While the battle over how to tackle state roads remains the main focus of Lansing lawmakers, a group of legislators are taking a look on an overlooked issue that affects communities across the entire state — including Dowagiac.

Rep. Aaron Miller (R-Sturgis) stopped by Monday’s meeting of the Dowagiac City Council to discuss a problem that he and several other lawmakers are hoping to solve in the coming weeks: the abuse of property tax rates by certain Michigan businesses.

Miller delivered a brief rundown of the situation during the public comment portion of the meeting, following up on a discussion he has had with several city officials during a recent visit to Dowagiac.

Miller, the state representative for the 59th house district, said that he would be supporting upcoming legislation that will attempt to address the practice of businesses lowering their property tax values through the Michigan Tax Tribunal. This practice, mostly employed by so called “big-box” businesses, involves companies receiving lower property valuations due to the fact their custom-built retail buildings are hard to sell on the market, Miller said.

“It’s really an issue of fairness,” Miller said. “It’s not fair for a store, or business or any entity to cut down on their property taxes when families don’t get that opportunity with their own homes.”

The proposed legislation is being developed by State Rep. John Kivela and Sen. Tom Casperson, both of whom represent the Upper Peninsula city of Marquette, where this practice has made a major impact on the region’s economy, Miller said. Communities across Michigan all suffer as a result of this problem, though, the lawmaker said.

“I look forward to signing on and supporting that legislation, because that will help our cities and our tax intake come tax time,” Miller said.

Miller expects a bill addressing the problem to be presented before the house sometime next month, he said.

“It’s bipartisan, so that means it has a better chance [of passing],” Miller added.

The representative also briefly addressed the recent failure of a road repair funding bill within the Michigan House of Representatives, saying that he believes a solution amendable to both parties could be worked out by fall.

“It’s definitely everybody’s top priority,” Miller said. “We all realize that especially our local roads need to be fixed. I think that’s obvious to everyone so hopefully we can get a good solution.”