Highlights of General Assembly

SEMCOG's General Assembly, held on March 25, 2004, featured a panel discussion on sorting out the challenges of municipal finance. Taylor Mayor Gregory Pitoniak moderated the panel comprised of Mike McGee, Miller Canfield; Joe Ohren, Eastern Michigan University; and Earl Ryan, Citizens Research Council. Here are some of the key points from that discussion:

• SEMCOG was encouraged to continue to raise the issue of municipal finance, but should understand that change will not come easy.
• A better economy won't fix the problem. Local governments will need to reinvent themselves. Even politically stable, well-managed communities could be headed for financial hardships in the near future.
• Intergovernmental cooperation, dealing with issues on an areawide basis, and figuring out the best way to manage private-public partnerships, should be key components of how local governments operate. Jointly providing services makes sense, but isn't easy.
• Michigan continues to use the tax system used in the 1930s-1970s. The economy has changed dramatically in the last 25 years. There has been a strong shift to a service-based economy. We need to consider a tax on services as this is the segment of the economy that is growing. We also need to consider a tax on catalog and Internet sales. Michigan needs to tax the economy of 2004, not the economy of 1980.
• Michigan is not a high-tax state when compared with the other states. This comparison puts Michigan near the national average. However, Michigan is the second highest in the U.S. in state taxes, but the lowest in local taxes. This occurred under Proposal A when school financing shifted from property taxes to the state.
• Local units of government have only the powers given to them by the state legislature. Tools to raise local government revenue are limited and further constrained by the courts. Most revenues come from property taxes. More options for local governments have to come from the legislature.
• Yes, the municipal finance system is broken. Needed significant structural change is unlikely for the near future. Local elected officials need to help the public understand this.
  
• Two recent reports were discussed and recommended as reading for all Southeast Michigan communities. The Michigan Municipal League and Plante & Moran released a study that shows that local communities in Michigan are headed for financial crises and service cuts unless the state legislature acts quickly. System Failure: Michigan's Broken Municipal Finance Model can be accessed at www.mml.org. Huntington Woods formed a committee of residents whose mission was to maintain the quality of life, public services, and neighborhoods in Huntington Woods while keeping city taxes and fees affordable for generations of residents. The final report of the Ad Hoc Committee is available on Huntington Woods' Web site æ www.ci.hungington-woods.mi.us.

Contact: Amy Malmer, SEMCOG Legislative Affairs Coordinator.

Southeast Michigan Water and Sewer Service Providers will meet on April 20

Many Southeast Michigan communities are not able to take advantage of low-interent loans available through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) or Drinking Water Revolving Fund (DWRF) programs. The reasons communities are not applying for these loans go beyond the current economic situation. Low interest rates through the commercial bond market, uncertainty that funds will be available from the programs, the high cost of preparing an application, and a time-consuming and complicated application process have discouraged at least a few municipalities from pursuing these loans.

The Southeast Michigan Water and Sewer Service Providers will meet on Tuesday, April 20, 2004, at 9 a.m. in SEMCOG's downtown Detroit office to explain recent changes to the loan programs, as well as to continue seeking constructive suggestions for additional change that would improve municipal participation. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will discuss the loan programs and address the concerns Southeast Michigan municipalities have when applying for a loan. Contact: Ted Starbuck, Senior Planner, SEMCOG Environmental Programs.

SEMCOG University: Redeveloping brownfields and greyfields scheduled for April 29

How developers can work with local governments to advance redevelopment projects will be the topic of a new SEMCOG University workshop, Making your development work: Redeveloping brownfields and greyfields into goldfields, on Thursday, April 29, 2004, from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (registration begins at 8:30 a.m.) in SEMCOG's Buhl Building office in downtown Detroit.

The session is offered in conjunction with the Detroit District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI). It will look at specific cases of redevelopment projects that were made possible by successful application of Michigan's brownfield and obsolete property incentives. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and interact with the development community.

Robert Schostak, President of Schostak Brothers and Company, will be the keynote speaker, addressing the topic of redeveloping aging regional malls. Peter Allen, of University of Michigan and Peter Allen and Associates, will provide closing remarks.

SEMCOG University workshops are free-of-charge for SEMCOG members and partners; there is a $75 fee for nonmember local governments. Contact: Ken Bishop, SEMCOG Community and Economic Development, to RSVP by April 6. Register online at www.semcog.org; the link to the workshop is under Planning Issues on the home page.

Michigan to receive Emerald Ash Borer funding

Michigan will receive much-needed federal funding and resources for Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) eradication efforts. The United States Department of Agriculture indicated that they have allocated $28.2 million in federal funding for the remainder of 2004. Of that, efforts underway in Michigan are expected to receive the vast majority. Earlier this year, the state received approximately $11 million for its EAB efforts, but the funding was slated to run out at the end of April, just before the start of the insect's emergence when containment actions are most critical. Funding will be used by the state's Emerald Ash Borer Task Force to continue implementing the state's control and eradication strategy. For more information on EAB, visit www.michigan.gov/mda and click on "Emerald Ash Borer" in the Spotlight section.

Biofuel infrastructure project grants available

The Michigan Energy Office announces that it is accepting proposals for biofuel infrastructure projects. The maximum grant for a single project is $24,500. Private corporations; schools, colleges, and universities; state, local, and other units of governments; and agriculture cooperatives are eligible to submit proposals, which clearly plan, implement, and evaluate a biofuel infrastructure project. Applicants may propose the installation of multiple pumps, tanks, and/or refuelling sites. All projects must be based in Michigan. Proposals are due April 14, 2004. Contact: Kelly Launder, Michigan Energy Office, (517) 241-6223, or klaund@ michigan.gov.

SEMPeople

SEMCOG was saddened to learn of the March 15, 2004 death of Macomb County Commissioner Ralph Liberato.

SEMCOG is a regional planning partnership of governmental units serving 4.9 million people in the seven-county region of Southeast Michigan striving to enhance the region's quality of life.  Regional Update is a publication of SEMCOG, financed through funds from state and federal grants and dues from member communities. Maryann Mahaffey, Chairperson Council President, City of Detroit Paul E. Tait, Executive Director  Susan L. Stetler, Editor  SEMCOG contact information:  Southeast Michigan Council of Governments 535 Griswold Street, Suite 300 Detroit, MI 48226-3602 313-961-4266 - Fax 313-961-4869 staff e-mail:lastname@semcog.org  www.semcog.org

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Local Governments Advancing Southeast Michigan