SaveMICity Expanded Message Heading to Mackinac Policy Conference Next Month
The SaveMICity effort is once again returning to the Mackinac Policy Conference hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.
With the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Michigan Municipal League’s SaveMICity message about how we need to fix Michigan’s broken system for funding municipalities will be prominently featured in a session at the conference. A similar session also took place last year. This year’s session is titled, Not Open for Business: Why Disinvestment in Michigan Cities Is Hampering Economic Opportunity, and it will take place 10:30-11:30 a.m. May 30 at the Grand Hotel’s Grand Pavilion.
It will feature opening remarks by Ridgway White, President, of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and will include comments by U.S. Congressman Dan Kildee and a panel discussion moderated by Doug Rothwell, President and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan. Event panelists are Chris Coleman, Former Mayor, City of St. Paul, Minn.; Gordon Krater, Partner, Plante Moran; and Anthony Minghine, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Executive Director, Michigan Municipal League.
Here is the official session description now posted on the conference’s website: As Michigan looks to create greater economic opportunities and attract top talent from around the world, investing in cities must remain a top priority. However, the state continually ranks dead last in the country for funding infrastructure and services that improve citizens’ overall quality of life. This session will explore Michigan’s broken municipal financing system, discuss the value of vibrant communities to the state’s economy, and lay the groundwork for a statewide education campaign calling for a funding model that encourages renewed investment in communities.
Last year, Minghine and Grand Rapids Mayor and then-League President Rosalynn Bliss were part of a very informative panel discussion at the Mackinac Policy Conference. That session was titled Funding Michigan Cities: The Path Forward. The complete session from last year is available on YouTube.
Minghine and Bliss, along with Joshua Sapotchine, associate professor at Michigan State University, discussed how local communities are the state’s economic drivers, with metropolitan areas accounting for 89 percent of the state’s jobs and 88 percent of gross domestic product. Yet cities are facing unprecedented fiscal stress created by a broken municipal finance system.
As Michigan looks to create greater economic opportunities, we need to assess how our system of municipal finance impedes or accelerates a thriving economy. View the 2017 panel discussion on YouTube.
If you’re registered to attend the 2018 Mackinac Policy Conference we hope you can join us at what we’re sure will be an enlightening discussion.
