A fire truck makes an emergency run over crumbling roads in Macomb County. Vote yes for safe roads on May 5.

(UPDATE: Free webinar on Proposal 1 is Friday for League members. Click here to sign up.)

As you may know, the Michigan Municipal League Board in January unanimously pledged support of Proposal 1 going to the voters on May 5.

Recently the League launched a web page geared toward Michigan’s cities and villages regarding Proposal 1. This web page provides community-specific information about Proposal 1 and its impact on municipalities.

The page has neutral, information-only documents regarding Proposal 1. It also has information on why the League believes you and your residents should vote yes, and documents showing projected road revenue and revenue sharing dollars should Proposal 1 pass.

The League’s page is also tied to the statewide campaign webpage that can be found at saferoadsyes.com.

A school bus travels over bumpy roads. Vote yes for safe roads on May 5.

Your support is essential in getting Proposal 1 passed. There are multiple ways you can help and here are some steps we hope you will take:

– Pass a resolution in support of Proposal 1. We have prepared a sample resolution for you here.

– Send an op-ed or letter to the editor to your local media. There are multiple letter samples to pick from here.

– Sign up at the official campaign website here.

If you have about Proposal 1 please contact the League’s John LaMacchia at 517-908-0303, jlamacchia@mml.org.

Matt Bach is director of media relations for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org.

The League supports a transportation funding solution that covers all forms of transportation, not just roads.

Governor Snyder announced today (Dec. 18, 2014) that he and legislative leaders have come to an agreement on transportation funding. All votes from the House and Senate are expected today.

The plan calls for several statutory changes and is heavily reliant on a 1% increase in sales tax that will be put on the ballot May 2015. If all is approved, it will raise about $1.3 billion annually for roads and transit. The package also includes additional funding for local governments outside of the road funding formula.

The League and its partners are still combing through the details of the plan and we will have a full analysis to the members as soon as possible.

Here are some of the details that have emerged: This is a comprehensive proposal to address the dramatic shortfall that exists in Michigan’s transportation system. The announced plan is contingent upon voter approval, but provides significant new money do address our deteriorating transportation system.  Some key funding components of the plan include:

• $1.2 billion annually of new money for roads
• $94 million of new money for local government
• $112 million for transit
• $300 million for schools

Click here for a decent breakdown of the transportation funding plan, with additional details, by the Associated Press.

League members with additional questions about the plan can contact the League’s John LaMacchia II a jlamacchia@mml.org and 517-908-0303.

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

The League supports a comprehensive transportation funding solution that services all modes of transportation, including roads, rails, trails, and ports.

Usually the term is “hurry up and wait,” but this week when it comes to transportation funding in Lansing it’s more like “wait and possibly hurry up.”

That’s the situation currently at the state Capitol. Michigan legislators have been meeting behind closed doors to come up with a transportation funding package. The Michigan Municipal League is anxiously waiting to see what they’ll come up with. Once the League learns what the proposal is we could very well be asking our members to do a “hurry up and do XYZ” scenario. So we’re asking our members to be in stand-by mode and ready to make phone calls and send emails if necessary.

Of course, we’re hoping the lawmakers come up with a transportation funding solution that does not negatively impact communities. If that happens, we may ask you to contact your lawmakers in support of the plan.

Here are some links to recent blogs we’ve written on the issue that explain what’s happened up to this point:

Dec. 12: Transportation Funding Bills Sent to Conference

Dec. 9: League Needs Your Help on Transportation Issue

Dec. 8: Ask Michigan Senators to Pass Comprehensive Transportation Funding Plan

Related: Bills Requiring Regulation of Transportation Network Companies Dead This Session!

For questions regarding the transportation funding issue, contact the League’s John LaMacchia II at jlamacchia@mml.org and 517-908-0303.

This morning the House Committee on Michigan Competitiveness refused to hear our testimony in opposition to House Bill 5977. So we did a video of what we would have said and posted it on the internet and on our social media outlets (Facebook and Twitter).

This is an extremely harmful piece of  legislation that would prohibit local units of government from creating a “community benefits ordinance”. The League vehemently opposes this bill because it is an egregious violation of local control.

Currently, Michigan communities are allowed to negotiate with developers and contractors when developing certain parcels of property. A developer, for example, may ask for a tax break and the city, in return for the tax break, could have the developer expand or repave a road or street that will service the new project. The city, in exchange for grants, tax abatements or other economic development incentives, could ask the developer to hire local workers, pay a certain level of wages or benefits and engage certain subcontractors or local businesses.

This give-and-take-type of negotiations is common and extremely beneficial to a community. However, this legislation would end all that and drastically tie the hands of local governments. The bill would prohibit a local government from creating a community benefits ordinance and doing negotiations for the betterment of the community. Imagine a roofer coming to your house and you not being able to negotiate the price of the new roof, the color, the type of materials used or anything to do with that roof. That’s what this bill does.

The committee first met on this issue last week and met again on it this morning. We were expecting to testify but weren’t allowed and instead the committee reported the bill to the full House. Please contact your legislator and ask him or her to oppose!

Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the League handling municipal finance issues.  She can be reached at sharkins@mml.org or 517-908-0306.

There are many transit options in Michigan and the state needs a comprehensive funding plan that will support all of them.

The Michigan Municipal League needs every mayor, manager, council member and municipal employee to call their state Senators today and ask them to reject the House transportation plan and pass the transportation-funding solution approved by the Senate on Nov. 13.

The Senate’s plan provides real support for our complete transportation system. The House proposal, passed late Thursday without a single Democratic vote, would shift dollars away from local governments, schools, transit and the general fund into roads.

The House plan relies on projected revenue increases, wouldn’t allow communities to benefit from a growing economy, and claims it would “hold communities harmless.” But we’ve played this game with revenue sharing dollars. The League has very serious concerns and we need your help to express our strong opposition to this proposal.  Shifting money over to road funding is not a comprehensive solution to the road funding problem. For additional details on the two plans go here.

Call your Senators today and tell them to support the Senate plan and oppose the House proposal. Go here to our Action Center to get their contact information. Here are some talking points to use when calling them:

• We need to fix the roads and our transportation system without hurting local governments, schools and public transit.
• We stand behind Governor Snyder and his desire to solve this road-funding problem with new revenue. Taking money from others is not the right solution.
• The legislature should not solve the road funding problem by reducing revenue sharing and relying on “projected economic growth” forecasts to make up for lost revenue. This is a risk we cannot afford.
  

  East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett talks transit on Let It Rip.

To help craft your responses, check out a recent interview League Board Vice President and East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett did on Fox 2 Detroit. On the “Let It Rip” program with Rep. Anthony Forlini, Triplett did an excellent job discussing why the Senate proposal is best, how the House plan would hurt communities, schools and transit, and why additional revenue is needed to support a comprehensive transportation plan. To hear Triplett’s responses to hard-hitting questions, watch segment 1 and segment 2 from the show.

If you have additional questions, please contact the League’s John LaMacchia II at 517-908-0303 or at jlamacchia@mml.org.