Vol. 9, No. 24

December 20 , 2004

Highlights of Executive Committee meeting

SEMCOG's Executive Committee met on Friday, December 10, 2004, in SEMCOG's downtown Detroit office. The Executive Committee approved several action items including:

• an amendment to the FY 2004-2006 Transportation Improvement Program that will add eight projects; total increase from this amendment is $236.5 million, with $196.2 million in federal, $37.2 million in state, and $3.1 million in local funding;
• a resolution supporting improvements to the local government financing system through changes to the General Property Tax Act; and
• a resolution in support of  No Reason Absentee Balloting.

There was a discussion on the impediments to improving mass transit in Southeast Michigan. In general, four basic questions must be asked and answered in order to improve public transit in our region:

• What type of system are we going to build?
• How much is it going to cost and what is the source of funding?
• Who is going to run the system?
• Who is going to lead the campaign to solicit the needed funding?

The transit discussion will continue in 2005.

Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.

 

SEMCOG report analyzes region's migration trends

International migration has had a positive impact on Southeast Michigan, according to Migration and Its Impact on Southeast Michigan, 1990-2003, a report recently released by SEMCOG.

A region's population is influenced by migration (domestic and international) and by numbers of births and deaths. Currently, Southeast Michigan loses about 27,000 people per year in net domestic migration (more people leaving the region than coming to the region). That loss is tempered by international migration which brings about 18,000 people to the region per year. As a result of these factors, the region's growth rate is about 30 percent of the United States as a whole. Mexico, India, and Canada were the top three countries sending migrants to Southeast Michigan during the five-year period, 1995-2000. Seventy-eight percent of those from India had a college degree in 2000; of all recent international migrants over age 25 in 2000, 46 percent had a college degree. Southeast Michigan now has a greater percentage of college graduated (24.7%) than the U.S. as a whole (24.4%).

The report explains that about half of the net domestic losses from the region are due to people moving to other parts of Michigan. Within Southeast Michigan, the migration pattern is outward from Detroit and Wayne County into surrounding counties and some further movement from these counties out of the region. Oakland County has also lost some people to surrounding counties and beyond. Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, St. Clair, and Washtenaw Counties have all gained people from migration. Oakland County has been gaining significant numbers of higher-income households ($100,000 and over) as a result of migration. Losses from Wayne County and gains in the other five counties are broad-based across income and other demographic/economic groups.

"It is important to understand the population dynamics in Southeast Michigan," notes SEMCOG Executive Director Paul Tait. "These findings raise important concerns and are a call-to-action for the region. We must continue to improve the quality of life here to make Southeast Michigan more attractive to current residents and people from other areas."

Copies of Migration and Its Impact on Southeast Michigan, 1990-2003, are available for $20 from SEMCOG Information Services. It can also be downloaded in PDF from SEMCOG's Web site – www.semcog.org.

Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.

 

Call for projects for Surface Transportation Program (STP) safety funds

On November 5, 2004, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced a call for projects for FY 2006 for the Surface Transportation – Safety Program. SEMCOG subsequently mailed a follow-up letter to all cities, villages, and counties in Southeast Michigan. The role of SEMCOG is to analyze and prioritize project submissions by county; MDOT makes the final selection of project awards. Visit the SEMCOG Web site at www.semcog.org/TranPlan (in the right margin) for more information on the program and project application forms. The deadline for submitting project applications to SEMCOG is February 24, 2005.

Contact: Luke Hennings, Finance Analyst, SEMCOG Transportation Programs.

 

Manufactured housing report available online

A new report, Manufactured Housing Parks and Sites in Southeast Michigan, 2000-2004, is now available on SEMCOG's Web site. The report documents the number of manufactured housing parks, and sites within those parks, of communities in Southeast Michigan. According to the report, manufactured housing has grown by 7.2 percent since 2000, adding 5,019 sites. In comparison, total housing units in the region increased 4.1 percent over the same time period. Manufactured housing accounted for 3.7 percent of total housing units in the region in 2004. Southeast Michigan has 25 percent of the total manufactured housing parks in the state and 42 percent of the sites. The complete report can be found under Data at www.semcog.org.

Contact: SEMCOG Information Services.

 

DWSD meeting on water and sewer rates is January 13

Since October 2004, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) has been working in partnership with the Southeast Michigan Consortium for Water Quality and SEMCOG in coordinating a series of meetings regarding water and sewage rates with community representatives. These meetings have been used to present the technical information used in formulating water and sewer rates and to hear feedback from customers.

On January 13, 2005, DWSD will present the proposed wholesale water and sewer rates for FY 2005-2006. The meeting will be held at SEMCOG, with sewer rates being discussed from 10 a.m. to noon and the discussion of water rates beginning at 1 p.m. This is an opportunity to provide feedback to DWSD in an informal manner before the official Board of Water Commissioners Public Hearing on rates, which is scheduled for January 26, 2005. Additional information about this meeting is available at the DWSD Web site, www.dwsd.org.

Technical, administrative, and elected representatives from DWSD customer communities are urged to attend the January 13 meeting. Those attending both sessions or staying for lunch should RSVP to George Ellenwood, DWSD Public Affairs Manager, (313) 964-9460.

Contact: Ted Starbuck, Senior Planner, SEMCOG Environmental Programs.

 

SEMPeople

Tom Yack, Supervisor of Canton Township, was honored for Distinguished Service in Government by the Building Industry Association of Southeastern Michigan.

Canton Township and Orion Township received the "Promoting Active Communities" award from the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness for their efforts to promote healthy, active lifestyles for their citizens.

 

Best wishes from SEMCOG for a safe and happy holiday season.