MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — A potential financial crisis was avoided in Muskegon Heights Monday night.
Leaders held a meeting at 5:30 to move forward with the City's 2022 budget. It was finally approved after three and a half hours and plenty of community input.
Failure to approve the budget and advance a deficit elimination plan would have, by law, put Muskegon Heights at risk of state emergency management.
Dozens of workers also could have been furloughed on Jan. 1, affecting city services like police, fire, water, sewer and administration.
"After many years in public service I can say, there is never a perfect budget or a perfect review and approval process, especially when proffered during a highly imperfect pandemic era," said City Manager Troy Bell.
"But I believe the collaborative effort I've undertaken by involving all staff directors (for the first time in Muskegon Heights) in developing and designing the budget helped us create a wise, insightful, and strategic budget proposal that will allow our City to ignite the redevelopment and infill necessary to create a renaissance and help our city reach new heights."
The budget was supposed to be approved last week before the deadline of Dec. 31, but council members Kellie Kitchen, Andre Williams and Bonnie McGlothin chose not to because of concerns over the plan.
Williams said the budget is too overstuffed.
"I can not in good conscience vote for this budget as printed. You will not force me, you will not bully me, nor will you intimidate me," he said in the meeting.
Councilman Ronald Jenkins, on the other hand, wanted to pass the budget to keep the state from becoming involved in the city. He pled for the council to end its hostility towards each other.
"Look at us right now. We're not friendly! We're talking about the city of friendly people. We're not even friendly to each other," Jenkins said.
Sixty or more workers would have been temporarily off the job, including essential workers.
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