Corunna fire assessment hearing set Monday; cost not in packet

Corunna property owners get their formal say Monday night on a fire special assessment district — a charge on property used to pay for fire protection. The City Council's agenda sets the public hearing for 7:05 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, at the lower level of the Corunna Community Center, 457 Emma Drive.

What the agenda does not say is what it would cost. The hearing notice references Resolution 081726-01, and the council is scheduled to vote immediately afterward on Resolution 092126-01, the fire special assessment district resolution itself. Neither line in the agenda lists a rate, a total to be raised, or which properties would fall inside the district.

This is the second month the item has been in front of the council. The Current reported that the Aug. 17 agenda also carried a fire special assessment district resolution, alongside a 2025-2026 budget amendment and a pension division merger. Monday's meeting picks the matter back up with the hearing step attached, which is the point at which residents are allowed to speak on the record.

The agenda cites Public Act 33, the Michigan law municipalities use to fund fire protection through a special assessment on property rather than out of the general fund. Under the council's own rules printed on the agenda, each person gets one turn of up to three minutes during a public hearing, and comments have to stay on the subject of the hearing.

Also on the business list: a request from the Corunna Historical Commission for a loan, the first budget amendment of the 2026-2027 fiscal year, the purchase of a combination driveway grader and landscape rake, and a quote for a Ford F-150 Responder for the Corunna Police Department. The agenda gives no price for either the grader or the police truck, and does not say whether the F-150 would replace an existing patrol vehicle.

Two appointments sit on the consent agenda, which is normally approved in a single vote without separate discussion: Tiffany Kimbrough and Anne Kazmer to the Parks & Recreation Commission, both with indefinite terms. The consent agenda also covers the Aug. 17 minutes and vendor disbursements for two pay periods running Aug. 7 through Sept. 3.

The communications packet — material the council receives but does not vote on — includes August building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permit reports, a Parmenter Road bid, bench and Cherry Street restroom sponsorship items for the parks, and the Shiawassee County Land Bank's impact report covering 2022 to 2025. Minutes from a dozen boards and commissions are attached, including the Airport Board, the Ambulance Board, the Community District Library and the Planning Commission.

What happens next: The regular meeting starts at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at the Community Center, with the fire assessment hearing at 7:05 p.m. and the council vote on the assessment resolution after it. The next regular meeting is set for Monday, Oct. 5. The Current will report what the assessment would cost once the council puts a number on the record.