LANSING (WZZM)- The city of Grand Rapids just lost $2.4 million dollars. Wyoming is $647,000 poorer, while Kentwood will lose $333,000. That's the impact from a vote taken Tuesday to cut revenue sharing to cities by 11.1%.
The vote, in a conference committee of house and senate members, passed 4 - 2. Among those supporting it, Republican Mark Jansen, a State Senator from Caledonia. "At the current rate it appears we're not gonna shut down government, it appears we're gonna make the cuts in the budgets - they'll have to live with the money we have coming in just like you and I do back home" Jansen told WZZM 13.
Detroit democrat Fred Durhal voted against the budget and noted the revenue sharing cut will cost Detroit more than $35 million. He said it would bring the Motor City "to it's knees. Response times will double and people will die." Durhal predicted that the bill will have a difficult time passing the House of Representatives.
Revenue sharing payments to local governments already have fallen $500 million since 2001, a 33 percent reduction. State government has raided the payments to local communities to cover other programs as the state's general fund collections have dipped from more than $9 billion in the 2007-08 fiscal year to about $7 billion expected in the upcoming fiscal year.
The reduced revenue sharing comes on top of declining property tax revenues for local governments caused by Michigan's long, lingering recession.
"Absolutely, layoffs are imminent," Summer Minnick of the Michigan Municipal League said of the consequences. "We're well beyond capital improvements being delayed and other cuts."
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