Webinar: Towards Fiscally Healthy Michigan Local Governments

The state of Michigan has long incubated financial stress among its localities. Though not the state’s intention, limits on local governments’ ability to raise revenues, coupled with reduced state aid, have decimated local budgets. Additionally, local government fragmentation often breeds inefficiencies, further exacerbating local fiscal distress throughout Michigan. Many localities in Michigan were headed for fiscal distress even before COVID-19, but the pandemic has further exacerbated the fiscal problem, jeopardized the quality of life for residents, and threatened the opportunity for businesses to succeed.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, with the support of the C.S. Mott Foundation, has spent the last year and a half speaking to Michigan stakeholders and researching several causes of Michigan’s local fiscal distress in order to elevate the importance of the issue and recommend policies the state can implement to improve the fiscal health of its local governments. This webinar will highlight key findings from the published report and will include a discussion among stakeholders. The webinar will also feature the experience of South Dakota in passing legislation that enabled local governments to increase their revenues.

Speakers

• Amy Hovey, Special Projects Coordinator, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• Samantha Harkins, Deputy Mayor, City of Lansing, Michigan
• Ken Sikkema, Senior Policy Fellow, Public Sector Consultants, and former Michigan legislator
• Jenna DeAngelo, Associate Director of Local and Regional Fiscal Health, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
• Jean Hunhoff, Representative, South Dakota House of Representatives, and incoming South Dakota Senator