Commissioner Joseph Palamara Says Wayne County 'Has Another Rough Budget Year Ahead'

Wayne County leaders face many more challenging budget decisions, according to Wayne County Commissioner Joseph Palamara, a Democrat who represents Wyandotte, Trenton and six other Downriver communities in the 14th District.

Speaking during Monday’s Legislative Forum organized by the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber, Palamara said the county government faces similar problems as local municipal officials, who face reduced revenue due to declining property values and state revenue sharing.

“We some very tough decisions to make” due to limited resources, Palamara said. “We’ve taken 10-percent paycuts. We’ve cut everything we can cut and unfortunately it’s not enough. We have another rough budget year ahead of us.”

Palamara, one of five commissioners to speak during the lunchtime forum, chairs the commission’s Economic Development Committee and co-chairs the Aerotropolis Task Force, a public-private sector partnership dedicated to economic development near the Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Palamara, a 1971 graduate of in Wyandotte, said the aerotropolis means jobs for the region. He praised last term’s state legislators for “adopting a number of tax incentives and putting the pieces in place to make Aerotropolis a reality,” but said the new crop of legislators is “rethinking the tax incentives that are in place.” He vowed to fight for the aerotropolis to become a success.

Palamara also commented about the so-called “13th check” that retired Wayne County workers receive as an annual supplement to their pensions. Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano proposed discontinuing the check to save money for the county.

Palamara supported the controversial measure, saying he favored a compromise proposed by Wayne County Commissioner Kevin McNamara (D-Canton) that would save some of the county retirement funds while preserving the check for the immediate future before phasing it out.

“I was one of eight commissioners who said we need to take another look at” the 13th check, Palamara said. “The county cannot afford to do that.”

He said county retirees have challenged the vote and no final decision has been made. The checks remain in tact.

“It’s not resolved yet,” Palamara told the luncheon crowd. “We all have to do what we can. We can’t forget the taxpayers, who are first and foremost in my mind when I cast a vote.”

Commissioner Ilona Varga (D-Lincoln Park)–who was part of the Monday afternoon panel–said she opposed eliminating the check, saying it was not fair to the retirees.

Wayne County Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak (D-Dearborn), Commissioner Raymond Basham (D-Taylor) and McNamara also participated in the monthly forum.

Woronchak explained that the commission was the legislative branch of county government, providing the “checks and balances” to Ficano. He said commissioners adopt an annual budget, approve contracts and enact laws. The officials serve two-year terms, each representing a district containing 160,000 to 170,000 residents, and work out of the Guardian Building in downtown Detroit.

Basham spoke about several regional issues, including his fight against the proposed reopening of a commercial deep-injection hazardous waste well in Romulus and his support of a new bridge connecting Wayne County with Canada. Basham also said further state cuts to the county budget would be “devastating” to the county’s efforts to maintain roads.