gets caught up in
the bureaucracy. The Council does not get updates. He confirmed with other
Councilmembers who feel they are left in the dark. He thought that translated to
the firefighters also feeling that it takes an enormous amount of time to get
anything done. He didn’t disagree. It has been two years to get a deal done. It is
insane. He felt like if it were a private business, people would have been finding
other jobs by now. He didn’t know if it was an attorney thing or a bureaucracy
thing. He has said it before and he feels more strongly now. He would rather just
have a meeting between City Council and the representatives from the fire union to
work it all out. He could guarantee we could get that done. He didn’t know what
took so long to get it worked out. We have seen morale plummet over there, as
well as numbers. We are down to eight people to cover the entire City. If it takes
much longer, the fear is that every call we will need assistance from our
neighboring communities. It will be Commerce and Novi trying to cover us. It is
completely inappropriate. We have budgeted the money to hire people and we have
seen no action on recruitment. We have even seen people get pushed away
because we kind of work in the opposite direction. He didn’t understand the delay.
He wished we had some strength here in terms of setting up a meeting. He thought
that was the Council’s prerogative since ultimately it was the Council’s vote
anyway. He didn’t know how anybody else would feel about that. He was past the
time of waiting to get a deal done. He has been frustrated for the last two years
and he thought it was an absolute disgrace that we have eight residents covering
the entire City. They don’t have time for their families, they don’t have time for
anything other than constantly being on call. That is a shame.
Councilmember Gronlund-Fox expressed her condolences to the family of Dennis
Smith.
Wixom City Council Meeting ___________June 14, 2022 _______Page 18
Councilmember Sharpe thanked Ms. Magee and her Parks and Recreation team
for a wonderful picnic for the staff and volunteers. There was a lot of good food and
good socializing. Also, he reviewed the Cemetery Board minutes from June of 2021
and in that meeting it said the columbarium benches were on order. Here it is, a
year later. He said he was looking forward to upgrading his future home with those
benches and was hoping they were coming soon. Also, he agreed with Council-
member Behrmann regarding the Air Line Trail. He rode it to Pontiac Trail and now
the concrete is all torn up. He looked forward to getting that quickly sorted out so
we can enjoy that Trail.
Councilmember Smiley thanked Kay Ash for her 18 years of service on the
Cemetery Board. He was sad to hear about the passing of Dennis Smith and offered
his condolences to his friends and family.
Deputy Mayor Rzeznik extended his condolences to the family of Dennis Smith.
He worked with him very closely on a project when he was our go-to person before
Ken Pike. It was a pleasure working with him. He thanked Kay Ash. He also took a
ride on Phase 2 of the Trail. He went all the way to the western limit. He was told
by friends that the Huron Valley portion was all torn up so he didn’t go any further.
Let’s do everything in our power with the Trailway Council, the City of Wixom and
RCOC to create traffic calming in that stretch between Wixom Road and the Korex
building. Yesterday he watched someone try to race the light and he made it. That
Trail is going to be awfully close to Pontiac Trail, so whatever calming measures we
can use would be helpful, like planters or barricades, crossing people signs or
blinking yellow lights. The awareness needs to be there and the extension of that
25-mph speed limit all the way to Korex would achieve that goal. The gravel and
seeding all look really great.
Mayor Beagle offered his condolences to the Smith family on the passing of
Dennis. He thanked Ms. Magee and her staff for a great volunteer and employee
picnic.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting was adjourned at 9:21 p.m.
Catherine Buck
City Clerk
Approved
6-28-2022