Strengthening Dexter’s future through financial stability, smart redevelopment, and a thriving downtown.
By Doug
Dexter City Manager Justin Breyer outlined his vision for the city’s future, emphasizing financial sustainability, responsible growth, and downtown revitalization.
The Foundation is Financial Stability and Growth
Reflecting on Dexter’s past, City Manager Justin Breyer acknowledged the city’s financial challenges in the ’80s and ’90s. “(Dexter) had to take out significant loans for water and sewer improvements because the state required us to. Our general fund had almost nothing in terms of fund balance,” he says.
He credits previous leadership for stabilizing Dexter’s finances. “Donna Dettling and Courtney Nicholls, along with our finance director Marie Sherry, worked hard to improve the village’s financial situation. I’ve really been the beneficiary of that and hope to keep it going,” Breyer stated. “A key focus for the city is maintaining our strong financial success.”
Development and Annexation Considerations
Breyer remains cautious about city expansion. “There’s always talk and rumors about what areas might or might not be annexed or what property owners might be interested in coming into the city,” he says. “It’s never been the council’s desire to seek and solicit annexations and try to grab up territory. Those are things that city council kind of takes on a case-by-case basis as people approach us.”
One major factor influencing annexation is infrastructure. “A lot of it has to do with water and sewer services,” Breyer explains. “There really aren’t water and sewer providers that are close to the city’s boundaries. And so, if there are properties that abut the city, and there are property owners who want to have those properties developed, then generally they’re looking to the city to try and get water and sewer services. Our policy is not to provide water and sewer services outside the city boundaries. So, in order to get access to those services, folks have to annex in.”
Downtown Redevelopment and Community Support
Rather than pursuing aggressive expansion, Dexter’s leadership remains focused on making the best use of the current land. “What has been a focus of city council is the redevelopment of downtown and underutilized properties,” Breyer explains. He pointed to projects like 3045 Broad Street (between Erratic Ales/Raterman’s Bistro and Mill Creek park), which has been a long-term goal for redevelopment. “The DDA has had this as a goal since the early 2000s, and I think it was 2009 or 2010 when the DDA put in a purchase offer on that property. The goal being to get that property redeveloped and contributing to the tax base.”
The success of Grand View Commons serves as an example of this strategy. “That was an old industrial site that was bought by A.R. Brouwer and redeveloped into a neighborhood,” Breyer notes.
A Thriving Main Street
At the heart of Breyer’s vision is ensuring Dexter’s downtown remains vibrant. “City council, one of their long-term goals, is to make sure that we have the population to be able to support thriving businesses in our downtown because downtown really is the heart of the community,” he says. “Those businesses on Main Street are among the gems of the community. Making sure that those businesses are thriving and that Main Street is thriving is going to be key to the city’s long-term success.”
Breyer is optimistic about the city’s economic health. “We’ve seen that, especially recently, almost all of those businesses, all of those storefronts, are occupied and don’t remain unoccupied for very long,” he said. “When something does happen and a business does shut down or moves out, those storefronts don’t stay vacant for very long, which is great news for the city.”
As Dexter continues to grow and evolve, Breyer remains focused on stability, smart redevelopment, and ensuring that the community remains a desirable place for residents and businesses alike.