Inside 208

Late last week, the Governor and leaders in the House and Senate came to an agreement on spending targets for the upcoming budget year.  Now that these department-level spending targets have been set, conference committees have begun scheduling meetings to finalize their pieces of the overall budget.  With this being a...

Last week was a busy week in Lansing as the Legislature began reporting budget bills from their respective Appropriations subcommittees and held hearings on a host of different pieces of legislation in preparation for their spring recess. Following last Thursday’s action, they are now on break until April 10. State Budget...

NEW: Media coverage on Dan Gilmartin’s testimony: Detroit Free Press: “Michigan’s Lousy Roads: Congressional Panel Get an Earful” and same article on Wopular. WJR Radio: Paul W. Smith Talks with Dan Gilmartin from Washington D.C. Dave Aklery Show on WILS Radio 1320: “Dan Gilmartin” News Talk 94.9 WSJM: “Municipal League Wants...

WATCH the hearing live here TODAY (March 13, 2018) at 2:30 p.m.: https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/ Michigan Municipal League CEO and Executive Director Dan Gilmartin will speak before Congress in Washington D.C. this week about infrastructure needs. We all know how ferociously bad Michigan’s roads are. Now Washington, D.C. is going to learn. Gilmartin has...

Governor Snyder recently unveiled his “Marshall Plan” for talent. It’s designed to combat the more than 811,000 career openings that will need to be filled through 2024 in fields that are facing a talent shortage. The plan calls for a $100 million budget injection for a five-year work plan to...

Governor Snyder presented the FY2019 state budget to a joint hearing of the House and Senate Appropriations committees Wednesday morning.  Matching his tone following January’s consensus revenue estimating conference and his comments about spending restraint during the recent State of the State address, the budget didn’t offer many surprises. The...

While last week’s House and Senate adjournment merely marks the mid-point of this two-year legislative session, that did not mean that the Legislature coasted into their holiday break. Highlighted by the intense activity surrounding OPEB reform, both legislative chambers pursued aggressive agendas in the final days before adjourning.  Numerous bills...

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has re-evaluated its decision regarding performance audits. Upon receiving numerous audits as well as concerns regarding the value of these audits, MDOT is no longer requesting that these audits be completed and submitted to the department. Therefore, all local road agencies are not required...

The League is working with MDOT to get your feedback!  The department would like to engage in a more consistent and aligned approach to satisfying their duty of ensuring local agency program compliance with state and federal requirements.  In order to do so, They need to identify areas of construction...

The federal government has announced it is now accepting applications for the FY 2017 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, with $500 million in available funds for infrastructure projects including roads. The application deadline for the 2017 TIGER solicitation is October 16. The Department of Transportation will hold public...