Urgent – Please contact Michigan Legislators today seeking support of increase to revenue sharing

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Michigan Municipal League Board President David Lossing sent letters to state Senators and Representatives Tuesday (May 21, 2013) asking for their support of the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2014 general government budget recommendation, which includes a modest 4.8-percent increase in funding for statutory revenue sharing, now known as the Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP).

The League is asking you to also contact your state lawmakers today on this extremely important issue. To make it convenient, you can use the League’s automated letter service by going here to our Action Center. It is imperative you contact your lawmakers today or tomorrow as we expect a vote on the budget this week or early next week.

While this Senate proposal does not come close to replacing the $6 billion in local revenue sharing cut by Lansing legislators and governors since 2001, it will at least help stop the bleeding and provide desperately needed funds for local police and fire protection, road and bridge maintenance, and other essential local services.

Here is an excerpt of the letter from President Lossing, Mayor of Linden:

As the state’s economy slumped over the past dozen years, past decisions made by the Michigan Legislature to cut local revenue sharing were used to make up for the difference in the state’s budget gap. Now that Michigan is on the rebound, this modest increase to statutory revenue sharing adopted by the Michigan State Senate is reasonable and begins the process of ending fiscal pain felt by many of our communities. Cities and villages across our great state, including the city of Linden, have been tightening our fiscal belts for several years to weather this financial storm.

Now is the time to begin making strategic investments in our communities by increasing statutory revenue sharing in the FY 2013-14 budget, to make “Better Communities, Better Michigan.”

View a version of the Senate letter here. View a version of the House letter here.

The League encourages all our members to contact their lawmakers today on this issue. Feel free to write your own letter and/or use the sample letter provided in our Action Center. You can go here to get the contact information for your state officials.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at (734) 669-6317 and mbach@mml.org.

Bridge Magazine Series Highlights Financial Plight of Michigan Cities

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A series of articles about the financial plight of Michigan cities is being posted from the online-publication, Bridge Magazine. One of the best articles from the series came out today and prominently features comments from the League’s Anthony Minghine. It’s a must read for anyone who cares about Michigan communities. There are also posts about the financial ratings of Michigan’s communities, what communities like Kalamazoo and Muskegon have done to stay financially solvent, and why it’s important to know the financial condition of your city.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org and (734) 669-6317.

Fireworks Bill Passes House Committee

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This morning the House Regulatory Reform committee reported House Bill 4743, a bill that adds some new provisions into the existing Michigan Fireworks Safety Act.

The committee substitute combined House Bills 4743 and 4744 to allow local units of government to regulate consumer fireworks between midnight and 8 am on the day before, of and after a national holiday. You will recall that the current statute prohibits local regulation on the date before, of or after a national holiday.

The legislation also ensures fireworks safety fees will go into training for fire departments for the enforcement of the Act.

The intent is to have this legislation to the Governor before the 4th of July to give local units time to pass ordinances regulating fireworks. The bill will now be considered by the full House.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

Does Your Community Host a Labor Day Bridge Walk?

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The Michigan Fitness Foundation offers an opportunity for all communities to start their own Labor Day tradition by hosting a Labor Day Community Walk.

Labor Day Community Walks showcase the unique parks and recreation spaces in the local community’s own backyard. The event also gives the community a chance to come together while demonstrating a commitment to keep Michigan moving. Past community walks included activities such as walks and/or runs through public trails and across local versions of the “Mighty Mac.” Host organizations will receive free promotional materials and a guide to creating and hosting a community walk. In addition, your event will be endorsed by the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports and Health and you will have the opportunity to use our logo on all materials.

This year Labor Day Community Walks will take place on Monday, September 2, 2013. We hope that you will consider making your community a part of Michigan’s Labor Day tradition. To learn more about the walk, please visit the Michigan Fitness Foundation’s website. For more information, please visit: http://www.michiganfitness.org/labor-day-community-walks. To register your community and receive free support materials, please contact Rokeyta Roverson at rroberson@michiganfitness.org.

Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development and land use issues.  She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305.

Senate Considers Tax Exemptions for Disabled Veterans

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Yesterday the Senate Finance Committee considered two bills that would create tax exemptions for disabled veterans.

Senate Bill 104 would allow a community to give a tax exemption to a qualified disabled veteran. This is an option for a community and not a mandate.

The committee also considered Senate Bill 352, which would specifically exempt from property taxes real property used and owned as a homestead by a disabled veteran who was discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States under honorable conditions.

The League continues to be opposed to mandatory property tax exemptions. In 2011 the legislature and administration eliminated state tax exemptions so as to not “pick winners and losers” and balance the state budget. Yet we continue to combat legislation that mandates our members give property tax exemptions for various individuals. The policy is inconsistent, and we are opposed to this piecemeal look at tax policy.

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

 

House Local Government Holds Hearing on Blight Package

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Today the House Local Government committee held testimony on SBs 35-39, a package of bills dealing with blighted properties.  These bills would:

  • Senate Bill 35 would allow cities that use administrative hearings bureau to adjudicate blight violations to establish additional civil and criminal penalties on a person who committed a blight violation and failed to pay a fine and costs of $1,000 or more. It would also lower the minimum population to be eligible to have an administrative hearings bureau from 2.0 million to 1.5 million for a county containing a city with a population of 3,300 or more. This bill also exempts financial institutions, credit unions and other governmental entities from the fines and penalties stated in the bill that other individuals would otherwise be subject to.
  • Senate Bill 36 would amend the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act to allow a city zoning ordinance to provide that a person would be ineligible for rezoning, site approval, or other zoning authorization if the person were delinquent in paying a fine or costs for a blight violation. This bill also exempts financial institutions, credit unions and other governmental entities from the fines and penalties stated in the bill that other individuals would otherwise be subject to.
  • Senate Bill 37 would amend the Single State Construction Code Act to allow a city to provide by ordinance that a person would be ineligible for a building permit, certificate of use and occupancy, or a variance if the person were delinquent in paying a fine or costs for a blight violation. This bill also exempts financial institutions, credit unions and other governmental entities from the fines and penalties stated in the bill that other individuals would otherwise be subject to.
  • Senate Bill 38 would amend the Revised Judicature Act to allow a city to file a garnishment action if a fine or costs were ordered for a blight violation.
  • Senate Bill 39 would amend the Home Rule City Act to allow a lien against property involved in a blight violation to be foreclosed in a city’s administrative hearings bureau.

The League was joined by officials from the city of Jackson (Dan Greer, Bethany Smith, Dennis Diffenderfer), in testifying in opposition to the bills because of the exemptions for financial institutions, credit unions and governmental entities.  We absolutely appreciate the intent of the bill sponsors in trying to give more tools to local communities with Administrative Hearings Bureaus to deal with blight offenders but these exemptions carve out a large chunk of the blight offenders.  We look forward to working with the bill sponsors as this goes forward to address our issues.

Nikki Brown is a legislative associate with the League handling economic development and land use issues.  She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org of 517-908-0305.

Bills to Exempt Detroit Zoo and DIA Millages from Tax Capture Pass Senate Committee

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HB 4458-4464 passed the Senate Economic Development Committee this week.  These would prohibit a TIF district from keeping tax increment revenues from ad valorem property taxes levied under the Zoological Authorities Act and the Art Institute Authorities Act.  This language is added into the following acts:

  • Tax Increment Financing Authority Act
  • Downtown Development Authority Act
  • Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act
  • Local Development Financing Act
  • Corridor Improvement Authority Act
  • Nonprofit Street Railway Act
  • Private Investment Infrastructure Act.

There is a larger discussion happening in the legislature on TIF tax capture in general.  I would encourage you to contact your legislators and let them know the benefit of the TIFs used in your community as well as give them an idea of the investments that they have brought into the area so they can understand the importance of them for economic development purposes.  These are a few of the last tools communities have to revitalize struggling areas and to not have them or severely limit them would have a detrimental impact on not just the municipality but the entire region.

Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development and land use issues.  She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305.

Bill to Regulate Digital Billboards moves out of House Transportation Committee

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HB 4629 passed out of the House Transportation Committee this week.  This bill was created in most part to deal with issues that were presented to MDOT from a federal audit done on the Highway Advertising Act. If these issues (definition for digital billboards, definition for non-conforming billboard, etc) are not address, the state will lose a portion of their federal transportation funding.  This bill was introduced last session and because of the short time frame of lame duck, didn’t pass.  This bill would allow a local unit of government to create a more stringent policy than that at the state level if they so choose to.  We also asked that the word “operation” be added into what can be regulated by the local unit of government to ensure that digital billboards would be encompassed in that definition.  Before passing committee, an amendment was also added on to change the spacing requirements for digital billboards from 1,500 feet to 1,750 feet and to make the “dwell time” 8 seconds instead of 6 seconds.

Because of the federal funding attached to the bill and the local control piece being enhanced, we are neutral on HB 4629.

Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League handling economic development and land use issues.  She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305.

Senate Finance Takes up WPW Fix

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For years the League has been working on a tax reduction loophole that was created due to the 2002 Michigan Supreme Court case of WPW Acquisition Company v. City of Troy. After Proposal A created the term taxable value, the Legislature passed legislation that allowed for an increase and decrease of certain commercial property’s taxable value based on their occupancy. This was meant to allow the taxable value of income producing property to reflect the ebb and flow of the economy.

Under that system, the City of Troy granted a reduction to WPW Acquisition Company due to a reduced occupancy. However, when the City increased their taxable value when they were more fully occupied, WPW Acquisition Company sued the City, claiming they could not increase their taxable value above 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, due to Proposal A. The Supreme Court addressed the question of increases in occupancy and agreed with WPW. However, the reduction issue due to occupancy was never in question, so a legal loophole, creating tax inequity, was born.

Yesterday the Senate Finance Committee took up Senate Bill 114, a bill introduced by Senator Vince Gregory (D-Southfield) that amends the General Property Tax Act. The Act’s definition of “losses” includes an adjustment in value, if any, due to a decrease in the property’s occupancy rate, to the extent provided by law. The definition of “additions” includes an increase in value attributable to the property’s occupancy rate if a loss had been previously allowed because of a decrease in occupancy rate, or if the value of new construction was reduced because of a below- market occupancy rate.

The bill would limit the use of occupancy rates in the determination of losses to the period before December 31, 2013. The use of occupancy rates in the determination of additions would be limited to the period before December 31, 2001.

The League testified in support of this legislation as did the Department of Treasury. Please contact your Senator and ask for support of SB 114!
Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the Michigan Municipal League.  She can be reached at 517-908-0306 or email at sharkins@mml.org

 

League Encourages State to Put Surplus Toward Restoring Revenue Sharing Cuts

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LANSING, Michigan - A report saying the state of Michigan has nearly $400 million has the Michigan Municipal League requesting that the state use some of that surplus to restore massive cuts made to local revenue sharing. A consensus report released today (May 15, 2013) by state economists shows that revenues for the current fiscal year are $396.9 million higher than expected for the general fund for the current 2012-13 fiscal year.

The Michigan Municipal League has responded to this announcement by issuing a press release to media throughout Michigan calling for a portion of that surplus to go back to Michigan communities. View the League’s press release here. View an mlive.com article about the budget surplus that includes mention of the League’s request.

Here’s a portion of the press release:
“Over the past dozen years, the Legislature and governor have cut local revenue sharing by more than $6 billion, breaking promise after promise and ignoring statutes that require the appropriations to local communities,” said Daniel Gilmartin, CEO and executive director of the Michigan Municipal League, in the press release. “Instead of appropriating the funds for local services, Lansing used the funds to fill holes in the state budget, to cut taxes, and for other state programs and services. While we recognize the state’s economy was in bad shape, and many state budgets were cut, local revenue sharing paid a far higher price than all the others.”

Gilmartin said the state budget surplus gives the Legislature and governor the opportunity to return some of the cuts they made to local services that keep people safe in their neighborhoods, keep local drinking water clean, maintain local roads and bridges, fund local parks and libraries, and more.

“The state Senate has proposed a 4.8-percent increase in local revenue sharing for the 2014 state budget. Given the anticipated state budget surplus, anything less than that is unacceptable and unconscionable,” Gilmartin said. “I promise that local leaders and their constituents will remember if the Legislature fails to invest part of the surplus to restore some of the massive cuts Lansing has made to revenue sharing and essential local services.”

Gilmartin said that using the surplus to restore cuts to revenue sharing “becomes critical” if the personal property tax (PPT) law passed by the Legislature in December is approved by Michigan voters next year.The PPT law would cut local taxes paid by local businesses to local communities across the state by hundreds of millions of dollars. The law will not take effect unless it is approved by Michigan voters in August 2014. The Legislature has not yet voted to put the question onto the ballot.

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at (810) 874-1073 and mbach@mml.org.