On Monday, the Kalamazoo City Commission is scheduled to vote on its city budget.
The budget plan commissioners will vote on reflects Kalamazoo’s basic problem: rising legacy costs.
Much of the more than $2 million budget gap is due to the increasing costs of retiree health care.
The budget covers much of the gap with one-time funding. That means a longer term solution will have to be found.
The city budget does call for some job cuts. But more than 200 city employees opted for early retirement packages in the past year. So payroll doesn’t provide as many options for savings.
City leaders are looking for ways to trim costs and boost revenues to reduce future potential budget deficits.
