Flint Councilwoman Monica Galloway shares why the state should invest in local communities

On the most-recent SaveMICity podcast, the League’s Deputy Executive Director & COO Tony Minghine sits down with Flint Councilmember Monica Galloway to discuss what she learned from SaveMICity’s ambassador program and how its mission applies directly to her community.

Galloway was one of the first local officials to be trained as a SaveMICity ambassador. She’s part of a cadre of local officials who are working around the state to help communities understand the need for the state to fix its broken municipal finance system.

As part of her ambassador training, Galloway said she learned about the SaveMICity education campaign and revenue sharing. She also recently shared her story at the Village of Elkton.

“One of the things that I took away was the need to research the genesis of where SaveMICity came from and the impact of lack of revenue sharing,” said Galloway. “It was eye-opening, and when I began to look at the difference that that made and where our community is, in particular, I thought, what are the things that could have been different if this had been discussed even before now?”

According to the Michigan Department of Treasury, Flint has lost more than $101 million in revenue sharing since 2002. The lack of funding over the course of many years led Flint into financial crisis, resulting in emergency management and the tragic decision to switch water sources. The years of disinvestment in Flint by the state and choices made to cut costs ultimately contributed to the Flint water crisis.

However, it’s important to recognize that while other places may not yet have experienced devastation like Flint, cities and towns everywhere are suffering from the loss of revenue sharing and the state’s chronic failure to invest in our communities. You can find out how your community has been affected by the state’s lack of investment here.

“Looking at the other municipalities, looking at how much the state’s revenue has increased and how the municipalities that survive off of them has decreased, it’s important to recognize where we are as a state and how that’s impacting us,” Galloway said.

In addition, Galloway learned that making people aware of the broken system is essential for any meaningful change. Having an open dialogue with community members about the reality of the situation provides transparency as well as fresh ideas on how to tackle the problem, she added.

“If you tap into the community that you live in and really begin to engage people to say, ‘Hey, what do you think about this? How can we do this differently?’ I think you will find yourself moving far further along toward the solution,” Galloway said.

Getting involved with SaveMICity ambassador program has not only helped Galloway become more educated on municipal finance issues, but also made her want to focus on the future.

“That was one of the things I think the ambassador program did, is take us away from the blame game,” Galloway said. “Allowing us to look at how we pursue the future, so that was helpful.”

Listen to the full interview here: https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-r82nn-b54249?utm_campaign=w_share_ep&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=w_share