The Michigan Association of Counties met March 24-26 in Lansing for its annual legislative conference to talk about a wide-ranging slate of issues facing the state.

Here are the key talking points:

 

Revenue sharing

• Please thank Governor Snyder for his FY 20 15 budget recommendation of 100 percent full funding for county revenue sharing in FY 20 15. This recommendation totals over $211 million.

• As the House and the Senate consider budgets, many items lied to county revenue sharing are up for discussion. Some would like to eliminate all county incentive program (CIP) categories while others would like to tell the county what they should spend part of those dollars on.

• Please ask your legislators to keep the full funding for county revenue sharing recommended by the governor, eliminate the CIP categories and not dictate how counties can allocate the funds.

 

Prevent future unfunded mandates

• In 2009, the Legislative Commission on Unfunded Mandates determined that more than $2.5 billion in services that can be measured, and billions more that cannot be measured, are provided by local units of government for free to the state of Michigan through unfunded mandates.

• There is little that can be done about past stale viola lions of the Constitution, however legislation can

and should be enacted that would require the state legislature to pay for any new mandates it imposes

on counties before compliance would be required. Bills are SB 495 – 498 and HB 5059 – 5060.

 

Reform Tax Capture Statutes

• Currently counties have limited say in the length and financial scope of tax capture districts.

• Most of the tax capture authorities have been capturing all of the growth in taxes for decades with no reselling of the baseline and with no consideration of the county’s obligations to provide services for the area.

• MAC is working with the House, Senate and the administration to ensure that counties have a voice in the economic development activities in their region by strengthening their voice in the tax capture and abatement process.

 

Consistent and Reliable Transportation Funding

• Michigan’s roads and crumbling infrastructure costs us more money each year, stifles economic growth and is in part to blame for many traffic accidents.

 

Personal Property Tax CPPTl

• In 2012, the legislature passed PPT reform giving eligible manufacturing businesses and small businesses an exemption from the tax. Reimbursement from the state was set at 80% of our losses.

• In addition to the reimbursement from the state, the legislature authorized allow local units to assess industrial property for 100% of their losses previously allocated to police, fire, ambulance and jail services.

• The new package of bills will eliminate the need for the local assessment on industrial property and will reimburse local units of government for 100% of their losses beginning in 201 6.

• The additional funds will come from a greater diversion of the state’s use tax revenue to the Local Community Stabilization Authority.

• All of the reforms are dependent on the passage of the ballot proposal scheduled for a vote on August 5, 2014.

• If the electorate votes yes on the proposal, the phase out of PPT_ for large eligible businesses will begin and local units will see 100% reimbursement of their losses.

• If the electorate votes no on the ballot proposal the PPT reforms will not go into effect and we will be

back to the drawing board which may jeopardize the level of reimbursement from the state.