State's trickle-down fiscal policies devastated cities and townships

Michigan governors John Engler, Jennifer Granholm and Rick Snyder are all getting blasted by the Michigan Municipal League following the release of a new report that shows the trickle-down damage done to local governments by state fiscal policies.

The new MML President Jacqueline Noonan, longtime mayor of Utica, points out that the $5 billion in combined cuts over the past decade-plus to local revenue sharing has been

borne out as governors and legislatures balanced the state budget on the backs of local communities that provide basic services such as police/fire protection, parks and recreation, and trash pickup.

The report issued on Monday by the Citizens Research Council found that employment in state government from 2000 to 2013 rose 5.9 percent while manpower at the local level was significantly reduced, by 16.6 percent.

Much of that outcome is due to the $5 billion, 34 percent cut in "statutory revenue sharing" that was supposed to be paid to cities and townships.

Instead, the state kept the money and the result was a 26.3 percent increase in state spending from 2000-13.

Here is the statement released by Noonan:

“Today’s report from the Citizens Research Council is proof that state lawmakers and governors have been balancing the state budget on the backs of local governments for the last 10-plus years.

"The League has known this for many years and we’ve been saying it to anyone who will listen. We welcome this validation from the highly respected, non-partisan Citizens Research Council of Michigan. We sincerely hope the Michigan Legislature and Gov. Snyder will take notice of this CRC report and begin restoring the revenue taken from Michigan’s local communities.

“The cuts have helped drive down the state’s per-capita income to among the lowest in the nation, have caused steep cuts in local police and fire protection, and now threaten the long-term fiscal health of literally dozens of local communities and schools across Michigan.”