Inside 208

The National Main Streets Conference is coming to Detroit in May and the Michigan Main Street Center is calling all hands on deck to ensure a great conference experience by all.  Nearly 200 volunteers are needed from May 17 to the 22 to provide support and assistance throughout all areas [...]

The White House has announced that $600 Million will be available for the next round of TIGER grants. The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) can be found on the DOT website at www.dot.gov/TIGER<http://www.dot.gov/TIGER along with information on upcoming informational webinars. Initially created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [...]

In 2011 the legislature passed a number of reforms to help employers control costs and be better stewards of taxpayer resources. One of the, if not the, most significant reform was to prohibit retroactive pay increases after a contract has expired. This game changing statute, PA 54 of 2011, has [...]

Yesterday afternoon the Senate General Government Appropriations Subcommittee heard testimony on the Economic Vitality Incentive Program (EVIP). The League testified about the need for additional funding and the problems with the program in general. The chair, Sen. John Pappageorge (R-Troy), indicated that he would not be including EVIP in the [...]

Ways and Means Chairman David Camp (R-MI) has released his long awaited tax reform proposal. And, unfortunately within the 1,000 page bill, there is an impact of the tax exempt nature of municipal bonds. It’s not a complete elimination, however it is significant in that, a greater proportion of investors are in [...]

This morning (March 4, 2014) the Michigan State Senate passed a 10-bill package that represents months of negotiations on personal property tax (PPT) reform. The Michigan Municipal League’s message on PPT has consistently been 100 percent, guaranteed replacement. The bills do represent 100 percent replacement and a more stable reimbursement [...]

The Senate passed SB 631, a bill that would give local communities the ability to regulate carrier pigeons (currently they are not allowed to so).  The local community cannot ban them but could regulate them.  A resident in Allen Park testified in support of this legislation given the situation she [...]

In 2011 the legislature passed a number of reforms to help employers control costs and be better stewards of taxpayer resources. One of the, if not the, most significant reform was to prohibit retroactive pay increases after a contract has expired. This game changing statute, PA 54 of 2011, has [...]

For years the League has been working on a tax reduction loophole that was created due to the 2002 Michigan Supreme Court case of WPW Acquisition Company v. City of Troy. After Proposal A created the term taxable value, the Legislature passed legislation that allowed for an increase and decrease [...]

This afternoon the Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed a ten bill package that represents months of negotiations on personal property tax (PPT) reform. The Michigan Municipal League’s message on PPT has consistently been 100 percent, guaranteed replacement. The bills do represent 100 percent replacement and a more stable reimbursement mechanism. [...]