ISHPEMING, Mich. (WZMQ) – The city of Ishpeming held an open house on Wednesday evening focused on a presentation about the fiscal state of the city.
The forum provided an overview of the city’s current financial condition, highlighted key financial areas, and offered transparency about the city’s financial outlook. That outlook isn’t optimistic.
“If we don’t take some action as a community. The state will step in eventually and make those decisions for us, so we have an opportunity as a community. The council has an opportunity to make decisions that will prevent that,” said Ishpeming City Manager Randy Scholz.
The city is in this predicament because inflation has caused costs to outpace revenue. That said, the city can do one of two things: cut services…
“So we can either reduce services, obviously, and I never talk about reducing services without reducing staff, because we’re a service provider, so if you’re going to reduce staff, you’re reducing services; they go hand in hand,” said Scholz.
Or, Ishpeming can raise more money by asking the residents to chip in through a millage.
“If the council’s comfortable and the community’s comfortable where we’re at, we’d really have to look at a millage to make our general fund millage solvent. I would say not to continue the decline. We need about 2.5 mills,” said Scholz.
Ishpeming’s situation was not helped by last winter’s snowfall, which placed an unexpected burden on the city. Of note is the fact that the city’s millage rates are among the lowest in the county.
“Our millage for the city is lower than Negaunee’s and Marquette’s, and especially in our general fund, and the general fund is where we’re struggling the most,” explained Scholz.
And Ishpeming has kept its millage rate the same for the past six years; however, it’s not been enough to keep up with inflation.
“So, over the years, that mileage hasn’t gone up, and inflation has, as everybody’s well aware, you know, really, since 2020,” said Scholz.
With restrictions placed on taxation in Michigan, the city will also have to turn to future development to continue growing.
Another open house will be held on Thursday morning, 5/28/2026, at 10 in the Ishpeming Senior Center
