Legislative Update 8-5-22

August 5, 2022Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, Marketing, NACo

Don’t lose out on early-bird registration rate for Annual Conference

County officials have just five days left to take advantage of the early-bird registration rate of $395 for the upcoming 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference, Sept. 18-21 in Port Huron.

The conference will be headquartered at St. Clair County’s Blue Water Convention Center in Port Huron at the southern end of Lake Huron.

The early-bird rate for members and spouses is set to expire Aug. 10.

Expiring even sooner is the special conference room rate of $129 per night at the Comfort Inn in Port Huron. (A free shuttle service will run between the Comfort Inn and the conference center and there is plenty of free parking at the conference center as well.)

The Annual Conference will feature:

Four plenary sessions featuring key issues now before Michigan and a MAC Legislative Update (Speakers will be announced soon.)
12 breakout sessions for MAC members and 6 workshops for MCMCFC members (Speakers will be announced soon.)
A Welcome Reception and Strolling Dinner on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 18.
A reception sponsored by MAC’s CoPro+ subsidiary on Monday evening, before attendees are shuttled into downtown Port Huron for a “dinner on your own” night.
A lavish President’s Banquet on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 20.

Members of MCMCFC will enjoy specialized breakouts designed for its members to earn Nursing and NAB Continuing Education credits. And MAC members attending the conference will receive credits in MAC’s County Commissioner Academy.

The early-bird conference fee of $395 provides members full access to all conference activities. (The spouse fee also provides access to any conference event, including the President’s Banquet on the evening of Sept 20.) This fee includes two dinners, two receptions, two breakfasts and two lunches. On Aug. 11, the member fee will increase to $425, while the spouse rate will rise to $175.

NOTE: The member rate is open to all county commissioners, administrators, countywide elected officials and county employees of MAC member counties, plus employees and board members of MCMCFC facilities.

Hotel details

Rooms at the Comfort Inn are $129 per night. The Comfort Inn is located at 1720 Hancock St., Port Huron, MI 48060. To book your room reservations, call 810-987-5999. Group Name: MAC.

As of Thursday, the Comfort Inn had 34 rooms still available in the conference block with the special pricing of $129 per night.

Please direct any conference registration questions or issues to conference@micounties.org.

Vast majority of county millage requests approved by voters

Voters in the Aug. 2 primary election gave broad approval to county millage requests, both renewals and increases, an analysis by the Gongwer News Service found.

In fact, only seven out of the more than 100 such requests were denied by the approximately 2.1 million voters who participated statewide in the primary.

Voters in Benzie County approved six different millage questions, while voters in Midland and Sanilac each approved five.

For summary details on all of the county requests from Gongwer, click here.

Policy Summit presentations, videos now available

Presentations and videos from MAC’s 2022 Policy Summit are now available to members with 24/7 access.

The Policy Summit, which replaced MAC’s Regional Summits, featured four major policy briefings on:

Challenges in workforce housing
Michigan’s trails system and its benefits
Michigan’s political dynamics in 2022
Ideas to maximize infrastructure dollars

For links to presentations and videos, visit the Policy Summit page on the MAC website.

Summit to brief community leaders on broadband developments

Join community leaders, federal representatives and staff from the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office on Aug. 18 at this free event to learn about critical programs to expand broadband infrastructure and digital equity throughout the state. During this day-long summit, discussions will include local government and community needs, legislative and program updates, working with industry, data collection and mapping, and supply chain and talent needs, among others.

You may attend in-person or via a digital option for the event, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Connecting all Michiganders to affordable, reliable high-speed internet is critical to our economic stability and this event will provide an opportunity for us to discuss ways we can work together to efficiently and effectively utilize broadband funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and other federal broadband dollars to the maximum extent.

Broadband policy and how counties can connect their residents also will be the focus of a Plenary Session at the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference, Sept. 18-21. Registration remains open. Click here to register.

MAC includes county settlement projections on new opioids page

A new digital resource for county leaders now includes estimated county-by-county payments coming from the national opioid settlement.

In figures provided by the State Attorney General’s Office, an estimated $78 million will be assigned to Michigan counties. To see your county’s estimate, first visit MAC’s Opioid Settlement Resource Center.

Among the features of the new page are:

An overview of the opioid crisis and the national settlement
Numerous general resources on how counties could deploy their funds to maximize public health
Links to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services webinar recordings

MAC will continue to add news, links and resources to the center as the distribution of the settlement advances.

Staff picks

As species recover, some threaten others in more dire shape (Associated Press)
How (Leelanau) county maps a plan for better broadband (Connected Nation)
Ingham County opens up juvenile justice grant application (Fox 47 News)
Public comment period open on Five-year Transportation Program (Michigan Department of Transportation)

Legislative Update 7-29-22

July 29, 2022Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, Marketing, NACo

Higher county reimbursements backed by Juvenile Justice Task Force

Michigan counties would receive a higher reimbursement rate on some juvenile services under a proposal unanimously backed by members of a state Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform this month.

The panel’s report advises a boost in the community-based service/supervision reimbursement rate for counties to 75 percent, from the current 50 percent to 75 percent. The recommendation is to keep the reimbursement rate for residential services at 50 percent, however.

Wayne County’s Alisha Bell and Shiawassee County’s Marlene Webster represented MAC in the task force’s work for more than a year, along with a diverse group of representatives, to recommend reforms that improve public safety and outcomes for youth and families.

Among other key recommendations, the panel advised:

keeping youth under 13 years old out of juvenile court
creating a statewide juvenile public defense system
expanding diversion opportunities for youth
increasing funding availability for community-based prevention and intervention
implementing screening and assessments to inform decisions about supervision and services
developing standards for residential placements and reentry supports for youth
investing in quality assurance mechanisms to ensure resources are used efficiently

MAC is pleased with the task force’s work and supports the key recommendations made to advance positive outcomes for Michigan’s youth. We anticipate legislation to be introduced this fall to implement the recommendations.

For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at Bosworth@micounties.org.

Register for Annual Conference before key deadlines hit

With hotel rooms renting quickly and an early-bird registration rate soon to expire, county officials are urged to act quickly to get the best possible deals to attend the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference in St. Clair County, Sept. 18-21.

The conference will be headquartered at St. Clair County’s Blue Water Convention Center in Port Huron at the southern end of Lake Huron.

While the adjacent DoubleTree hotel is sold out, about 40 rooms remained, as of Thursday afternoon, at the nearby Comfort Inn for a special rate of $129 per night. (A free shuttle service will run between the Comfort Inn and the conference center and there is plenty of free parking at the conference center as well.)

Visit the Conference webpage.

County officials who have not yet registered should be aware of some looming deadlines:

Aug. 6 – End of the special room block rate of $129 at the Comfort Inn in Port Huron
Aug. 10 – End of the early-bird conference registration rate of $395 for MAC members and affiliates

The Annual Conference will feature:

Four plenary sessions featuring key issues now before Michigan and a MAC Legislative Update (Speakers will be announced soon.)
12 breakout sessions for MAC members and 6 workshops for MCMCFC members (Speakers will be announced soon.)
A Welcome Reception and Strolling Dinner on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 18.
A reception sponsored by MAC’s CoPro+ subsidiary on Monday evening, before attendees are shuttled into downtown Port Huron for a “dinner on your own” night.
A lavish President’s Banquet on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 20.

Register for the conference!

Hotel details

Rooms at the Comfort Inn are $129 per night. The Comfort Inn is located at 1720 Hancock St., Port Huron, MI 48060. To book your room reservations, call 810-987-5999. Group Name: MAC.

Please direct any conference registration questions or issues to conference@micounties.org.

Policy Summit tackles housing challenge, reviews trail system benefits

Dakota Hewlett of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources briefs Summit attendees on the Michigan trails system.

Dozens of county leaders came to Lansing or logged in digitally Thursday for MAC’s first Summer Policy Summit, held blocks from the Michigan State Capitol.

The Policy Summit, which replaced MAC’s Regional Summits, featured four major policy briefings on:

Challenges in workforce housing
Michigan’s trails system and its benefits
Michigan’s political dynamics in 2022
Ideas to maximize infrastructure dollars

“We’ve received great feedback from members who participated in this new version of our summer policy event,” said Executive Director Stephan Currie, who served as master of ceremonies for the event. “We look forward to honing this member service and delivering it to larger audiences.”

Tonya Joy, director of the state’s Housing Initiatives Program (joyt@michigan.gov), strongly urged attendees to engage with her office to report on their community housing needs and any local plans that have been developed to maximize state resources. “Reach out to me and I can put you in touch with the right person at MSHDA,” Joy said, adding, “I’m in the right place today because the message is going to get to the right people.”

Later in the day, Matt Grossman, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University, reviewed the trends of nationalization and polarization in Michigan politics: “We have nationalized elections. Whatever is happening at the national level will be reflected at the state level, too.”

Presentations from the sessions will posted to the MAC website next week. And MAC will post videos of some segments on its YouTube Channel in coming days.

MAC Board president leads Michigan delegation to NACo Annual Conference

Ottawa County’s Phil Kuyers announces the Michigan votes during the NACo second vice president election on July 24.

MAC Board President Phil Kuyers of Ottawa County led a delegation of approximately 40 county leaders from Michigan to the 2022 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference, held in Adams County, Colorado.

In addition to participating on various NACo committees and attending policy briefings, Michigan leaders voted on NACo policy platforms and in the election of NACo’s second vice president, a contest won by James Gore, supervisor of Sonoma County in California.

“A NACo conference really highlights just how many areas of American life that county governments affect,” said Stephan W. Currie, executive director of the Michigan Association of Counties. “For our commissioners, staying on top of policy changes is a full-time job in itself, which is why we encourage our members to attend every year, since NACo does such as great job on policy briefings.”

If you are interested in getting involved with a NACo committee, contact Currie at scurrie@micounties.org.

Internal controls will be subject of next ‘Fiscally Ready’ webinar

County leaders should be signing up now for the next session in the “Fiscally Ready Communities” webinar series set for Aug. 4 from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

The Michigan Department of Treasury and Michigan State University Extension (MSU Extension) co-sponsor this free training opportunity that is designed to assist appointed AND elected officials.

The Aug. 4 session will be on “Managing Internal Controls” and will cover:

Building a culture of fiscal sustainability
The role of internal controls in fiscal sustainability
Understanding internal controls and their importance
How internal controls help strengthen your community
Best practices for internal controls implementation

For more information about Fiscally Ready Communities, please check out the Treasury Fiscally Ready Communities webpage. This webpage includes Treasury’s 32-page Fiscally Ready Communities Best Practices document, which we encourage all local officials to review.

Staff picks

PILT is no four-letter word for counties (NACo)
Branch County Family Treatment Court established for abuse and neglect cases (Coldwater Daily Reporter)
When’s the best time for states to adopt evidence-based budgeting? Now. (Governing)
How States Raise Their Tax Dollars FY 2021 (Pew Trusts)

Legislative Update 7-22-22

July 22, 2022Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, Marketing, NACo

Conference hotel space filling fast for 2022 Annual; register now!

Michigan’s sunrise side is proving a popular destination for county leaders, as registration for the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference in Port Huron, Sept. 18-21, is moving at a brisk pace.

In fact, the primary conference hotel, the Doubletree is nearly sold out.

As of mid-day Friday, there were:

Fewer than 10 rooms in the MAC block available for the nights of 9/18-20 at a rate of $149 per night
Fewer than 15 rooms outside the block available for the nights of 9/18-20 at rates starting at $249 per night

If you are not able to secure a room at the Doubletree, there are plenty of rooms still available at the second conference hotel, the Comfort Inn, at a rate of $129 per night for the period of 9/18-20.

A free shuttle service will run between the Comfort Inn and the conference center and there is plenty of free parking at the conference center as well.

Running from the afternoon of Sept. 18 through the morning of Sept. 21, the 2022 Annual Conference will feature:

Four plenary sessions featuring key issues now before Michigan and a MAC Legislative Update (Speakers will be announced soon.)
12 breakout sessions for MAC members and 6 workshops for MCMCFC members (Speakers will be announced soon.)
A Welcome Reception and Strolling Dinner on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 18.
A lavish President’s Banquet on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 20.
Plenty of free time in the afternoons for attendees to enjoy sights and sounds of Port Huron, including the St. Clair River.

Members of MCMCFC will enjoy specialized breakouts designed for its members to earn Nursing and NAB Continuing Education credits.

MAC members attending the conference will receive credits in MAC’s County Commissioner Academy.

Conference Rates

The conference fee provides you access to all conference activities. (The spouse fee also provides access to any conference event, including the President’s Banquet on the evening of Sept 20.) This fee includes two dinners, two receptions, two breakfasts and two lunches.

		Early bird (register by Aug. 10)	Full rate (after Aug. 10)
Member	Full conference	$395	$425
	Single day	$275	$325
	Spouse/guest	$150	$175
Non-Member	Full conference	$525	$575

Hotel Information

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is attached to the Blue Water Convention Center (conference headquarters). To make your reservations, you can call the DoubleTree Hotel directly at 810/984.8000 or go online at www.porthuron.doubletree.com. GROUP CODE: MIA

Rooms at the Comfort Inn are $129 per night. The Comfort Inn is located at 1720 Hancock St., Port Huron, MI 48060. To book your room reservations, contact 810-987-5999. Group name: MAC.

Getting around: For those staying at the Comfort Inn, we will provide complimentary shuttle service via Blue Water Transit during the conference schedule. There also is plenty of free parking at the convention center.

Please direct any conference registration questions or issues to conference@micounties.org.

Filing period opens for MAC Board elections in September

At the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference (Sept. 18-21 in Port Huron), MAC members will vote on six seats on the MAC Board of Directors. Commissioners wishing to serve on the Board, whether incumbents or new candidates, have until Aug. 18 to file official notice of their intent to run. (The application form is found here.)

Seats representing regions are filled by a vote in regional caucuses at the conference. At-large seats are filled by the candidate that wins a majority of the six regional caucuses.

The MAC Board of Directors is the key body in guiding the legislative and organizational strategies of MAC. Board terms are three years in length and individuals may serve up to three terms.

2022 Board seats

At-large Seat B – open
Region 4 Seat A – open
Region 4 Seat B – open (to fill 1 year of unexpired term; winner is still eligible to serve 3 full 3-year terms after first year)
Region 5 Seat A – open (to fill 1 year of unexpired term; winner is still eligible to serve 3 full 3-year terms after first year)
Region 6 Seat A – Vaughn Begick of Bay is the incumbent
Region 6 Seat B – Scott Noesen of Midland is the incumbent

Any member wishing to run in the election must download the application form and return it by Aug. 18, 2022, at 5 p.m. to be eligible. Candidates are also encouraged to submit a statement of up to 400 words on why members should support them. These statements will be posted to the MAC website in late August.

If you have any questions about Board duties, please contact Executive Director Stephan W. Currie at 517-372-5374.

Governor signs FY23 state budget with revenue sharing increase

The FY 2023 budget was signed by Gov. Whitmer this week, which is set to begin on Oct. 1. The signing of the bipartisan state budget comes after months of negotiations between the legislature and the governor’s office.

Click here to read the major highlights of the budget, which includes a 6 percent (5% ongoing and 1% one-time) increase in county revenue sharing.

For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at Bosworth@micounties.org.

U.S. Treasury releases P&E Report update on ARP funds

The U.S. Treasury has released updated compliance and reporting guidance for counties ahead of the July 31 deadline that includes additional information that will be required as part of the reporting process and other clarifying items. Included below, you can find a comprehensive overview of updated compliance and reporting requirements, helpful information on specific sections of the reporting portal and an explanation of the difference between a subrecipient and beneficiary, and how counties can ensure they are complying with reporting requirements for these entities.

As a reminder, counties that are required to submit reports to Treasury by July 31, 2022, are those with populations above 250,000 residents and/or received $10 million or more in total ARPA Recovery Funds.

P&E Report Updates & Other Helpful Information

Revenue replacement: Counties had the option to make a one-time election to either calculate revenue loss according to Treasury’s formula outlined in the Final Rule OR elect a “Standard Allowance” of up to $10 million, not to exceed the award allocation. Treasury has decided to keep this portion of the reporting portal open for recipients in the upcoming P&E reporting cycle, which will allow counties to update their prior revenue loss election.
- Once update, the prior revenue loss election will be replaced. Treasury expects to keep this portion of the reporting portal open through the April 2023 reporting period in order to provide an opportunity for annual reporters to take advantage of this flexibility.
Interested/principal received from loans: Any interest received on loans made with Recovery Funds should be tracked as program income in the P&E Report.
- If a county uses revenue loss funds to fund a loan, repayments to loans are not subject to program income rules.
DUNS and UEI Numbers: As of April 2022, the federal government switched service providers and stopped using the DUNS number and began using the Unique Entity ID (UEI) – All counties are required to switch from a DUNS number to a UEI moving forward.
- If your SAM.gov registration/DUNS number expired prior to April 2022, the county will be required to obtain a UEI before receiving its second tranche payment.
Population threshold: A county’s population threshold is determined by Treasury at the award date and will NOT change during the reporting period. You can find your county’s reporting tier here.
Edit and/or update previous report submissions: Counties can reopen and provide edits to submitted P&E Reports any time before the reporting deadline and will be required to re-certify the report to reflect any edits. After the reporting deadline, counties will be able to reflect changes in the next P&E Report.
Additional programmatic data for capital expenditures: When using Recovery Funds for capital expenditures projects, counties need to report the type of expenditure based on a list of enumerated uses. Examples of enumerated uses are COVID-19 vaccination sites, job and workforce training centers, and public health data systems. A full list of enumerated uses is available on pages 27 to 28 of the updated guidance.
Written justification for capital expenditures: Counties are required to provide a written justification for capital projects of any category that cost at least $10 million and for projects in the “other” (i.e., project not explicitly enumerated by Treasury) category that cost at least $1 million. Previously, counties needed to create a written justification for these projects but were not required to submit them as part of regular reporting.
Description of labor requirements for capital expenditures: Counties are required to provide additional labor reporting. For projects that cost at least $10 million, counties will need to report on the strength of the project’s labor standards, including information on the presence of a project labor agreement, community benefits agreement, prevailing wage requirement, or local hiring. This new required information is outlined under Infrastructure Project on pages 30-31 of the updated guidance.
Project information for broadband projects: The updated guidance requires counties to provide detailed project information for broadband infrastructure investments. Counties need to report what kind of technology is involved in the project (i.e., fiber optic cables, coaxial cables, etc.), the total miles of fiber deployed over the project, and the total number of funded locations served broken out by both speed of connection and type of location (i.e., residential, business, or community). This new required information is outlined under Broadband Projects on pages 32-33 of the updated guidance.
Moving of Recovery Plan Performance Report data into P&E Report: Under the updated guidance, some of the data that was previously only required for the Recovery Plan Performance Report (Recovery Plan) is now required for large counties (i.e., populations above 250,000 and/or above $10 million in awards) on their quarterly P&E Report. For example, large counties investing in housing security programs must now report the number of households receiving eviction prevention services. A full list of changes to programmatic data requirements for large counties is available on page 33 of the compliance and reporting guidance.
Updated template for Recovery Plan: The updated guidance also provides a template for the Recovery Plan due for large counties on July 31, 2022, reflecting the expenditure categories and other changes made by the Final Rule.

Overview of Subrecipients vs. Beneficiaries – Definitions and Reporting Requirements

The distinction between a subrecipient and beneficiary is contingent upon the rationale for why a recipient is providing funds to the individual or entity.

Definition

Subrecipient: An entity that receives a subaward to carry out a project funded by Recovery Funds on behalf of the recipient (i.e. county).
- If a county is providing funds to the individual or entity for the purpose of carrying out an SLFRF-funded program or project on behalf of the county, the individual or entity is acting as a subrecipient.
Beneficiary: If a county is providing funds to the individual or entity for the purpose of directly benefitting the individual or entity as a result of experiencing a public health impact or negative economic impact of the pandemic, the individual or entity is acting as a beneficiary.
- Individuals or entities that experienced the negative economic impact and are the recipients of a project funded by Recovery Funds. In other words, the households, small businesses, nonprofits, or impacted industries that experienced the negative economic impact.

Reporting requirements

Subrecipients: All subrecipients are required to comply with all requirements of recipients such as treatment of eligible uses of funds, procurement and reporting requirements.
- Subrecipients are required to have an active SAM.gov registration and UEI number OR Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), if unable to obtain a UEI
Beneficiary: A beneficiary are not subject to subrecipient monitoring and reporting requirements.
- Beneficiaries are NOT required to register in SAM.gov and are not required to provide a UEI

Marijuana regulation is focus of webinar co-sponsored by MAC

County leaders are encouraged to register for the 17^th session of a series of webinars co-sponsored by MAC, the Michigan Department of Treasury and other local government groups.

“Updates and Resources for Local Governments” will focus this session, set to start at 2 p.m. on July 26, on:

Marijuana Regulation and Planning– State and Local Requirements
Strategic Planning

Participants can register and submit questions prior to the webinar by clicking here.

Presentations and recordings from this webinar, along with previous webinars, can be found at TREASURY – Webinars (michigan.gov). Utilize TREASURY – Contact Information (michigan.gov) for support related to Treasury’s local government services.

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Big discount offered on NACo leadership training for county employees

The NACo High Performance Leadership Academy is offering a special, but brief, discount option for counties to enroll employees in upcoming classes.

This “5-for-$5,000” attendee benefit is offered for the length of NACo’s Annual Conference, which ends July 24 in Adams County, Colorado, and allows five employees of a county to enroll at $1,000 each.

The Professional Development Academy, which partners with NACo on this training, is tailoring sessions to help counties meet trending challenges, such as:

employee retention
talent attraction
succession planning
leadership development

Act fast, though, as the discount ends on July 24.

Staff picks

This federal committee is watching over your pandemic funds spending (RouteFifty)
Report: Local governments are satisfied with current hybrid work arrangement (American City and County)
The simmering GOP criticism of state and local ARPA spending (RouteFifty)
Detroit to put $10M toward open-access fiber network (Govtech.com)

Legislative Update 7-8-22

July 8, 2022Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, Marketing, NACo

Registration opens for 2022 Annual Conference on Sunrise Side

Join us on the sunrise side of the state for the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference, put on by the Michigan Association of Counties in coordination with the Michigan County Medical Care Facilities Council (MCMCFC).

This year, we are in Port Huron in St. Clair County. The venue is the Bluewater Convention Center, located along the St. Clair River, with views of freighter traffic entering and exiting Lake Huron and the Blue Water Bridge to Canada.

Running from the afternoon of Sept. 18 through the morning of Sept. 21, the 2022 Annual Conference will feature:

Four plenary sessions featuring key issues now before Michigan and a MAC Legislative Update (Speakers will be announced soon.)
12 breakout sessions for MAC members and 6 workshops for MCMCFC members (Speakers will be announced soon.)
A Welcome Reception and Strolling Dinner on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 18.
A lavish President’s Banquet on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 20.
Plenty of free time in the afternoons for attendees to enjoy sights and sounds of Port Huron, including the St. Clair River.

Members of MCMCFC will enjoy specialized breakouts designed for its members to earn Nursing and NAB Continuing Education credits.

MAC members attending the conference will receive credits in MAC’s County Commissioner Academy.

Conference Rates

		Early bird (register by Aug. 10)	Full rate (after Aug. 10)
Member	Full conference	$395	$425
	Single day	$275	$325
	Spouse/guest	$150	$175
Non-Member	Full conference	$525	$575

Hotel Information

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is attached to the Blue Water Convention Center (conference headquarters). You can expect a DoubleTree famous chocolate chip/oatmeal cookie, served warm upon arrival. After you’ve settled in, take a stroll along the St. Clair River, view watercraft/freighter traffic on the river or see the big Blue Water Bridge to Canada!

To make your reservations, you can call the DoubleTree Hotel directly at 810/984.8000 or go online at www.porthuron.doubletree.com.

As always, MAC and MCMCFC have secured highly competitive room rates that begin at $149 per night for single/double occupancy. Breakfast is not included with your hotel pricing. Join us in the conference center instead! GROUP CODE: MIA

The room block deadline is Aug. 17, 2022.

In anticipation of another popular conference, we have also reserved a block of rooms at the Comfort Inn at $129 per night. The Comfort Inn is located at 1720 Hancock St., Port Huron, MI 48060. To book your room reservations, contact 810-987-5999. Group Name: Michigan Association of Counties.

We expect a large gathering this year, so members are strongly encouraged to book their rooms immediately to ensure access to the conference room block and best room rates.

Please direct any conference registration questions or issues to conference@micounties.org.

MAC will be releasing information on plenary sessions, speakers and breakout descriptions in coming weeks.

MAC working to improve bill on remote participation in meetings

A bill to allow remote participation during an open meeting, with a quorum present, was introduced last week by Rep. Julie Calley (R-Ionia).

House Bill 6283 would require written notice to all board members of an impending remote participation at least 18 hours before the meeting begins. However, remote participation could be denied if a member of the public body motions for a vote and a majority disapproves. In addition, remote participation would be limited to the lesser of 10 percent of the public body’s meetings per year or three in total.

Although this bill is a step in the right direction, according to MAC’s platforms, much work still needs to be done to ensure that the restrictions are not too onerous, and that gamesmanship can be avoided. Rep. Calley has assured MAC that she is open to changes to the bill.

MAC anticipates House committee action on the bill in the fall.

For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

Solar PILT bills designed to eliminate uncertainty on taxation

After years of workgroups, Sen. Curt VanderWall (R-Mason) and Sen. Kevin Daley (R-Lapeer) have introduced legislation to create a process for establishing solar energy districts, allowing for a personal property tax exemption for solar energy equipment and replacing it with a payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) system.

Senate Bill 1106, by VanderWall, and SB 1107, by Daley (R-Lapeer), would establish the PILT payment at a rate of $7,000 per megawatt (MW) of capacity for 20 years. These bills were developed to give local governments a stable funding source for the equipment and to avoid litigation on the assessed value of the equipment.

For context, many counties are still fighting in court over the disputed assessment amounts for wind turbines in their jurisdiction. These bills will provide a financial incentive to the solar developers to move toward more green energy, while at the same time eliminating the uncertainty of the value of the property.

Senate action on the bills is anticipated in the fall. MAC is neutral on the bills at this time (and opposed similar legislation last session that pegged payments at $4,000 per MW).

For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

County input sought on project to streamline financial reporting

A pilot project involving MAC, the University of Michigan and others is exploring whether a new fiscal reporting mechanism for governmental entities can help create transparency — and prevent future financial crises.

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), in partnership with the nonprofit standards setting organization XBRL US, seeks input from county leaders about its proposed digital financial data standards for local governments.

Ogemaw County volunteered to serve as the county pilot for the effort. “I am convinced this project will result in an affordable tool that will categorically improve efficiency and accuracy of municipal financial reporting,” said Timothy Dolehanty, Ogemaw County administrator. “Elimination of multiple, redundant keystrokes will certainly save time. But public administrators will also gain the ability to compare and contrast financial trends in real time, which provides an early opportunity to take necessary corrective actions.”

The most important and reliable information for understanding local fiscal health is found in audited Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFRs). ACFRs are currently provided as PDF documents, which severely limits their accessibility, comparability, and usefulness for many stakeholders. The proposed open standards, based on XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language), create a fully digital human- and machine-readable version of ACFRs in order to better share the information with the public, state and others.

The digital standards, called a taxonomy, also incorporate all concepts needed for the Michigan Form F-65 (Local Unit Fiscal Report), Form 5572 (Retirement System Annual Report), and the Uniform Chart of Accounts. Digitizing this information will allow these reports to be generated automatically from the underlying data rather than manually entered into separate forms.

During the 60-day public review period set to end on Aug. 15, participants are encouraged to review and provide feedback on the proposed taxonomy, which is available online in a downloadable Excel format or in an online viewer. Detailed instructions, FAQs, and examples of XBRL-formatted financial statements are also available on the website.

To learn more about the project, please visit https://closup.umich.edu/research-projects/modernizing-michigan-local-government-fiscal-transparency.

Legislative Update takes brief mid-summer hiatus

MAC’s weekly Legislative Update will take a one-week break for the week of July 11-15.

The email will resume its regular schedule on Friday, July 22.

Staff picks

4 proven strategies for attracting and retaining state and local government workers (RouteFifty)
USDOT releases $573 million in FY2022 through new railroad crossing elimination program (NACo)
State and Local Tax Burdens, Calendar Year 2022 (Tax Foundation)
Sleeping Bear Dunes star parties return for 5 dates in 2022 (MLive)

Legislative Update 7-1-22

July 1, 2022Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, NACo

FY23 state budget includes 6% boost for county revenue sharing

In the wee hours on Friday, the Legislature finished the FY 2023 budget, which is set to begin on Oct. 1 of this year. Below are the major highlights, including a 6 percent (5% in the base and 1% one-time) increase in County Revenue Sharing. In addition, they passed a supplemental budget for FY22, included in which are items of importance to counties.

FY22 Supplemental

ARP – community policing grants for Wayne ($3M), Saginaw ($1M) and Genesee ($500,000) counties
ARP – community policing competitive grants – $11 million
Communication Radios and Tower – $1 million for radios in Midland County, $3 million for towers in Barry County and $4.8 million for towers in Isabella County
Requires that grants be used for the construction of new towers or the augmentation of existing towers and associated equipment to support the integration of the county into the Michigan Public Safety Communication System (MPSCS) or to expand the interoperability of all local public safety entities within the county
EMS scholarship and grant program – $30 million
Raise the Age Fund Increase – $4 million
Broadband equity, access and deployment – $5 million

FY23 Budget (by state department)

Agriculture

Local conservation districts – $3 million
Office of Rural Development Grants – $3 million for grants to rural communities, related to economic development, workforce development, affordable housing, infrastructure, education and high-speed internet access
County fairs – $500,000 for fair capital grant program (a reduction of almost $2 million from current year)
Economic development for food and agriculture industries – $50 million, of which $12 million is set aside for improvements to the Eastern Market in Detroit

Corrections

Jail reimbursement – $1 million to reimburse counties who housed felons in their jails due to the department’s closed intake of prisoners during COVID. (rate is $80 per offender per day; inmates paid for through the county jail reimbursement program are not eligible for this payment)

Energy, Great Lakes and Environment

Contaminated site cleanups – $10 million
Watershed Council grants – $600,000
Environmental health – $7.9 million for water supply oversight and support for local health departments in monitoring and testing drinking water
Municipal Assistance for FTEs to increase loan processing staff and access to federal water infrastructure loans for local communities – $5.1 million
Water State Revolving Funds – $120 million gross to continue funding the state’s water state revolving fund program
Private well testing – $5 million in one-time funding for grants to local health departments to provide free or low-cost water testing to private well owners

Labor and Economic Development

Michigan Infrastructure Grants – $212,800 for grants for infrastructure
Economic Development and Workforce Grants – $251.5 million
Blight Elimination Program – $75 million to address blighted properties across the State
Going Pro – $15 million
Pure Michigan – $40 million
Nonprofit Relief Grants to nonprofit community service organizations – $50 million

Treasury (General Government)

Revenue Sharing to Counties – $245.8 million, which is a 6 percent increase (1% is one-time increase, while 5 percent is designated as ongoing)
Pensions – $750 million for grants for local retirement systems that are less than 60 percent funded
ARP relief grants – $50 million

Health and Human Services

Medicaid primary care rates – $56.1 million to increase them
Behavioral health capacity and access initiatives – $47.3 million
Medicaid reimbursement for Community Health Workers – $28.3 million
Child and adolescent health centers – $25 million to increase funding
Child care – $10.5 million to provide a 5 percent reimbursement increase for residential child caring institutions and a 12 percent increase to private residential juvenile justice providers
Guardian and conservator reimbursement rates – $5 million to increase them
Medicaid Mental Health Local Match – $5.1 million to replace a like amount of local funding used for Medicaid mental health supports and services (amount would reflect the third year of phasing out the local match portion over a 5-year period)
Behavioral Health Inpatient Capacity and Operations – $41 million and authorizes 87 FTE positions to increase capacity at Hawthorn and to reimburse private providers of intensive psychiatric treatments
Jail Diversion Fund – $10 million
Student loan repayment for behavioral health professionals – $10 million
Non-State Behavioral Health Facility Capacity – $178.6 million
Clinical and CMHSP Integration Readiness Initiatives – $50 million for grants to facilities and providers that wish to clinically integrate physical and behavioral health services and providers and to CMHSPs for system, IT, staffing, and administrative improvements for integration readiness (funds are not available for expenditure until legislatively transferred)
State Nursing Home Surveyors – $1.6 million and 10 FTEs for education and consultation activities to improve care at skilled nursing facilities

Judiciary

Statewide Judicial Case Management System – $150 million for the cost of developing a single, statewide judicial case management system (Currently, there are 242 trial courts using and funding more than 16 case management systems and 150 computer systems. The Trial Court Funding Commission recommended that the state provide all court technology needs for trial courts, including case and document management services, and the Supreme Court recently ordered that local trial courts submit all case data in a uniform manner. Funding would support data management efforts and consistent implementation of newer technologies among trial courts; prohibits funds from being used to supplant the current user fee system and administrative purposes unrelated to the system; requires the system to comply with all security measures and restrictions and to be hosted in a secure cloud by an experienced vendor; requires implementation status report.)

Veterans Affairs

Grand Rapids Home for Veterans – $6.5 million
Veterans Suicide Prevention Outreach – $1.2 million for an outreach campaign targeting current and former servicemembers and their families on reducing suicide incidents

Natural Resources

Off-road Vehicle Trail Improvement Grants – $6.4 million to increase funding for the off-road vehicle trail improvements initiative

State Police

Secondary Road Patrol Grant Program – $15 million

Transportation

County Road Commissions Restricted Fund – $56.3 million
Airport Safety Improvement Program – $33.9 million
Local Federal Aid Road and Bridge Construction – $15.2 million
IIJA Airport Infrastructure Grants – $2.2 million
Technical Assistance, Planning, and IIJA Match Grants – $25 million to help local units to plan and match resources for IIJA grants
Electric Vehicle Study – requires the department to study the impact on revenue resulting from the integration of electric vehicles on Michigan roadways

For more information on the state budget, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

Governor signs another investment in water infrastructure

A second water infrastructure bill package using federal infrastructure dollars was signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week.

House Bill 5890, by Rep. Beth Griffin (R-Van Buren), HB 5891, by Rep. David Martin (R-Genesee), and HB 5892 by Rep. Sara Cambensy (D-Marquette), will update Michigan’s State Revolving Fund to ensure dollars go to modern infrastructure needs of communities. Specifically, the legislation will ensure financing is equally distributed and communities will be able to easily access state financing for water infrastructure projects.

MAC applauds the bill sponsors and the governor for their continued investments in water infrastructure.

For more information on this issue, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

Flurry of county-related bills filed in hectic legislative week

Several pieces of legislation impacting local government were introduced this week during the Legislature’s marathon work days this week.

Senate Bill 1106, by Sen. Curt VanderWall (R-Mason), and SB 1107, by Sen. Kevin Daley (R-Lapeer), are solar payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) measures that would establish solar energy districts in local units of government and provide for an exemption of certain taxes.

House Bill 6283, by Rep. Julie Calley (R-Ionia), would bring changes to the current Open Meetings Act rules. The legislation will create procedures for conducting electronic meetings.

House Bill 6296, by Rep. Jeff Yaroch (R-Macomb), is legislation to create an early warning system for local units of government that are at risk for fiscal stress.

MAC has been working with lawmakers and staffers on these issues. A more in-depth analysis of these bills will appear in the July 8 Legislative Update.

For more information, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org

Brush up on key county issues at July 27 Policy Summit

County leaders are cordially invited to attend, in person or via Zoom, the 2022 MAC Policy Summit on July 27 in downtown Lansing.

The Policy Summit replaces MAC’s Regional Summits, which were held at locations across Michigan in June, July and August.

Follow the link below to register. The fee is $50 for either in-person or digital registration.

The summit will include presentations on such issues as:

Addressing the workforce housing challenge
Understanding Michigan’s political landscape in 2022
The value of expanding Michigan’s trail network
Maximizing your infrastructure dollars

The day will begin at 8:30 a.m. with check-in and a continental breakfast. Policy presentations will continue until 3 p.m., with lunch provided and compliments of Enbridge. MAC also has arranged a discount rate of $139 at the Courtyard for members who wish to arrive on the evening of July 26. (To get this rate, make your reservation by July 19.)

Those who register to attend digitally will be provided a link and access codes on the day prior to the summit. In-person attendees will be provided parking information in the week prior to the event.

Register Now!

Feds announce $1B pilot program on transportation

The U.S. Department of Transportation is now accepting applications for the first-of-its-kind Reconnecting Communities pilot program. The $1 billion program will help reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure.

Reconnecting a community could mean adapting existing infrastructure — such as building a pedestrian walkway over or under an existing highway — to better connect neighborhoods to opportunities or better means of access such as crosswalks and redesigned intersections.

Eligible applicants for the Reconnecting Communities competitive grant pilot program include:

States
Local and Tribal governments
Metropolitan planning organizations
Nonprofit organizations
Other transportation facility owners

Preference will be given to applications from economically disadvantaged communities, especially those with projects that are focused on equity and environmental justice, have strong community engagement and stewardship, and a commitment to shared prosperity and equitable development. Of the $195 million available from the grant program this year, $50 million is dedicated to planning activities for communities that may be earlier in the process.

The Reconnecting Communities Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found here. Information on Reconnecting Communities technical assistance and other resources can be found here. Applications are due Oct. 13, 2022. Awards are expected to be announced in early 2023. The new DOT Navigator can be accessed here and information on the Thriving Communities program can be found here.

The department will convene a series of stakeholder webinars to help potential applicants learn about the RCP grant program and what they need to know to prepare an application. The first one will be held Thursday, July 14 at noon EST.

Draft policy platforms now available for review prior to September vote

MAC’s Annual Business Meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Blue Water Convention Center during the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference.

County commissioners who are registered for the conference may participate as voting members in the business meeting, which includes review and approval of MAC’s 2022-2023 policy platforms.

The platform process begins with MAC’s policy committees, which meet during the year to address key issues. Their drafts are then submitted to the MAC Board of Directors for review. The MAC Board then advances the drafts to the membership for final approval.

Those Board-vetted drafts are now available on the MAC website here. (Please note that this is a password-protected page. Each member county has a set of access credentials, which are shared each year with your county administrator. If you do not have your credentials, contact Hannah Sweeney at sweeney@micounties.org for them.)

According to MAC’s By-laws (Article III, Section 6):

“A member wishing to submit an amendment to the MAC Platform shall submit the amendment to MAC at least five (5) days prior to the opening day of the MAC Annual Conference. Such amendment will require a majority vote at the annual meeting to be adopted.

“An amendment to the MAC Platform may be presented from the floor during the annual meeting. Such amendment will require a 2/3 majority vote of the members at the meeting at which a quorum is initially established to be adopted.”

To submit a platform amendment in advance, draft your preferred language and email to sweeney@micounties.org no later than Sept. 13, 2022.