Inside 208

The League’s Samantha Harkins. LANSING, Michigan – This morning (Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013)  the House Appropriations Subcommittee for General Government held testimony on the Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP). The League testified with concerns about the Governor’s failure to recommend an increase in EVIP as well as concerns regarding the...

The Department of Treasury has put together a spreadsheet to help calculate a the impact of the new personal property tax reform on our communities. You can find the sheet here: PPT Plan Local Unit Worksheet 12 17 12.xls (40.50 kb) Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for...

This morning Governor Snyder presented his 2014 budget recommendations. The recommendations include increased funding for transportation but no increase for the economic vitality and incentive program (EVIP). You can view the recommendations on the State Budget Office’s website. The budget includes the Governor’s proposal for an additional $1.2 billion in...

This morning at 11 the Governor will give his 2014 budget presentation. You can listen live online here. Samantha Harkins is the Director of State Affairs for the League. She can be reached at 517-908-0306 and by email at sharkins@mml.org.

William Mathewson talks to League members about the Open Meetings Act at an education session Wednesday in Ann Arbor. View more photos here. ANN ARBOR, Michigan – The first of a series of new training weeks kicked off today with sessions on the state’s Freedom of Information Act, Open Meetings...

Just a reminder that the next EVIP deadline for consolidation of services is February 1, 2013. To qualify for this category of EVIP local units must prepare consolidation plans. Please see the League’s EVIP page for specific information. Please be aware of the following critical correction to the January/February 2013...

This morning the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference was held, and the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies as well as the State Budget Director reached a consensus on economic and revenue figures for the rest of Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, FY 2014 and FY 2015. The consensus included net general fund/general...

With Congress and the President passing legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff, cities had a significant victory in that they did not eliminate the tax exemption on federal municipal bonds. While this is great news for cities and villages, we still need to be vigilant as we head into the...

This morning Governor Rick Snyder signed the personal property tax reform package, Senate Bills 1065-1071 and House Bills 6022, 6024-6026. The new laws are viewable on the legislative website. As noted in previous posts the League will continue working with the Legislature and Governor’s office in the new legislative session...

The past few days Speaker Boehner and President Obama have indicated that they have put tax increases and debt reductions on the table beyond what they had previously stated they would accept, signaling a glimmer of hope that a resolution on the pending tax increases and spending cuts known as...