Rochester Hills Rejects Alternate OPC Budget Sent From Rochester

The city of Rochester Hills on Monday night reaffirmed its approval of the 2012 budget for the , despite a request from the city of Rochester to consider an alternate budget.

The vote by members of the Rochester Hills City Council was unanimous and came after testimony about the importance of giving the OPC governing board its sovereignty.

The background

The OPC, a community hub for seniors, is funded by taxpayer dollars from Rochester, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township and is governed by a board made up of elected and citizen representatives from each of the three communities.

As part of the interlocal agreement that governs the OPC, the budget must be approved each year by each community.

In October, Rochester City Council voted to reject the OPC budget, expressing concerns about the necessity of a planned 1 percent pay raise for OPC staff and also about the expenditures on payments-in-lieu-of-insurance for some employees. Rochester leaders questioned why staff members should be getting raises when many of the taxpayers that fund the OPC are struggling in this economy.

Meanwhile, Rochester Hills and Oakland Township approved the budgets.

The city of Rochester then created a revised budget, which it presented to Rochester Hills on Monday night (the original and revised budgets are attached to this story).

The sentiments

Members of the OPC governing board, along with OPC Director Marye Miller, attended the Monday night meeting in Rochester Hills.

In addition, some residents spoke in support of the OPC and its original budget.

"The OPC staff holds it all together," said Gretchen O'Donnell, an OPC member. "The buildings and the programs would be worthless without the staff.

"We think that instead of taking away the 1 percent raise, it might be better for you to consider doubling it."

Rochester Hills Councilmembers Ravi Yalamanchi and Michael Webber both are members of the OPC governing board; they each expressed their support of the original budget.

"I don't get to take part in the OPC because of my youthful age, but I recognize it as a jewel of our community," said Webber.

Other councilmembers spoke about the importance of letting the governing board do its work. In the end, the decision to deny Rochester's suggested budget was approved 7-0.

What's next?

The city of Rochester's revised OPC budget will be presented to the Oakland Township Board of Trustees at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

It is unclear what will happen if the city of Rochester and the OPC do not come to an agreement.

Rochester Hills City Attorney John Staran said that like any other government entity, the OPC ultimately has to have a budget it operates under.

"This is going to have to be worked out — there has to be a political solution between communities," Staran said.