New Revenue Sharing Loss Numbers Show another Half Billion Dollars Diverted from Cities, Villages, Townships, and Counties

The 2017 revenue sharing numbers from the Michigan Department of Treasury show that another half billion dollars have been diverted from cities, villages, townships, and counties. That brings the total amount lost in revenue sharing since 2002 to $8.6 billion.

That is another half billion dollars that won’t be invested at the local level in public safety, roads, sidewalks, street lights, parks, water lines, or business and talent attraction.

That is another half billion dollars that won’t go to solving local challenges by the people who know those challenges best – residents and their local elected representatives.

The demand for more – and improved – local services is there. We know this because on average 80 percent or more of local millage ballot proposals pass in Michigan each election. Residents are demanding more, are willing to pay for it, and are making their voices heard at the ballot box.

But do residents need to be raising taxes on themselves? SaveMICity would say otherwise. Certainly some services are best funded through a millage. Basic services like police and local roads, however, are not.  The Revenue Sharing Search Tool has been updated with the 2017 Treasury data. When you take the time to find out how much the state has diverted from your community, you may pause before voting “yes” on those millage ballot proposals.

Raising millage rates won’t solve the problem or be a long-term solution. Millage rates are capped and costs will continue to rise while property taxes lag far behind property values due to Proposal A and the Headlee Amendment.

Cities have immediate needs and restoring revenue sharing won’t happen overnight. Michigan Municipal League members have been advocating for change. Local elected and appointed leaders across the state have been writing op-eds to highlight the challenges their local governments face because of Michigan’s great disinvestment in its communities.

Now it’s your turn to get involved.

Inform yourself: Search your community in the recently updated Revenue Sharing Search Tool to see how much your community has lost. See the SaveMICity Resources and Research pages to learn more about the compounding factors that exacerbate the revenue sharing issue.

Ask questions: Connect with your local leaders to find out how this has been impacting your community if you don’t already recognize the impact. And even if you do see the impact, there is likely still more that you don’t see – like layoffs and deferred maintenance.

Inform your neighbors: Share your findings on social media. Talk with your neighbors and share the SaveMICity website with them so they can do their homework too.

Demand change: Tell your legislators why they need to restore revenue sharing. Let them know that you see and understand the impact revenue sharing cuts have had in your community.