Mayors, City Councilmembers, City Managers Urge Legislature:
Don’t Break the Promise — Again

On Wednesday, April 2nd, at the League's Capital Conference in Lansing, hundreds of mayors, city councilmembers and city managers from across Michigan launched the “Don’t Break the Promise" campaign to urge the Michigan Legislature to end six years of massive cuts to funding for essential local services.

In the past six years, the Legislature has cut $3 billion in “revenue sharing” that funds police patrols, fire fighters, municipal water systems, road maintenance, garbage collection, and other services essential to quality of life for residents of Michigan communities.

“The Legislature has broken its promise to local governments and their citizens year after year after year,” said Dan Gilmartin, executive director of the Michigan Municipal League (MML). “In next year’s state budget we’re urging lawmakers ‘don’t break the promise again.’”

In the 1920s, the Legislature made a promise to local governments: If local governments gave up the ability to levy many local taxes, the state will return tax dollars to local communities to help pay for core government services, such as police protection, fire services, roads, water, sewer, and garbage collection services.

Local governments receive two types of revenue sharing payments from the state: revenue sharing required by the constitution, and revenue sharing required by statute. The statutory portion calls for 21.3 percent of the first 4 percent of state sales tax revenues to be distributed to local governments under a formula set in Public Act 532 of 1998. Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s proposed Fiscal Year 2009 state budget would be the first step in returning full funding to locals. She has proposed a modest 4-percent increase in statutory revenue sharing for the 2009 budget, which takes effect October 1, 2008.

"Governor Granholm clearly recognizes that better communities mean a better Michigan,” said League President and Durand City Councilmember Deborah Doyle.  “We commend the Governor for proposing a revenue sharing increase and for calling on the Legislature to make it happen."

Robin Beltramini, vice president of the MML Board of Trustees and a Troy City Councilmember said, “We commend the House of Representatives for taking the first important step in increasing dollars for local services. When the argument in the House was ‘how much more?’ instead of ‘flat vs. cuts?’ we knew the Legislature was getting the message about local services. Now, we urge the Senate to pass this critically needed boost for essential services.”