The National League of Cities is hosting a free webinar tomorrow, March 26th.

Funding the Transportation System of Your Community’s Future
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
1:00 to 2:00 pm ET

Anticipated population growth in metropolitan centers are driving communities to think about how to fund transportation systems needed to meet current demands and future needs at the same time. But challenges can arise with budgetary shortfalls, competing local priorities, and the need to plan for both economically and environmentally sustainable places to live and work.

The National League of Cities and Transportation for America will share how Indianapolis, IN has been addressing their transportation obstacles and building a multimodal network that is able to create and provide access to jobs. Webinar participants will learn how to engage a wide variety of stakeholders and how to come together to think forwardly and creatively about their transportation needs and the impact federal dollars are having on their local projects. The webinar will also go over some of the opportunities and challenges in the current transportation bill, MAP-21 and what the outlook is for local governments with the next bill.

Participants Include:
Julia Pulidindi, National League of Cities
Sarah Kline, Research Director, Transportation for America
David Rosenberg, Director of Enterprise Development, Mayor Gregory A. Ballard’s Office, City of Indianapolis, IN
Mike Terry, President and CEO, IndyGo
Sean Northup, Assistant Executive Director, Indy MPO

This is a free webinar. Please feel free to share with others who may be interested. To register for the webinar, click here.

Summer Minnick is the Director of Policy Initiatives and Federal Affairs. She can be reached at 517-908-0301 or sminnick@mml.org.

Media from all parts of Michigan have reported on the Michigan Municipal League’s revenue sharing study that showed the state has diverted $6.2 billion from local communities in the last decade. The League released the study last week during our Capital Conference and sent press releases to dozens of media outlets.

Here is a sampling of some of the articles done so far:
– Michgian cities slam state for holding onto $6.2 billion: Detroit News

– Michigan’s $6.2 billion raid on revenue sharing? See how much local communities lost since 2003: mlive.com statewide

– Wyandotte’s deficit tied to decline in state revenue sharing: The News Heard, the Voice of Downriver

– Revenue sharing could have kept Lincoln Park out of financial crisis, officials say: The News Heard, the Voice of Downriver

– Macomb cities lost more than $100 million due to state cuts: Macomb Daily Tribune

– Michigan Municipal League says Legislature diverted funding; Midland loses $10.9 million: Midland Daily News

– Our View: State turning corner on revenue sharing: Midland Daily News editorial

– Report says Flint lost out on nearly $55 million in revenue sharing in last decade: Flint Journal/mlive.com

– Six things Flint could have paid for with $55 million in revenue sharing: Flint Journal/mlive.com

– Michigan Cities contend lost $6.2 billion in lost revenue: Metro Times, Detroit

The League study showed that communities from Marquette to St. Joseph and everywhere in between are among the Michigan cities and villages that lost hundreds of millions of dollars in statutory revenue sharing over the past decade because the governor and Legislature diverted the funds to the state budget.

If the funds had not been diverted by state lawmakers, the fiscal crises facing many local Michigan communities today might not be so severe.

Statutory revenue sharing funds are earmarked by state law for local communities across Michigan to support essential local services including police and fire, water systems, road maintenance, parks and libraries, and more. The funds represent a percentage of sales tax revenues collected at the local levels. Instead, between 2003 and 2013, the governor and Legislature diverted $6.2 billion in statutory revenue sharing from local communities to plug holes in the state budget and to pay for tax cuts for businesses.

Much of this data was also included in the March/April 2014 edition of the Michigan Municipal League Review magazine for an article titled, “The Great Revenue Sharing Heist” by Anthony Minghine, associate executive director and chief operations officer for the Michigan Municipal League. The article is available at mml.org: http://www.mml.org/advocacy/great-revenue-sharing-heist.html.

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

On the final session day of Sunshine Week, the House passed HB 4001, a bill that makes numerous changes to the FOIA law, making it more costly to comply and more punitive for local units of government if a mistake is made.  The bill passed in bipartisan fashion, 102 supporting and 8 opposing.

The House passed version of the legislation is here.  While we recognize this version is improved from the introduced version, we still have a number of concerns with it and remain in opposition.  Additionally, there are many punitive damages for local units of government who are abusing FOIA or those who may have made a mistake in processing but there is nothing in the legislation to address abuses on the other side.

This bill now moves onto the Senate. I would encourage you to contact your Senator and relay the impact this will have on your communities to them.

Nikki Brown is a legislative associate for the League.  She can be reached at nbrown@mml.org or 517-908-0305. 

This week the House Tax Policy Committee voted out a ten bill package that represents months of negotiations on personal property tax (PPT) reform. The Michigan Municipal League’s message on PPT has consistently been 100 percent, guaranteed replacement. The bills do represent 100 percent replacement and a more stable reimbursement mechanism.

The bills, Senate Bills 821-830, now head to the House floor. We expect the House will vote on the legislation next week. We anticipate these bills will continue moving quickly through the legislative process, likely making it to the Governor’s desk before spring break in April.

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

This week the House passed Senate Bill 636, a bill that would give phone companies the ability to transition from traditional land lines to internet-based service beginning January 1, 2017.

The bill would amend the Michigan Telecommunications Act to do make a number of changes including eliminating a requirement for a Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) proceeding for a telecommunication provider to discontinue basic local exchange or toll service to an exchange, beginning January 1, 2017. It would also require a provider wishing to discontinue service to notify the MPSC, the provider’s customers, any interconnecting providers, and the public at the same time as filing a petition for discontinuance with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The bill would further require a provider to notify the same parties again upon the FCC’s approval, at least 90 days before discontinuing service. It would also allow the MPSC to issue an order allowing the current provider to provide the service until another willing provider was available, if the MPSC determined that another provider was not capable of providing the service.

The legislation now heads to the Governor for his signature.

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

Today, the House Commerce Committee passed House Bill 5097, a bill that would exempt police and fire from PA 54 so they can have retroactive pay increases after a contract expires. In 2011 the legislature passed a number of reforms to help employers control costs and be better stewards of taxpayer resources. One of the, if not the, most significant reform was to prohibit retroactive pay increases after a contract has expired. This game changing statute, PA 54 of 2011, has helped communities settle contracts more quickly and provides more certainty in municipal budgets. Passage of HB 5097 would be detrimental to our ability to settle contracts quickly and efficiently.

I urge you to contact your legislators to let them know how detrimental this carve out would be. The arguments the public safety groups use for supporting this bill are that the number of PA 312 filings would proliferate and the legislature only intended this bill to impact teachers.

According to the Michigan Employment Relations Commission there were only 43 PA 312 filings in 2013 as opposed to 69 in 2011. PA 312 filings are significantly lower than they were before enactment of PA 54.

In addition, even if the legislature only intended this for teachers, it has been a game changer for municipal budgets, and it’s critical that we keep this tool to allow local units the opportunity to settle contracts expeditiously and save taxpayers money.

We appreciate all the members who have already contacted their lawmakers on this issue and we hope others follow their lead. It is critical that you please contact your legislators and ask them to OPPOSE House Bill 5097. You can find the contact information for your Legislators here.

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

This morning the House Tax Policy Committee took a second day of testimony on a ten bill package that represents months of negotiations on personal property tax (PPT) reform. The Michigan Municipal League’s message on PPT has consistently been 100 percent, guaranteed replacement. The bills do represent 100 percent replacement and a more stable reimbursement mechanism.

The League testified in support of the legislation today and was joined in voicing their support by Mayor Jack O,Reilly from Dearborn and Mayor Kurt Dykstra from Holland. Both Mayor O’Reilly and Mayor Dykstra did an excellent job expressing the views of the League and the positive impact this legislation will have on their communities.

The bills, Senate Bills 821-830, will receive another committee hearing and be voted on next week (3/19). We anticipate these bills will continue moving quickly through the legislative process, likely making it to the Governor’s desk before spring break in April.

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

This morning the House Tax Policy Committee took testimony from the Lieutenant Governor on a ten bill package that represents months of negotiations on personal property tax (PPT) reform. The Michigan Municipal League’s message on PPT has consistently been 100 percent, guaranteed replacement. The bills do represent 100 percent replacement and a more stable reimbursement mechanism.

The bills, Senate Bills 821-830, will receive another day of testimony tomorrow (3/12). We anticipate the bills moving quickly through the legislative process, likely before spring break in April.

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

The National Main Streets Conference is coming to Detroit in May and the Michigan Main Street Center is calling all hands on deck to ensure a great conference experience by all.  Nearly 200 volunteers are needed from May 17 to the 22 to provide support and assistance throughout all areas of the conference.  Because of this, the Michigan Main Street Center is looking to local municipalities and those working on downtown development to meet the challenge.

Check out the link below for a complete list of volunteer opportunities that range in time, commitment, location, and training.  Volunteers committing more than eight hours of time at the conference will receive a 50% discount in registration costs.  All volunteers will enjoy swag, an on-site reception and the peace of mind knowing that they helped contribute to the best National Main Street conference to date!

Volunteer Spot Link

For questions regarding volunteer opportunities or the National Main Street Conference in Detroit check out www.preservationnation.org/msconference or email events@nmsdetroit.org.

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