GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY: Commissioners to hearon state's $82.5B budget

Jul. 16—TRAVERSE CITY — State Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, will update the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners Wednesday on recent legislative action in Lansing.

Coffia, who represents the 103rd House district, which includes Leelanau, northern Grand Traverse and portions of northern Benzie counties, is expected to discuss the state's $82.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2025, which begins Oct. 1.

That hotly debated budget finally passed early in the morning of June 27 after a marathon 19-hour session in the state Capitol. A major point of contention during the process was Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's proposal to provide free preschool education and community college tuition.

Whitmer proposed funding the plan by using $670 million she said was "freed up" because of the early payoff of certain liabilities in the teachers' pension plan, called the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System, more commonly known as MPSERS.

Following intensive negotiations, those additional funds were instead allocated to the K-12 education budget to allow school districts and some teachers to avoid paying a 3-percent contribution to the retirement plan in the new fiscal year, saving school districts about $598 million in payroll costs.

As a result of those payroll savings, the per-pupil allowance in the 2025 state budget will remain at $9,608 per student — the same as the 2024 state budget — except for charter schools, which don't participate in the MPSERS system. Instead, charter schools will get a 3.9-percent increase, according to an analysis by the House Fiscal Agency.

Republicans criticized the new budget as "bloated," accusing Democrats of raiding retirement funds to get more dollars to spend, after quickly burning through a $9-billion state surplus.

In contrast, Coffia called the 2025 budget a "big win for our communities."

"Not only were we able to allocate $100 million for much-needed housing projects across the state, but I was also able to secure $5 million in funding to address housing needs for our educators and support staff — in partnership with my Senate counterpart, state Sen. John Damoose," she said in a public statement.

"Additionally...I'm excited to see that the state is further addressing the nursing shortage and supporting essential workers with $9.2 million for a nursing school student loan repayment program and $8.1 million to increase wage rates for private duty nursing staff."

Elected in 2022, Coffia is running for re-election in the Nov. 5 general election. She also served on the Grand Traverse County board from 2018-2022.

Coffia also is scheduled to address the Leelanau County board this week.

OPIOID TASK FORCE FUNDS

Also on Wednesday's agenda, the county Opioid Task Force is seeking board approval for dispersing funds from the nationwide opioid lawsuit settlement in three areas:

* $300,000 to the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office for its participation in the multi-agency Quick Response Team

* $164,000 to the 86th District Court for enhancing the court's drug treatment program

* $50,704 to nonprofit group Harm Reduction Michigan for creating a "safe and effective syringe disposal program" for the homeless encampment at the Pines in Traverse City

Both the county and Traverse City are eligible to receive millions of dollars from various class-action lawsuits related to the opioid crisis that swept across the nation.

However, those amounts will be paid over time instead of up front. Officials said budgeting those funds will be "challenging" because each settlement has its own terms and timeline.

More than 560,000 people in the United States have died from overdoses involving opioids since the epidemic was named a national health emergency in 2017, federal officials said.

And the crisis continues today: More than 130 people die each day from opioid-related drug overdoses, according to a December 2023 report by the Health Resources and Services Administration.