Thriving Communities Program: Building Community Capacity to Take Transformative Projects from Concept to Completion

Program Overview

Funded with $25 million through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) new Thriving Communities Program (TCP) aims to ensure that disadvantaged communities adversely or disproportionately affected by environmental, climate, and human health policy outcomes have the technical tools and organizational capacity to compete for federal aid and deliver quality infrastructure projects that enable their communities and neighborhoods to thrive.

TCP facilitates the planning and development of transportation and community revitalization activities and provides tools to ensure that under-resourced communities can access the historic funding provided in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The Thriving Communities Program will be administered by the Build America Bureau as part of its broader efforts to provide technical assistance to communities.

Beginning in 2023, the Thriving Communities Program will provide technical assistance, planning, and capacity building support to teams of community partners that may lack the staffing or technical expertise to scope, fund, and develop infrastructure projects that advance broader community goals.

TCP will provide two years of deep-dive assistance to selected communities to help them plan and develop a pipeline of comprehensive transportation, housing, and community revitalization activities.

There is no cost to receive this support but interested applicants must identify community partners and together submit a Letter of Interest (LOI) by December 6, 2022, to be considered for selection.

Learn More About the Call for Letters of Interest from the Links:

• View our Information for Communities page
• View full requirements in the Call for Letters of Interest
• Attend an informational webinar or outreach event
• Visit our How to Apply page

John LaMacchia is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is issuing a Call for Exchanges as part of the Federal Aid Buyout Program based on Public Act (PA) 49 of 2022.

The Federal Aid Buyout Program is a voluntary program which allows local agencies eligible to receive federal aid transportation funds under the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG) to exchange those federal funds with MDOT for state transportation dollars. The purpose of the Federal Aid Buyout Program is to allow flexibility and enable the most efficient use of federal highway aid and other transportation dollars.

Exchange requests must be e-mailed to MDOT-FederalAidBuyout@michigan.gov. The form #2926-24 must be completed, signed, and attached to the exchange request e-mail. A separate form and e-mail must be submitted for each project that a local agency wishes to exchange. The call for exchanges will start on November29, 2022, at 10:00 am Eastern Time.

More details are included in the Call for Exchanges letter and the Federal Buyout Program Guidelines.

All of the materials are also posted to the MDOT Federal Aid Buyout Program website.

If you have any questions about the program after reading the materials please send them via e-mail to MDOT-FederalAidBuyout@michigan.gov , or call Don Mayle at 517-243-8589.

John LaMacchia is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

Last week the House passed four bills to assist municipalities, developers and builders to address the state’s housing crisis. The legislation is aimed at creating partnerships between stakeholders to build and rehabilitate affordable and attainable housing.

SB 362: Attainable Housing Facilities Act – Senator Winnie Brinks
Local governments may create an “attainable housing district” where property owners can apply for partial tax exemptions, reducing real property taxes to 50% of the average statewide commercial, industrial, utility for up to 12 years if they meet certain affordability criteria determined by the local unit of government. That criteria would include providing units at a price point that does not exceed 120% of the county-wide median income threshold for at least 30% of units in a multi-unit development. Local governments will have the flexibility to negotiate more than the listed thresholds to align with their housing needs and goals. This tool can only be used for 4 or less rental units and requires a minimum of $5,000 investment.

SB 364: Neighborhood Enterprise Zone Expansion – Senator Jeremy Moss
Establishing a Neighborhood Enterprise Zones (NEZ) has supported investment for infill revitalization for owner-occupied housing and mixed-use buildings in eligible communities for decades. With so many communities across Michigan facing an urgent shortage of housing, this bill extends the opportunity to utilize this tool in all Michigan cities, villages and townships. Local units of government subject to the expansion may designate an NEZ if the project encourages compact development, is adjacent to existing development and utilizes existing infrastructure. This tool can be used for households up to 120% AMI.

SB 422: Residential Facilities Exemption Act – Senator Ken Horn
The creation of a Residential Facilities Exemption would allow a temporary tax abatement on qualified new housing development in districts established by local units of government similar to the attainable housing district legislation. The abatement would enable renovation and expansion of aging residential units and assist in the building of new residential units to support workforce housing supply. The tool is similar to SB 362 with 30% of units required to be income-restricted to no more than 120% AMI. Qualified new housing developments may include multifamily or units in a multi-use structure with assurances that the units are occupied as a principal residence (year-round) to eligible households. This tool shall be used for projects with more than four units and requires a minimum investment of $50,000.

SB 432: PILOTS for Housing – Senator Wayne Schmidt
This expansion allows local units of government the discretion to allow a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) agreement for residential development or rehabilitation. The local unit of government would set a policy to establish what conditions it would consider to offer a PILOT. The owner of an approved project would then pay an annual service charge that is the greater of tax for the property for the previous year or 10% of annual shelter rents obtained for new construction. For rehabilitation projects, the charge would be the lesser of the tax on the property the previous year or 10% of annual shelter rents. Currently (without this change), local units of government can only offer PILOTs in conjunction with approved state or federal programs/subsidies in a project.

Housing Michigan, a coalition led by the Michigan Municipal League, Home Builders Assoc. of Michigan, Grand Rapids Chamber and Housing North, have worked for two years to get these bills through the process. The legislation now heads back to the senate for a concurrence vote and then to the Governor’s desk for signature.

Jennifer Rigterink is the League’s assistant director of state and federal affairs handling economic development, land use and municipal services issues. She can be reached at jrigterink@mml.org or 517-908-0305.

Consumer’s Energy and DTE Energy have shared the below-attached information for municipalities within their respective service areas. If jurisdictions are experiencing outages or electrical issues during Election Day, Consumer’s Energy and DTE Energy are ready and available to offer assistance. Please see the information below:

Consumer’s Energy:

• Restoration of Polling Locations
• Consumer’s Energy Outage Map

DTE Energy:

• DTE 2022 Regional Manager Map (April) (3)
• Election Day Questions and Information

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.

In partnership with the Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Townships Association, Michigan Association of Counties and the Michigan County Road Association, the Michigan Department of Treasury will host the 18^th joint webinar, “Updates and Resources for Local Governments.”

The Updates and Resources for Local Governments webinar series is designed to provide local government leaders and officials with the information, tools, and resources necessary to make important decisions at the local level. The upcoming webinar will focus on a selection of grants that are available to local governments through various State departments.

Specific topics covered will include:

• Outdoor Public Spaces Grant Opportunity – SPARK (MDNR) – grants to help local communities to create, renovate or redevelop public outdoor spaces
• Blight Elimination Grant – State Land Bank Authority is administering grants to local communities to address vacant and deteriorated properties
• Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Grants
  • MI Hope – energy efficient home repair grants eligible to non-profits and local governments
  • Missing Middle Housing – housing production program designed to address the general lack of attainable housing and housing challenges underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing the supply of housing stock by providing cost defrayment to developers constructing or substantially rehabbing properties targeted to household incomes between 185% and 300% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines
  • Housing and Community Development Fund – developing and coordinating resources to meet the affordable housing needs of low-income households eligible to nonprofit and for-profit developers, municipalities, land banks, and community development financial institutions

Participants can register and submit questions prior to the webinar at:  

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ziWs-lVrQja3mg8UdaiCBQ

Agenda

• Welcome & Introductions (Rod Taylor, Administrator, Community Engagement and Finance Division, Michigan Department of Treasury)

• Outdoor Public Spaces Grant Opportunity – SPARK (Daniel Lord, Assistant Division Chief, Finance and Operations Division, Facilities, Grants, Minerals, Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

• Blight Elimination Grant – State Lank Bank  (Jeff Huntington, Operations Manager, State Land Bank Authority, Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity)

• Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Grants (Tonya Joy, Director, Neighborhood Housing Initiatives Division, Chad Benson, Director of Development, Tiffany King, Equity and Inclusion Officer)

• Question and Answer 

• Closing Remarks (Rod Taylor, Administrator, Community Engagement and Finance Division, Michigan Department of Treasury)

Presentations and recordings from this webinar, along with previous webinars, can be found at TREASURY – Webinars (michigan.gov). Utilize TREASURY – Contact Information (michigan.gov) for support related to Treasury’s local government services.

John LaMacchia is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

The importance of an accurate census is immense. The distribution of $1.5 trillion dollars in federal funds are determined by figures from the decennial census results, so it is important to achieve an accurate count to make sure local governments are getting a fair and proper allocation. Additionally, census results have extreme relevance to local communities. The data from the decennial census provides a snapshot of demographic information and trend data, which serves as the basis for important local government decision-making in matters such as redistricting, community planning, and the timing and placement of future infrastructure investments.

There is an open Federal Register Notice from the Census Bureau that local units of government can offer comments on how to design the 2030 census. Comments are due by November 15. Click here for more information on how to submit those comments.

Alternatively, the National League of Cities will be submitting comments and feedback can be provided to them in the form of a survey response. NLC will then use those comments to inform their comment letter to the Bureau. They also wrote a blog which outlines what the Bureau is looking for from commenters. At the bottom of the blog, you will find a link to their survey (also linked here) that you can fill out on how the Census 2030 could be reformed.

John LaMacchia is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

The new Michigan Spark Grants program includes $65 million specifically for local parks and aimed at improving and redeveloping existing public outdoor recreation in communities that have 1) faced barriers to accessing such funding, and 2) experienced negative effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. The program welcomes applications starting Oct. 24. If you’re planning to apply, here are tips to get you started.

Three things to do right now

There are always some housekeeping details required of all grant applicants, those little things that help the grantmaking authority move and track applications and funding throughout the process. Anyone applying for a Michigan Spark Grant will need to do these three things before submitting an application:

• Verify your SIGMA number. Check with your organization’s financial director/staff person to verify your ID number. If you don’t have a number, fill out an electronic application on the State of Michigan SIGMA Vendor Self Service site. For help, contact the State of Michigan SIGMA VSS Support Center at SIGMA-Vendor@Michigan.gov or call 517-284-0550.
• Get your federal UEI. Each applicant needs a unique entity identifier, or UEI, from the federal System for Award Management (SAM). This short video explains the process of obtaining a UEI. Learn more at SAM.gov.
• Register with the DNR’s grants system. Each applicant organization must be in the MiGrants system. Once you confirm (with an authorized official of your organization) that your organization is registered in MiGrants, you can enter your SIGMA and UEI numbers into the system. Need help? Contact your regional grant coordinator or email DNR-Grants@Michigan.gov.

Save the date: Oct. 28 webinar

There’s a lot to know and a lot to do! Preparing a grant application, especially for anyone new to the process, can feel overwhelming. Well, brush aside those concerns and mark your calendar for 10:30-11:30 a.m. (Eastern) Friday, Oct. 28, because the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting a webinar to explain the process, answer your questions and ease any application anxiety. Click here to register.

Watch the web for timeline, FAQs and other news

For full details on all of these topics, follow the Michigan Spark Grants webpage. Over the next few weeks, the DNR will be adding a thorough program overview, details on scoring criteria, webinar specifics, key dates (including the Dec. 19 application deadline), updated FAQs and other information to keep you on track. Below are helpful links that can provide additional assistance as you prepare your application.

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Program Booklet
• Sample Application

About the program

It’s a milestone moment for outdoor recreation in Michigan: a $65 million grant program to help local communities that want to create, renovate, or redevelop public outdoor opportunities for residents and visitors—especially those whose economic opportunities and health were hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Administered by the DNR, Michigan Spark Grants will support projects that provide safe, accessible, public recreation facilities and spaces to improve people’s health, introduce new recreation experiences, build on existing park infrastructure, and make it easier for people to enjoy the outdoors. This grant opportunity is possible because of the Building Michigan Together Plan, signed in March 2022, which included a historic infusion of federal funding in our state and local parks.

Want to stay informed? Sign up for our recreation grants list to receive email updates when there is news to share.

Program goals

• Leverage federal, state, local and private resources toward a sustainable public recreation development program.
• Provide a clear, simple and equitable grants distribution process in support of public outdoor recreation.
• Align project partners and community organizations so resources are maximized, and roles and responsibilities are clearly outlined and balanced.

Addressing community need

The Michigan Spark Grants program is aimed at helping improve and redevelop existing public outdoor recreation in communities that have historically experienced barriers to accessing these types of grants. Funding priority will be given to areas with a high proportion of households that are struggling financially, a high number of residents with physical and mental disabilities, and a lack of public recreation opportunities.

Eligible applicants

• Applicants must be local units of government or public authorities legally established to provide public recreation.
• Applicants may include a regional or statewide organization or consortium of local units of government or public authorities legally established to provide public recreation.
• An eligible financial match is encouraged but not required.
• A community planning process is encouraged but not required.

Eligible projects

• Projects must support and enhance neighborhood features that promote improved health and safety outcomes or address the increased repair or maintenance needs in response to significantly greater use of public facilities in local communities that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Projects may include the development, renovation or redevelopment of public recreation facilities, and the provision of recreation-focused equipment and programs at public recreation spaces.
• Funds may be used for activities such as, but not limited to, project review, planning, architecture and engineering services, construction, oversight and compliance activities associated with state and federal requirements, as applicable.
• Projects must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026, on public land with the primary purpose of providing outdoor recreation.

Application scoring criteria

Applications that address existing park infrastructure will be given priority. Consideration will be given to applications that complete critical trail projects or provide access to new opportunities that currently don’t exist within a local community. Scoring will be based on the following criteria, listed in order of priority:

• Public benefit and anticipated outcomes
• Financial and social considerations
• Access to project site
• Access to new opportunities for people of all abilities
• Clarity of scope and ability to execute
• Renovation and long-term maintenance

Available funding

A total of $65 million of coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery funds was made available through Public Act 53 of 2022. Individual grant amounts – ranging from a minimum of $100,000 to a maximum of $1 million – will be distributed in three rounds:

• Round one: $15 million during the week of Jan. 30, 2023.
• Round two: $25 million in spring 2023.
• Round three: $25 million in summer 2023.

If you’re not finding answers to your questions in this blog or on the Spark Grants webpage, please reach out to the League’s ServeMICity Program or email DNR-Grants@Michigan.gov for assistance.

John LaMacchia is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

On Friday October 14, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced that their State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds email and phone help center assistance to local governments will be dramatically scaled back beginning today, Monday, October 17, 2022.

We have been working with the National League of Cities (NLC) and have been tracking the recent possibility of this unfortunate outcome after the Department of Treasury’s Deputy Secretary sent a warning to all State and Local Fiscal Relief Fund (SLFRF) grantees in September. That message informed grantees that funding for call center support – which provides an entry point for recipients to bring their questions or issues, including around payments and reporting – will be shut down. Additionally, that email noted that ongoing and future email support would be sharply curtailed. While this might seem like a quick order of events, Treasury has been aware of the funding shortfall for months and has been trying to receive authority from Congress to reallocate administrative funds from other relief-era programs to staff the help centers.

The specific impact on cities and villages is unclear at this moment, but in the short-term, the ability to get questions answered will certainly be greatly reduced. Further, the help center’s lack of ability to respond to questions will likely hurt our small local governments the hardest, as these municipalities already have the fewest amount of resources to implement SLFRF programs.

To try and ease any consequential burden, the Department of Treasury has provided access to frequently asked questions from grantees by clicking on the Self-Service Resources button at the top of the SLFRF page. Looking forward, almost all non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs) do not have to file their next annual report until April 2023. This provides some time for there to be an adequate solution implemented to address the lack of support from the Department of Treasury for SLFRF grantees, since the filing deadline is when we saw many of the problems and questions arise.

The potential strain on cities and villages that results from ending the call and email centers, is an issue that MML and NLC both recognize as significant and are committed to elevating this issue with Congress, in hopes to achieve a legislative fix as soon as possible.

What’s next?

MML stands ready to support our cities and villages as they seek guidance during this time. Our ServeMICIty program is specifically designed to answer your questions and help provide the assistance you need. In the absence of robust federal assistance, we encourage you to utilize this service and make the most of your ARP funding. For more information about ServeMICity, please click here.

John LaMacchia is the League’s director of state & federal affairs. He can be reached at jlamacchia@mml.org or 517-908-0303.

Last week, Governor Whitmer signed HB 4491, now PA 195 of 2022, which amends several aspects of the election process, including procedures for updating the qualified voter file (QVF), adjusts the protocol for the preprocessing of ballots ahead of Elections Day, and chain of command procedures involving. Members may recall larger legislative packages in the House and Senate that address a wide array of election-focused reforms. The key changes that impact our members are summarized below:

Changes to QVF procedures:

• The responsibility of removing deceased voters from the QVF will now be shifted to the county clerks rather than being shared with township and city clerks. Beginning January 1, 2023, when the county clerk updates the QVF to remove deceased votes, an electronic notification will be sent to city and township clerks to complete the cancellation.
• If the Secretary of State (SOS) removes the registration of a deceased voter from the QVF within 24 hours, the electronic notification must be transmitted to the city and township clerk to finalize the cancellation.
• Beginning January 1, 2023, between the first Friday in July before an August election and 16 days before that election, and between the first Friday in October before a November election and 16 days before that election, each county clerk would have to update the QVF to remove deceased voters weekly, by the close of business on Friday. Between 15 days and one day before an election, each county clerk would have to update the QVF daily by the close of business. The county clerk would have to notify city and township clerks of any voter registrations that need to be canceled after 4 p.m. on the day before an election so that the clerk can cancel the registration.

Pre-processing of ballots:

• PA 151 of 2022 would remove a 2020 sunset on provisions that allowed clerks in cities or townships with a population of at least 25,000 to perform specific absent voter (AV) ballot preprocessing activities before Election Day, as long as they gave notice of that action to the SOS at least 20 days before Election Day. These provisions currently only apply for activities relating to the November 2020 general election, but the bill would enact these provisions indefinitely for all primary and general elections. However, the minimum population would also be reduced from 25,000 to 10,000.
• City and township clerks would have to post the notice they provided to the SOS on that city’s or township’s website at least seven business days before the relevant election. If the location or hours of the preprocessing activities change from what was listed in the original posting, the local clerk must post a new notice at least 24 hours before preprocessing begins.
• Clerks or designees would be allowed to open the outer/return envelopes containing an absentee ballot inside a secrecy sleeve between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the Sunday and Monday before Election Day to verify that the ballot number on the ballot stub agrees with the ballot number on the AV ballot return envelope label and to remove the secrecy sleeve from the outer envelope for storage in a secure container. The procedure must include the following below:
  • The election inspectors would have to record the following in the poll book.
  • The number of AV ballot return envelopes opened on the Sunday before Election Day.
  • The number of AV ballot return envelopes opened on the Monday before Election Day.
  • The number of AV ballot return envelopes delivered to inspectors that did not contain a voter’s signature and that were returned to the city or township clerk.
  • The number of AV ballot return envelopes that were challenged, not opened by inspectors, and set aside to be processed by inspectors on Election Day.

Absentee Voter ballot secrecy envelope container:

• AV ballot secrecy containers must be submitted to and approved by the SOS before use.
  • Containers must be capable of being sealed and made up of tamper-resistant metal, plastic, fiberglass, or other material.
  • Clerks may procure approved containers at their own expense or use the traditional ballot containers described in the code.
• PA 151 of 2022 also requires that after October 20, 2022, each board of county canvasser must examine the containers to be used during the November 8, 2022, general election and determine whether they meet the specific requirements.
• If a city or township does not use these containers, that local unit’s board of county canvassers would have to examine any AV ballot secrecy envelope containers to be used in a 2024 August and/or November election by June 1, 2024.
• By June 1, 2026, and by June 1, every four years after that, each board of county canvassers would have to reexamine the secrecy envelope containers to be used at the upcoming August and/or November election.

Absentee Voter Drop Boxes:

• As of 2021, security measures have been implemented to provide for the secure transmission of ballots from the AV drop box to the Clerks’ possession. Beginning October 20, 2022, all drop boxes must adhere to the following requirements, except for video monitoring.
• Drop boxes ordered or installed after October 1, 2022, must equip video monitoring by January 1, 2023. All drop boxes ordered and installed before October 1, 2022, will remain exempt from this requirement. 
• The following must apply to drop boxes ordered or installed after October 1, 2020:
  • The drop box must be securely locked and bolted to the ground or another stationary object.
  • The drop box must be equipped with a single slot or mailbox-style lever to allow AV ballot return envelopes to be placed in the drop box, and all other openings on the drop box must be securely locked.
  • The city or township clerk must use video monitoring of that drop box.
  • The drop box must be in a public, well-lit area with good visibility.
  • The city or township clerk must report immediately to local law enforcement any vandalism involving the drop box or any suspicious activity occurring in the immediate vicinity.
• Beginning October 20, 2022, and until the 2022 November general election, a city or township clerk, deputy clerk, or sworn staff member would have to regularly inspect each drop box to confirm that it complies with this section’s requirements.
• Beginning January 1, 2023, these individuals would have to regularly inspect the drop boxes starting 75 days before each Election Day and up through the election. Starting 15 days before Election Day, they would have to collect any deposited election materials from the drop box on any day the clerk’s office is open for business.
• When a clerk, deputy clerk, or sworn staff member collects absent voter ballot return envelopes, that individual would have to immediately return the envelopes to the clerk’s office unless traveling to another drop box. All absent voter ballot return envelopes would have to be transported in an approved ballot container or AV ballot secrecy envelope container.
• Beginning October 20, 2022, municipal clerks would have to record each time absentee ballot return envelopes are collected from a drop box in that city except for drop boxes located on the grounds of a clerk’s office or a satellite office.
• Clerks would have to maintain this documentation for at least 22 months after the election, which would have to include the following:
  • The date the return envelopes were collected from the drop box.
  • The number of return envelopes collected from the drop box.
  • The names of the individuals who collected the return envelopes.
  • The location in the city or township of the drop box.
• Clerks are also now required to post the number of AV ballots distributed to absentee voters and the number of AV ballot return envelopes returned through Election Day and maintain a record that reconciles the number of AV ballots received by the clerk in the QVF.

Herasanna Richards is a legislative associate handling energy, environmental, elections, and external municipal services for the League. She can be reached at hrichards@mml.org or 517-908-0309.