KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Monday, the Kalamazoo City Board of Commissioners held a public discussion about its proposed 2021 budget.
During the virtual meeting, various leaders from the city discussed different facets of the proposal, including various projects and programs that are slated to start next year, as well as the reduction of gun violence and improvement of racial equity work.
“Our job is to be the best we can here, providing our city services so that everybody can benefit, so I really appreciate this ongoing work for the city,” Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson said.
In total, the city is proposing a budget totaling $213,892,050.
Kalamazoo City Manager Jim Ritsema shares highlights of the proposed 2021 city budget. (Photo courtesy City of Kalamazoo Zoom meeting via YouTube stream).
Officials say that thanks to the Foundation for Excellence (FFE), Kalamazoo residents will see increased services and investment with lower taxes.
According to officials, this is the fifth City of Kalamazoo budget to benefit from FFE funding, which will surpass $120 million in 2021.
Since 2017, officials say the FFE has provided funding to reduce property taxes citywide while investing millions of dollars each year to help fund various projects and supplement the city’s general fund.
“Considering with COVID and the impact that has had on municipal finances statewide and throughout the nation, we are very fortunate to have the FFE, which a component of it is to stabilize the city’s budget,” City manager Jim Ritsema said during the meeting. “We are pleased to announce that we will have no service reductions this year. In fact, you’ll see some enhancements.”
Ritsema also noted that the millage tax rates are proposed to remain unchanged.
After giving a general slideshow of highlights, the next presentation concerned various projects for 2021. That presentation was given by Director of Community Planning and Development Rebekah Kik, who discussed a number of projects. That discussion started with the city incentive policy and how it can be improved.
The policy amendment would include the following features:
- Require affordable housing or community benefit for development to qualify for financial incentives;
- Developments will be more responsive to community needs.
It would also include an allocation of $2.4 million for the Housing for All program, as well as $750,000 to help move 18 families from homelessness to home ownership. That program is entitled “Pathways Home,” according to the presentation.
“The Pathways Home is a housing partnership with the city, the Kalamazoo Neighborhood Housing Services, and Open Doors,” Kik said. “Our targets in 2021 include the building of two duplexes, four single-family homes, hoping to assist families lease or lease-purchase new homes in our city.”
Kik also noted a new Neighborhood Beautification project, a program to help make home gardening for growing food more accessible, and the rehabilitation of 10 properties in the Northside and Eastside neighborhoods for home ownership.
Other projects would include topics of environmental sustainability and investing in local neighborhood businesses through a new Business Development Fund.
“Now it’s more critical than ever that we create new markets for our existing businesses,” Kik said.
In addition to providing services for the environment and local business, leaders also discussed how it is working to address racial equity in terms of law enforcement, gun violence and staff training. The city recently approved $100,000 for use in curbing gun violence through a multi-faceted strategy.
According to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Dorla Bonner, the city proposes expanded anti-racism training for city staff, with a goal of 50% participation.
The training would include a minimum of five workshops on issues such as unconscious bias and code switching. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) would be a part of that training.
It would also include the development of an Internal Task Force, as well as a collection of data to see whether city programs are diverse, equitable and inclusive.
The data collection will begin in 2021 and will serve as the baseline for the program going forward. The goal is to have a better picture of diversity and inclusion by 2023.
“In order for us to determine if our work is really equitable, inclusive and diverse, we need to have some hard data,” Bonner said. “We’re going to spend this first year learning and experimenting on tracking data. It’s not to determine where our programs are, it’s really for us to learn how to track data, what is the quality of the data, and this will give us a baseline for where we are. Next year, we will do more expanding and analyzing. The goal is, by 2023, we will have a system in place that is strong enough to be able to determine if our programs are equitable, and what we need to do to transition.”
The presentation then turned to KDPS, and what can be done to improve police relations with the community at large.
Since KDPS Chief Vernon Coakley recently tested positive for COVID-19, he was unable to attend the virtual meeting. Instead, he submitted a written statement to the commission, which was read by City Manager Ritsema.
“I am committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our communications with our community and the media,” Coakley wrote. “KDPS will provide clear, accurate and regular communications so we can keep the public, our community partners, and the media updated and informed.”
Coakley noted the hiring of a Public Information Officer and a Community Collaborator as factors in meeting these goals.
“I wholeheartedly believe that adding these two positions will go a long way toward improving transparency, legitimacy and community trust,” Coakley added. “This is parallel to the Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 Initiative, which aims to increase engagement with all of our community stakeholders, from residents to community groups to businesses, developers, and government.”
Coakley also stated that working together will be imperative to meeting those goals.
Following this statement, KDPS Assistant Chief Victor Green talked about some of the new projects underway. According to Green, those projects include the following items:
Expand Community Collaboration –
- Community Collaborator: Strengthen relationships and bridge the gap between law enforcement and community.
- Public Information Officer (PIO): Communicate with the community more effectively.
- Social Services Coordination: Explore opportunities to deepen partnerships and enhance coordination between law enforcement, schools, social services and public when traditional law enforcement approach is not appropriate.
- Youth Bureau: Help at-risk youth through mentoring, outreach and education.
Other factors include a reorganization of professional standards, which involves enhanced transparency, as well as enhanced training for KDPS officers. Officers would be trained in areas such as diversity, implicit bias, cultural awareness and more.
Green also noted that the department will continue placing emphasis on hiring diverse and local candidates for new officer positions.
After this, Assistant Chief Dave Boysen gave a presentation that expanded on topics covered by green, as well as touching on efforts to help reduce violence in the community.
“I know it’s been a tough summer for gun violence in our community, and many communities across the country,” Boysen said.
He noted the implementation of the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) in the Kalamazoo community as a place to start, noting that ISAAC had originally encouraged KDPS to do so in 2011.
“ISAAC has been a key partner with us in this strategy ever since,” Boysen said. “We began implementing parts of this strategy in 2013, by 2016 we were fully implemented. We are continuing to learn every year and change the way we do things an strengthen our partnerships in the GVI.”
His presentation included an explanation of those initiatives and partnerships, which can be viewed below.
Violence Reduction Initiatives –
- Group Violence Intervention:
- Community led initiative that partners social services, street outreach, and law enforcement.
- Through the GVI initiative, partners conduct direct and sustained engagement with those most at risk of becoming suspects or victims of gun violence.
- Focused Enforcement:
- Weekly Crime Reduction meetings with all divisions at Public Safety and area law enforcement partners to identify and prioritize enforcement efforts.
- Dedicated Crime Analysts to identify patterns and gather helpful data for increased efficiency and improved allocation of resources.
- A Crime Reduction Team focused on addressing the small number of people who are driving the violence in the community.
Further information about efforts to reduce gun violence in the city can be viewed here.
Going Forward –
After the presentations were finished, the Board of Commissioners confirmed that the next steps will involve setting a public hearing for the proposed 2021 budget for further input. Under the city charter, the budget must be finalized and approved before the end of January.
The resolution for setting that hearing will be on the agenda of the next city meeting on Monday, December 21. City Manager Ritsema confirmed that hearing will take place during the first city meeting in January, and the approval will take place during the second meeting of January.
Residents can view the full budget proposal at the city website by clicking here.
A recording of the meeting can be viewed here, as well as embedded below.
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