The Citizen’s Research Council unveiled their Reforming Statutory State Revenue Sharing report before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government this morning. Requested by the subcommittee last year, the report focuses on the history of statutory revenue sharing, the severe declines in state funding of revenue sharing over the past decade and suggestions for how the state could provide for future distribution of those dollars. The recommendations center around various options for creating a formula for getting funding to the governments with the greatest needs based upon a level of funding sufficient to make a difference. You can read an executive summary of the report here.
Following the presentation of the report, MML, the MI Association of Counties, and the MI Townships Association were all invited to address the committee and provide our take on the report and revenue sharing overall. We used this opportunity to hammer home the importance of this funding within municipal budgets and the damage that has been done through the cuts the state has made to revenue sharing. Our hope is that the CRC report will ignite a serious conversation within the subcommittee and the Legislature overall about making revenue sharing a priority as they make state budget funding decisions.
Chris Hackbarth is the League’s director of state affairs. He can be reached at 517-908-0304