Inside 208

LANSING, Michigan – Officials from throughout the state representing cities, schools, libraries, police and fire stood together Wednesday and called for guaranteed replacement of Personal Property Tax dollars that Michigan lawmakers are proposing to cut. On Tuesday, Michigan legislators introduced a package of bills that phase out hundreds of millions...

This afternoon the Senate Economic Development committee passed SB 1064, a bill that pre-empts local zoning when it comes to colocation of wireless communications equipment on an existing tower. The bill was introduced yesterday afternoon and quickly passed through committee today, just over 24 hours after its introduction. The League...

LANSING, Michigan – About 20 Michigan mayors from throughout the state attended the annual Michigan Association of Mayors luncheon at the state Capitol in Lansing. The mayors met with their lawmakers to discuss the most pressing issues facing their communities, such as the decline of revenue sharing and the new...

This afternoon the House Oversight, Reforms and Ethics committee reported HB 5459, a bill that amends the Open Meetings Act (OMA). The intent of the bill is to create more transparency when there are “emergency” meetings that are unable to comply with the 18-hour reporting requirement. The committee passed a...

This morning, the series of bills that phase out hundreds of millions of dollars currently going to local communities through the personal property tax were introduced. The bills are very similar to what the League has reported and the Governor’s office has spoken about in the media. Industrial personal property...

Althought the House and Obama administration have each put forward their vision of the federal budget for fiscal year 2013, no one expects much to happen until after the November election. This of course means election year politics will play a heavy hand in what the presumptive Republican nominee, Governor Romney,...

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder talks Thursday, April 12, 2012, with Michigan mayors at the Michigan Municipal League’s Lansing office. View more photos in this set on flickr.LANSING, Michigan – More than 20 mayors and local officials from cities around Michigan met at the League’s Capitol Office as part of a...

Congress is on their spring recess during the next two weeks, giving local officials a perfect opportunity to speak with them of issues of importance such as transportation and the 2013 budget. As you do so, please talk to them about the need for a longer term transportation funding bill...

As quickly as it was introduced, Republicans in Congress have passed their blueprint for the 2013 fiscal year. By a vote of 228-191, with no Democrats supporting and ten House Republicans also voting no, the proposal now goes on to the Senate where no resolve is expected until after the...

On March 28, Zeeland and Tecumseh had transportation projects selected for grant funding through the Transportation Economic Development Fund Category A grant program. The projects approved with Category A grant funding represent public investments of $1,683,814 supporting private industry development of over $108 million. Attached are the lists that include a...