Sterling Heights City Council will discuss the Proposed 2025/26 City Budget during a special budget meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 8 at Sterling Heights City Hall.
For the fiscal year beginning July 1, the City budget totals $318 million. The proposed City millage rate is 17.5323. The City millage rate continues to be lower than most cities in Michigan and is one of the lowest in Macomb County.
The budget funds 554 full-time positions and includes seven additional public safety positions. Four firefighter/EMT positions are included to staff two additional ambulances that will address peak demand. Two police officers will be assigned to the grant-funded Crisis Response and Intervention Team that provides appropriate responses to individuals in crisis. An additional school resource officer for Warren Consolidated Schools is also proposed. The City continues to rank lowest amongst our comparable communities at 4.1 full-time employees per 1,000 residents.
The annual budget continues to prioritize road repair and reconstruction. The 2025/26 budget includes more than $12 million in major road work, including:
- Reconstruction of 15 Mile Road from Mound to Maple Lane
- Resurfacing of Dobry Drive
- Repair of the Schoenherr Bridge over the Red Run Drain
Work will also commence on the $10.4 million reimagination of Clinton River Road from Hayes to Canal.
In addition, as a direct result of the renewal of the Safe Streets millage, the proposed budget includes a $6.6 million investment in neighborhood streets that will fund sectional repairs and full reconstructions of 22 neighborhood streets.
Thanks to the Pathway to Play and Preservation millage approved by the voters in November, the proposed budget includes transformational quality of life projects including the construction of a Pickleball Complex, the development of two new parks and the creation of a trail through the Nature Preserve. Significant sidewalk repair and gap completion is also funded, as well as increasing the City’s tree canopy and the creation of a Land Bank for open space preservation.
Significant facility investments are proposed including the renovation of the unused jail facility at the Police Department into a state-of-the-art training facility. A complete renovation of Fire Station #5 will also begin to upgrade and modernize the 35-year-old structure. Both projects will be completed using available resources.
The proposed budget continues to prioritize the planned replacement of public safety equipment. Funds are proposed to replace 17 police vehicles and a fire engine. Innovation also continues through the proposed implementation of the Drone as a First Responder program, which will improve incident response time and improve officer and firefighter safety.
The City’s financial position is very strong with healthy reserves equating to more than $39 million or 30% of General Fund expenditures. “The proposed budget continues the Sterling Heights tradition of focusing on public safety, infrastructure, quality of life services and innovation. This focus strengthens economic vitality for our businesses and keeps taxes low for residents all while providing best in class services,” said Chief Financial Officer, Jennifer Varney.
A series of budget workshops will be held prior to the budget adoption on May 6. The workshop schedule and a copy of the proposed budget document are available under “City Budget” on the City’s website at sterlingheights.gov.
All budget workshops will take place in the Council Chambers, located on the upper level of City Hall (40555 Utica Road). All meetings will be live streamed on the City’s website and televised live on Sterling Heights Television (SHTV) on Comcast Channel 5, WOW Channel 10 or AT&T Uverse Channel 99. Meetings are available for viewing over the internet the following business day on SHTV On-Demand at sterlingheights.gov and also rebroadcast on SHTV.