Last week the League met with the Lieutenant Governor to discuss the latest details on personal property tax. In short the plan includes the following: - Local units of government can levy an essential services assessment (ESA) on industrial real property…

The House Tax Policy Committee took testimony on an S-1 substitute for SB 972 (Sen. Hildenbrand, R-Lowell). This bill would require local municipalities to include past due amounts on all tax bills.  Specifically, it will require that a taxpayer be…

Wasting no time at all, both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) have made statements today saying they have no plans to back down from their stances regarding expiring tax cuts and massive spending…

Applications for the competitive grant assistance program (formerly EVIP grants) are now available through the Department of Treasury's website: http://www.michigan.gov/treasury/0,4679,7-121-1751_2197_58826_62422---,00.html The application period is from October 1, 2012 through December 3, 2012. Local units who are consolidating units or collaborating…

This week Lansing's local political publication, MIRS, indicated the Speaker has personal property tax form as a top issue to handle in the lame duck session being held the end of November/beginning of December for 2-3 weeks. The League, along…

This afternoon the House passed SB 1129, a bill allowing local units of government to bond for costs associated with switching from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC). In its current version the bill also allows for bonding for…

This afternoon the House Appropriations Committee reported two pension flexibility bills the League has been pushing: HB 5725 which amends the MERS statute to remove barriers to switching from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) and SB 1129 which…

Please remember that all municipalities need to provide their Accountability and Transparency EVIP information to the State Department of Treasury by October 1st (Monday).  THIS INCLUDES MUNICIPALITIES THAT PROVIDED THIS INFORMATION LAST YEAR.Municipalites that do not provide this information will…

The Michigan Department of Treasury released the new PA 152 (Public Employer Contributions to Medical Benefit Plans) hard cap amounts  on September 18th, 2012. These caps will apply to medical benefit plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2013.  This…