A couple of years ago, city officials discussed asking voters to OK a public safety tax. The issue never went anywhere.

But we’d like to bring it back up because the city’s budget is heading for a crisis, and the thought of losing our public safety to Detroit or somewhere else is scary to say the least.

If voters were to OK five extra mills on the property taxes, the city would raise about $1 million. Now, that’s not enough to carry the full weight of both departments, but it would go a long way toward lightening the load.

We understand these are tough times for many families, and raising taxes now might even end up driving them out of their homes.

But we all have to realize what’s at stake. Losing our public safety would mean the end of a safe city – and then we would all lose out.

Raising taxes wouldn’t be the only answer, though. Our police and fire unions would also have to agree to overhaul their contracts. The city would need to have a two-tier hiring system, where new-hires earn considerably less and receive fewer benefits.

It would also mean the end of a fixed guaranteed pension plan. Ferndale just did this with its Fire Department, so this concept isn’t coming out of left field.

Recently, city councilmembers met in a budget work session to see where Hamtramck is heading. We are looking straight at a $3.4 million budget deficit by next June.

There were some ideas tossed around, but clearly, time is running out.

And since that meeting, we have heard of little forward movement on some of the proposals made at the meeting.

Now is not the time to sit on our hands and wait. Let’s be proactive and, at the very least, allow voters to decide what to do. We could get a millage proposal on the May ballot.

Let our voters have a chance to weigh in on Hamtramck’s survival.

That year ended with $2.7 million in the black, thanks to a settlement with the City of Detroit over a tax dispute involving the GM Poletown plant.

At the end of the current fiscal year, which will be June 30, 2012, there will be a projected $3.4 million deficit.

City officials have already mapped out several ways to combat the deficit, but if one looked at what really needs to be real done, there is little chance it’s going away.

Frankly, in order to avoid a financial meltdown, the city has to drastically re-invent its police and fire departments. While firefighters and police officers say they are prepared to sit down and talk with city officials about ways to save money, we doubt they are going to agree to a wholesale makeover.

We don’t blame anyone for saying no to drastic change. We have enjoyed a comfortable way of life for many years.

But these are not typical economic times, and the chances of a financial recovery any time soon looks pretty grim.

Time is ticking away, and there could be a problem with cash flow within the next couple of months.

It’s going to take some serious action to turn things around. City officials and public employees are going to have to come to terms in the coming weeks, or else risk having the state send in someone to do the dirty work.

Like it or not, the fate of these two neighboring cities have apparently become intertwined.

At least that’s the impression you get from what some folks have been saying. Earlier in the week, there was a proposal floated out there for Hamtramck to absorb Highland Park Public School students because Highland Park’s district is about to collapse, financially-speaking.

Then just a day after all that talk, Hamtramck officials floated out their own proposal to provide, at first, police services for Highland Park, and then later, fire service as well.

Why would Hamtramck even contemplate taking over education, police and fire services?

It’s all about remaining an independent city.

Mayor Karen Majewski, who is as close as you can get to the inner workings of what state officials are talking about thanks to her role as president of the Michigan Municipal League, said if Highland Park were to be absorbed into the City of Detroit, Hamtramck would likely be next.

Majewski said one way to prevent that is to become a partner, of sorts, with Highland Park, which would also allow Highland Park to remain an independent city.

These are extremely challenging times for low-income cities like Hamtramck and Highland Park. There aren’t many options out there. And there isn’t much time to allow city officials from both cities to dither over these proposals.

What has to be hammered out is whether Hamtramck can actually provide any of these services at a cost that Highland Park can afford, and at a cost that will keep basic services in Hamtramck up to our standards.

A few years ago many here would have said no thanks to hooking up with Highland Park for fear that city would only drag Hamtramck down.

Now, it appears there is little choice.

Consider, too, state officials aren’t going to wait around for Hamtramck to figure out how to keep afloat financially. Tough times require tough choices.

Hamtramck is in a tight space. According to a new state law, pushed through by a majority of Republican lawmakers, there is now a cap on how much a city can spend on public employee health care costs and other benefits.

The Hamtramck City Council may have gone a little further in passing on this cost to police officers, or maybe not, depending on who you talk to. Long story made short, the city council has stuck to its guns in forcing officers to pay a hefty price for health insurance.

For family coverage it’s close to $11,000 a year.

We’re going to sidetrack for a moment here and point out that Ferndale firefighters agreed to a new health plan that requires firefighters to kick in $4,000 for family coverage.

We don’t know what insurance carrier that’s with, but it would be wise for Hamtramck to investigate further.

Back to Hamtramck.

Police officers here have filed an injunction to temporarily halt the latest health plan, but there is no guarantee they will successfully interpret what the state law specifically means.

What’s more pertinent in this debate is whether the city passed on a better plan that would have been easier on the wallet for officers, and also produced a much larger savings for the city.

It’s a complicated deal that requires the firefighters to re-open their contract, and agree to climb on board with the new insurance plan. Technically, firefighters don’t have to agree to anything new because they have a solid contract that runs through 2014.

But, according to officials, the firefighters seemed to be leaning toward agreeing to this new insurance plan, even if it would mean digging deeper in their pockets just to help lower the cost for the cops and city employees.

This is an all-around lousy situation in the sense that the state is forcing all communities and public employees to make tough choices.

But it seems to us that if the city can realize a bigger savings with a health plan that is kinder to cops, we should go for it.

Instead, we are told that the plan at work here is to play hardball with officers in order to extract more concessions, such as lowering the minimum staffing levels.

Folks, keep in mind these are tough economic times and the state – or at least Republican lawmakers — are tightening the screws on communities.

Remember that, come next election time.

If the argument is to be tough on health benefits to get more concessions, we have a solution. Let this contract negotiation play out until the point where paydays are at stake, and then go to the state and ask for the next step before an emergency financial manager can step in.

Under a new state law, the state can grant local governments more leeway in forcing contract concessions under a special arrangement.

If the police unions still refuse, well, let them deal with the legal powers that emergency financial managers wield.

At least city officials can say they tried to negotiate a deal that’s fair to both sides.

That’s when councilmembers (except for Cathie Gordon) voted to really sock it to the city’s police force.

Police officers are now being forced to pay for almost all of their own health insurance, and for many of them it’s going to likely break the bank. Get this: For single coverage, the cost is $3,800 a year; for an officer and their spouse, it’s going to cost $8,900 and for family coverage – get ready – they have to fork over $10,600.

The average officer earns $62,000 a year. New-hires earn about $47,000 a year.

Officers are extremely upset, and they have filed an Unfair Labor practice claim against the city since contract negotiations are still ongoing.

On the one hand, we understand the council is in a jam to wipe out a $3 million budget deficit. There aren’t too many other places to cut in the budget except for public safety.

Firefighters can’t be touched because they have a contract that’s good through 2014.

But on the other hand, we have heard from both sides of this debate that the city had a much less expensive proposal that all sides agreed to at one time. According to the officers, city contract negotiators abruptly changed their mind and decided to play hardball with this new proposal.

We’re not sure exactly what’s what since there is plenty of posturing going on over new contract terms.

We know one thing: As much as it appears despicable to force this cost onto officers, this is the reality of today for many working families.

Employers have been rolling back health benefits for several years now, mostly because of escalating insurance costs.

Many families have even lost their health insurance because their employers simply can’t afford to pitch in anything. There are 45 million Americans who are entirely without health coverage.

This is a national crisis as much as it is a local one.

Many cities simply have nowhere to turn to balance their budgets. Hamtramck city officials need to find a way to figure out this budget mess without appearing to be punishing our employees – especially when it comes to public safety.

While we have no crystal ball, it appears times are going to get tougher, not better any time soon.

Goodbye 2011, and in some ways, good riddance.

This was, without a doubt, a tough year to endure. The economy sucked, and there is little indication things will get better.

There is less money to go around for everyone, including for city services.

Case in point, this past Tuesday, the city council voted to force police officers to kick in several thousand dollars each in order to get health insurance.

Part of this decision was mandated by a majority of state Republican lawmakers who placed a cap on how much each city can contribute to health insurance.

But it appears Hamtramck went well above that cap.

Needless to say, there is a foul mood in the police department these days. There is also a labor grievance filed over this, and according to insiders, it looks like the officers have a good case.

We’ll have more on this in the coming weeks.

Property owners also felt the financial pinch this year thanks to a $1.6 million court settlement with residents who filed a lawsuit against the city for past basement floods.

Homeowners received an extra tax bill in December for about $250.

We could go on and on, but suffice it to say, 2011 saw some hard times.

How does 2012 look?

So far, not much better.

Plus, this is a presidential election year, and it looks like this campaign season is going to get nasty.

While we have plenty to wring our hands over, Hamtramck is a survivor. We’ve pointed that out countless times. And we have remained a survivor because we help each other out in times of need.

It’s going to be a prolonged time of need folks. Here’s to hoping the New Year treats us all better.

We are a city that is still surviving, and despite a growing rift in City Hall, our future remains optimistic.

But it’s going to take a lot of work in the coming year. We wish the new City Council good luck in the coming year, because one of its immediate chores is to figure out how to avoid going into deficit spending.

Without a doubt, the coming year is going to be a tremendous challenge.

Many residents here have also been struggling to make ends meet. The economy has been stubbornly resisted turning around. Yet we hang on.

We wonder, as a city and a nation, how much longer can people hold out? More and more folks are losing their homes in the metro region, and more and more families are finding themselves homeless.

Our heart goes out to those who are facing hardship.

This may not be the best Christmas season for many, but we have faith in Hamtramck residents being there for each other.

Let’s all say a little prayer for a better new year.

This week, the folks at the SMART bus service announced a massive cut in services and the laying off of 123 employees, all because of a multi-million dollar budget deficit.

Hamtramck’s shuttle service is also included in the cuts, but at least there is a ray of hope that the city can cobble together a shuttle service in the next several weeks.

Restoring the service in Hamtramck is crucial for the city to attract young professionals to move here. And it is also crucial to many seniors here who rely on the shuttle for an inexpensive and efficient way to get around town and do their shopping.

There is still a plan in the works to actually expand Hamtramck’s shuttle service to the Wayne State University and midtown areas.

SMART’s cutback comes at a time when regional planners have been talking about the need to pump up public transit.

Gov. Rick Snyder recently urged young adults to stay in Michigan and not move to Chicago. Well, if public transportation continues to get axed, good luck with that.

Young people want to live in a city that has reliable public transportation. Detroit is far away from that goal.

This is a time when state and federal lawmakers have to step in and make funding available, not only to keep transportation up and running, but to also greatly expand it.

To do this will obviously require money. That’s a touchy subject during these days of conservative lawmakers clamoring to cut spending. While it may seem counterintuitive to start spending more money during hard financial times, look no further than the Great Depression of the 1930s to see what should be done.

Government spending during a financial recession or depression – whatever you want to call it – pumps money into the sagging economy and helps spur on recovery.

One of the key things this region needs is an improved transportation system.

Cutting public transportation is not smart, it’s dumb.

That’s what we’d like to say to executives at American Axle & Manufacturing.

But you know what? It really doesn’t give us pleasure. Fact is, what the executives in the company did to their workers, our city and ultimately our country leaves us far too bitter.

On Tuesday, the Detroit City Council did what few cities and politicians dare to do: They said no to an American corporation. Detroit said no to extending a cushy tax break which American Axle not only profited from, but also used to exploit this region and then to, essentially, betray us.

Four years ago, after winning huge wage and benefit concessions from its union workers, the company decided to close up shop and move its manufacturing from here to a plant in Mexico.

In Mexico, workers earn a fraction of what US workers make – even after American Axle workers here agreed to slash their wages and benefits in half.

American Axle left the USA. Said it didn’t need us. Said it had to make bigger profits.

The amazing thing is they still use the word “American” in their company name. Maybe it’s just a cynical joke on their part.

American Axle, why do you hate America so much? Why don’t you want to pay fair wages to American workers and pay your fair share of taxes?

Why?

When the Detroit City Council unanimously rejected the company’s request for an extension of their tax exemption, a part of us cheered.

But really, there is little to be pleased with considering the damage the company has inflicted on its former workers and our community.

May we suggest something to you folks at American Axle?

If America is too damn expensive for your taste and bottom line, why don’t you just close up your headquarters in Detroit and move it to Mexico as well?

What, afraid of the many crime syndicates down there?

Afraid you might be kidnapped?

Aw.

Don’t worry. We’ll organize a collection drive among the thousands of workers you threw out into the street.

While on the one hand we’re pleased that Hamtramck now has a new police chief on the way, the process in which it happened was messy to say the least.

Before we continue, let us say up front that none of this is meant as criticism of Lt. Max Garbarino, who was appointed to the position last Tuesday. Garbarino still has to sign an employment contract with the city manager, and that contract has to be ultimately approved by the council.

So, it’s not necessarily a done deal yet.

Garbarino’s appointment was the result of some pretty crafty maneuvering by the council’s part – or at least some on the council.

Instead of coming from the city manager, the appointment was made by the council. According to the city charter, the appointment must come from the city manager.

Why did the council take this unusual procedure?

Some on council were frustrated with City Manager Bill Cooper and his refusal to bring forth the second in line for the job. The council previously rejected Cooper’s first choice for the job.

Cooper defused the situation, somewhat, by saying he would not “fight” the council’s decision.

We wish Garbarino good luck in his new job, if in fact the deal still goes through. We just wish this process had followed the course outlined by the charter.