East Lansing to weather budget shortfall with help from other counties

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Despite a $4.6 million shortfall in the Ingham County budget, the city of East Lansing is not expecting to experience too much disturbance from any cuts made.

East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said any cuts made to services provided by the county would be made up by using other services from the surrounding areas.

“If some of the services that we take advantage of that are county provided weren’t available, we would go to other counties and look for help,” Staton said.

Services the county helps provide include use of the county jail, police and health care systems.

Ingham County Deputy Controller John Neilsen said the deficit — which includes a $1.6 million deficit from the 2009 budget and an estimated $3 million deficit from the 2010 budget — is because of the general economy and the erosion of property tax values.

Ingham County’s budget runs from January to December of each year.

Neilsen said the county already has reduced positions, instituted a hiring freeze and tightened up supplies to help reduce the deficit. Through various methods, the county was able to reduce spending by $1.4 million during 2009.

Now, commissioners are looking to other options for reducing spending.

“In the first quarter, we will come in with a series of options of how we’re going to balance our budget,” Neilsen said. “The board has limited options.”

Ingham County Commissioner Mark Grebner said any decision the county makes will require cuts. Grebner, who also is the chair of the finance committee, said people could see cuts in the jail and police systems, as well as parks and health care.

“There is no good answer,” he said.

Neilsen said the county already has cut into its police budget, and smaller municipalities might see more decreases in the number of units patrolling.

Despite the large deficit, Grebner said it’s not because of a lack of funds. He said the county has savings, but is losing money because expenditures are larger than income. To keep saving money, the county must avoid spending its savings and cut expenditures, Grebner said.

The county will continue to find ways to save money and expects to makes cuts throughout the year, Grebner said.

“I’ve been a commissioner for almost 30 years,” he said. “This is the worst mess we’ve ever been in.”

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