Counties seek more funding from state coffers
COLDWATER — The Michigan Association of Counties is pushing legislation to increase and guarantee state revenue-sharing funds for Michigan's 83 counties.
Steve Curry, the executive director of MAC, the lobbying association for county commissions, explained to the Branch County Commission on Thursday, "County revenue sharing is first and foremost is, statutory, which means it can be appropriated away every year."
"The entire line item could go away. We've been able to get increases every year." For 2022, "this is probably the largest increase I've seen in about six years," Curry said.
For Branch County, the $1.03 million share will increase between $20,000 to $30,000, Curry said.
Curry said, "What we're looking at doing is creating a revenue sharing trust fund. That would be a virtual lockbox for the state's county revenue sharing. It would make it much harder for the Legislature to appropriate those funds away each year."
A former county commissioner, Sen. Wayne Schmidt, Republican from the 37th District, offered several bills last week to lock in revenue sharing.
Curry said the Schmidt bills set the base amount at $350 million a year, up from the current $228 million going to counties. "We're asking the state to look at some of the numbers back in 2001."
That year, the $228 million was 3.6% of the sales tax. Curry said, "If you apply that percentage to what sales tax is now, you should get the $350 million."
"So obviously, since there's been a growth in sales tax, that statutory revenue sharing numbers to counties should grow," Curry said. "It's going to be a fight. But we do think we can get it done, especially with what funding the state has right now."
Lawmakers will meet a couple of times this month. Curry said it's crucial that Local Court funding be extended.Before COVID-19, the state's trial court funding commission made seven recommendations for changes. Legislators did not take action.
"Court funding is a big component and obviously very important to counties."
Counties receive a significant portion from fees that are assessed to those who use the court system. The lack of the fees would cut county revenues.
The current court fee legislation sunsets on October 1. Without action, counties "would not be able to charge those fees for the court system."
Republican Rep. Sarah Lightner, a former county commissioner and judiciary committee chair, proposed extending the sunset to 2024 to allow the legislature to work on the trial court funding commission recommendations.
Curry said the MAC staff monitors many other issues important to counties. With elections in November changing the legislature's makeup next January, the "lame duck" November and December session usually results in a significant push for laws retiring lawmakers want to be passed.
Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey proposed changes to the state mental health system to support local control and funding of local services. There is a package in the house that differs from Shirkey's.
Curry said, "There's no agreement between either of them. But, of course, we're coming up to a lame-duck session. And when you have the majority leader who has a package of bills that he wants to get done, you don't know what's gonna happen."
House speaker Jason Wentworth "who's not a big fan of lame duck. We're not quite sure yet how he's going to handle the lame duck session."
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Counties seek more funding from state coffers
