You can put whatever you want to write in a blog post.

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The Michigan Chapter of the National Brownfield Association, in partnership with several other organizations including the MEDC and the MDEQ, is sponsoring a program at the Lansing Center on November 13.

The agenda will include the latest developments on brownfield redevelopment initiatives, including legislative and policy changes under Act 381, the MDEQ Grant and Loan Program, the Community Revitalization Program, and Part 201. You will hear about new Due Care developments, vapor intrusion  developments and new ASTM standards and how these changes affect redevelopment.  Experts will also describe environmental insurance products that can help brownfield redevelopment projects as well as case studies of two prominent brownfield projects in the state of Michigan.  Speakers will include representatives of the MEDC, the MDEQ, and the private sector.

The program will run from 9:00 a.m. until approximately 3:00 p.m., and lunch will be provided.

Registration information will be forthcoming within the next two weeks. Stay tuned.

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.

I had the opportunity to attend the recent national meeting of CEOs for Cities. This is one of the first organizations I came into contact with as we began exploring new and innovative strategies being used to create economic prosperity in communities across the county and the world.  Its annual meetings have always been a great way to meet people involved in economic development, non-profit work, foundations and local government among others and network, learn and steal ideas.

While the focus of the meeting was on collaboration, one of the recurring themes from speakers was that city leaders are on their own when it comes to working to make their communities better places.  Certainly, we should expect little or no help from the federal government. Even when they get their act back together, the fact is that federal resources will increasingly be directed toward mandatory spending, squeezing out discretionary program spending such as CDBG that communities have used to improve quality of life.

So let me repeat what I heard in the strongest possible terms.  First from Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution who noted that power and responsibility for getting things done is clearly being forced down to city leaders and those finding success understand that the restructured economy relies on innovation and creativity. Furthermore, they also understand that cities are made up of not just governments but networks, and successful networks build upon their unique assets. Most importantly however is the fact that metros thrive only when their cores thrive.

Anil Menon, President of Cisco Smart+Connected Communities, followed the next day by telling people that the answers to creating wealth and prosperity lies within our cities. That there is not time waste in “waiting till later” and that cities cannot continue to address issues in silos. If you look at your city and say this is not what I would build today, you need to start over. And, while its fine to act locally, you better have a global focus.

The next several years will continue to be disruptive and full of change. We need to be spending our time, energy and resources on what counts…developing our assets and getting about the business of building our economy.

SB 247 (Sen Virgil Smith – Detroit), a bill to establish a 2 am to 4 am liquor licenses in DDAs, had a testimony only hearing today in the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee.  This legislation would allow an on-premise license to apply to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission for a permit to serve alcohol from 2 am to 4 am for a $10,000 fee.  The $10,000 fee is dispersed as follows: 85% to the local policy department, 5% to local municipality for administrative purposes, and 10% to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission for administrative purposes.

In the introduced bill, there is no local government approval needed before a license is given.  The $10,000 fee is also a very low number and wouldn’t provide the needed financial support for a local unit of government in providing adequate policing of these establishments from 2 am to 4 am.  The League is opposed to the legislation as introduced.  However, we have had great conversations with Sen. Smith and his staff and he is working with us on both of our issues.  I would like to thank Sen. Smith and his staff for all of their work in addressing our concerns.

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.

Yesterday SB 313, legislation that could cripple local rental inspection programs, was passed out of the Senate Local Government and Elections committee around 5:20 pm.  It is now on the senate floor where the sponsor has publicly committed to working on this before asking for a vote. The League along with about 11 communities testified in opposition to the legislation.  We also had a number of communities submit written testimony to the committee members. A substitute was adopted that reinserted language that was stricken from the law in the introduced version saying municipality could inspect recurring offenders on a more frequent basis (thus continuing to allow the frequent inspections of repeat offenders).

The legislation, which affects communities over 10,000, limits both registration fees and inspection fees for rental inspections as well as changes the timeline for inspections to not less than 6 years but no longer than 10 years. The bill would also require an inspector to inform the lessee of their right to refuse an inspection and request and obtain permission from the lessee to inspect. Here is a memo with concerns the League has and which were conveyed by all the members during the hearing yesterday: SB313 Memo SenRobertson_RentalHousing_edits

In a time when we need to be focusing on creating municipalities that attract talented people who want to live, play and stay in our Michigan communities, this is a giant step backwards.  Research shows there are more and more people, spanning multiple generations, who are not looking to own their home.  They want a variety of different housing rental options.  Our local communities across this state are looking, and will continue to look, at housing options to attract people to their communities.  That being said, community leaders need to be able to ensure they have quality, safe, reputable housing options for those residents by having effective rental inspection programs if there is a need for one in the community and at a timeline that fits those needs. General fund dollars are not there to subsidize anymore of the program than they already are (if they are able to at all). Rental registration and inspection fees allow them to recoup some of the cost of providing the service to the community.

I would like to say a big THANK YOU to all of our members who came up to testify and/or submitted written testimony. Hearing directly from the local communities and how this will affect you specifically brings a whole new level of life to the

I would encourage you to contact your senator and let them know the impacts this will have on your rental inspection program if you have one. 

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.

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 application for Fiscal Year 2014 – Round 1 of the Competitive Grant Assistance Program (CGAP) is now available. The application is available on the Department of Treasury’s website.

There is a minimum of $15.0 million in CGAP funding available for this round.  Applications will be due to the Michigan Department of Treasury by December 30, 2013.  Starting on November 18, 2013, the grant panel will begin reviewing the grant applications submitted.  Qualified grants may be awarded on a rolling basis.

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 afternoon the Senate Local Government Committee unanimously passed Senate Bill 307, a bill introduced Senator Steve Bieda (D-Warren) that removes population thresholds for communities who want to use a police and fire special assessment as a revenue option. The committee adopted and passed a substitute version that you can view here: sb 307 substitute

Under the law currently a city with a population of under 15,000 may levy a police and fire special assessment. A city with a population of more than 15,000 and less than 70,000 in a county with a population between 230,000 and 235,000 may levy an assessment with a vote of the people. The only city that meets this very narrow criteria is the City of Saginaw.

Senator Bieda’s bill would eliminate the population threshold so that any city above 15,000 could levy a special assessment for police and fire under the Act with a vote of its electorate.  We are grateful to Sen. Bieda for introducing this important legislation and the committee chair, Sen. Robertson, for taking it up.

It now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

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 Senate Reforms, Restructuring and Reinventing Committee reported a package of bills, Senate Bills 541-545, that make positive clarifying changes to PA 152 of 2011, the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act.

Senate Bill 541 would amend the definition of “medical benefit plan”, which currently excludes benefits provided to individuals retired from a public employer. The bill also would exclude a public employer’s contributions to a fund used for the sole purpose of funding health care benefits available to public employees or elected public officials only upon retirement or separation from service.

Senate Bill 542 would amend the requirements regarding the cap on the dollar limit that a public employer may pay toward health care costs. The bill would also increase the multiplier used to calculate the cap on the total dollar amount that a public employer may pay toward health care costs for individual and spouse coverage;include individual plus one nonspouse dependent coverage within family coverage for cap calculation purposes; include elected officials in calculation of the cap; and exclude from calculation of the cap employees or elected officials who declined coverage.

Senate Bill 543 would amend provisions that allow a public employer to opt for a percentage limit on its medical plan contributions, instead of complying with the dollar amount limits, for a medical benefit plan coverage year. Under this option, a public employer may not pay more than 80% of the total annual costs of all of the medical benefit plans it offers or contributes to for its employees and elected public officials.

Senate Bill 544 would require any contracts or other agreements in effect on September 27, 2011, to conform to contribution limits under the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act. Currently, this applies to agreements in effect on September 15, 2011.

Senate Bill 545 would modify a provision that allows a local unit of government to exempt itself from the Act’s requirements by a two-thirds vote of its governing body each year, and requires a two-thirds vote to extend an exemption to a new year. The bill would require an exemption or extension vote to take place before the beginning of the medical benefit plan coverage year.

The League is supportive of these changes as they are important clarifications that will help with PA 152 compliance and interpretation from the Department of Treasury. The legislation now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

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