Michigan Municipal League CEO Dan Gilmartin was the focus of a recent article on the financial challenges facing Michigan citie. The article in the Michigan Report by Gongwer News Services was posted online Nov. 22, 2010 and is only available to Gongwer subscribers. If you’re a Gongwer subscriber go here to view the story. But if you’re not a Gongwer subscriber let me summarize what it says.
The news angle for the piece was about the City of Hamtramck looking to seek bankruptcy protection and Gilmartin explained that many Michigan communities are struggling financially and looking at a variety of options. He said other cities and villages throughout the state have cut emergency services, ended services and closed parks as a way to keep their budgets balanced. "There's a number of communities around state that are in difficult straits," Gilmartin explained.
Gilmartin then explained how revenue sharing to Michigan communities has been continually cut by the state further adding to the financial difficulties. "The state has basically been balancing its budget for the last decade on the backs of locals," Gilmartin said. "That exacerbated the problem from the economy."
The term “revenue sharing” is a misnomer because the funds were intended to replace taxing authority that was taken from local governments. "It's not really a sharing situation; it's a partnership," Gilmartin told Gongwer. "That was a partnership that worked for decades, but when the state ran into its own problems, it hijacked the funds that came to locals."
Also adding to the financial challenges are current state laws in place that make it difficult for communities to consolidate services and save money. "If the state would allow for local units to do more in terms of consolidating services without holdups, we would be better off," he said.
Gilmartin also talked about the new leadership coming to Lansing and how the League and Michigan communities are “cautiously optimistic that we’ve got a group that’s going to listen to us in January.” He hopes the changes will get broad support because the fiscal problems are hitting communities of all shapes and sizes. “It’s not just core cities; it’s extending to the suburbs,” Gilmartin said. “They are not able to provide the levels of services that quite frankly will make us competitive.”
Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org or (734) 669-6317.
Dan Gilmartin
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