Town Hall Meeting: Royal Oak Finances 101

Members of the Royal Oak community are invited to a Town Hall Meeting on Monday night to receive an overview of the city's financial status.

City Manager Donald Johnson said he will provide a prepared presentation on the basics of Royal Oak's finances. Members of the Royal Oak City Commission will also be in attendance. Following the presentation, audience engagement is encouraged.

"It's really meant to be a question-and-answer format," Johnson said, which is a departure from the traditional public comment section of a regular City Commission meeting. 

The Town Hall meeting comes just more than one week after city officials met for a six-hour strategic planning session during which many financial issues were discussed, including whether or not the city can afford to rescind the decision to lay off 22 police officers come July 1.

City administrators are just beginning the budgeting process, taking into consideration an anticipated reduction in property tax revenue of 3-4 percent for the 2011-12 fiscal year. A 3.5 percent decrease results in a revenue loss for Royal Oak of about $550,000. The city also faces the threat of losing about $900,000 in state shared revenue if Gov. Rick Snyder's budget proposal moves through the state House and Senate intact.

City officials plan to present a proposed budget to the City Commission on May 2 with more budget workshops and meetings to follow.

The Town Hall meeting begins 7:30 p.m. Monday at the , 3500 Marais Ave.

Full meeting details will be posted on RoyalOak.Patch.com.