By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
SCOTTVILLE — The City of Scottville is on the upswing of its debt issues. Since 2021, the city saw a growing deficit in its general fund that amounted to $473,379 by the end of fiscal year 2023/2024. Because of a debt reduction plan created by City Manager Clarence Goodlein, the city now is showing a fund balance of $55,000 with an anticipated fund balance of $150,000 to $180,000 by the end of the current fiscal year, June 30, 2026.
The city’s annual general fund budget is $1.41 million, generated through 16 tax mills.
The debt reduction plan included the elimination of the Scottville Police Department along with cutting several city services and even salaries. Goodlein voluntarily took a reduction in pay and city hall’s hours of operation were reduced to four days a week.
Goodlein cautions, however, that increase in fund balance is not a free ticket to increased spending. He compared the general fund to an individual’s savings account versus a checking account.
“Typically, you’ll use your checking account for your normal expenses and try to avoid to use your savings account except for emergencies. The city’s general fund is a savings account. As the city looks at major expenses that are anticipated in the next few years, such as desperately needed street repairs, it will need to use those expenses in the general fund.”
Goodlein said uncertainty in state revenue sharing, means that the city must be conservative with its budget.
Since the elimination of the police department, the city has seen an increase in the presence of the Mason County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police. The sheriff’s office now utilizes the former police station, located in city hall, 105 N. Main St., as a satellite office.
“We are very pleased with the law enforcement coverage the city is receiving from the Mason County Sheriff’s Office,” Goodlein said.
However, the elimination of a police department has resulted in less enforcement of ordinance violations. This is something the city commission is addressing, Goodlein said. He said the commission is planning to hire a code enforcement officer who will be able to enforce the city’s ordinances, including zoning, and also its rental inspection program.
“We need to take care of the growing blight issues in the city,” Goodlein said. “There are some properties in town that have significant issues that are having negative impacts on their neighbors’ property values. This is a concern and we have also been addressing this issue with the county magistrate and district court judge.”
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