Emergency Management Department bill reviewed by committee

The House committee on Military and Veterans Affairs took testimony this week from emergency managers (EM) in support of House Bill 6148, by Rep. Jack O’Malley (R-Benzie). The bill would move emergency management functions out from under the Department of State Police and into a new department that will report and communicate directly with the governor. Compelling testimony was given this week by two county emergency management coordinators indicating support for this restructuring. The reasons cited for their support include:

• Not all emergencies are law enforcement related and should not be treated as such. With emergency management under State Police, their focus tends to be on law enforcement activities related to an emergency and not necessarily coordination of all different types of emergency response activities.
• State Police receive an Emergency Management Planning Grant that funds 100 percent of their activities. Local Emergency management has asked for an accounting of their expenditures for many years and have not received it, therefore they are unsure of whether or not there are additional funds that should be going to support emergency management operations at the local level. .
• The turnover in the Department in this area is high, with those in charge and those closest to the counties only lasting 2-3 years. This, according to the local emergency management coordinators, is not enough time to develop expertise and establish clear priorities.
• It is more expensive to pay a uniformed officer to perform these functions than it is civilians, but in this structure, civilians have no advancement opportunity and usually leave to go to FEMA.
• The State Police has failed to provide a list of resources for the local EM coordinators to utilize. Help is given but items and assistance must be directly asked for. Without knowledge of what is available, it is difficult to ask for assistance.  
• State agencies of all types show up to emergencies without any coordination of effort. The State should be doing this but again, the focus is on deploying law enforcement and not the coordination of all the other entities with an interest in the disaster. The local EM coordinator is typically responsible for this coordination as well.
• Michigan is only one of two states in the nation that house emergency management strictly inside a law enforcement department.

MAC’s Finance and General Government Committee voted this week to support the legislation.

If your county would like to weigh in on this proposal, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

New PPT bills would affect heavy equipment, solar

The House Committee on Tax Policy took testimony this week on House Bills 5778 and 5779, by Rep. Jim Ellison (D-Oakland), that would change the way rented heavy equipment is taxed in Michigan. Currently, heavy equipment is taxed as personal property (PPT) and credited to the taxing jurisdiction where it physically sits on Dec. 31 of each year. 

Since this equipment is rented and movable, neither the companies paying the taxes are clear what their obligations will be on a year to year basis nor can the local tax collecting units forecast the revenue in an efficient manner. The bills seek to eliminate PPT on this equipment and instead replace it with a 2 percent tax on the rental of the equipment. This tax would be paid by the customer, collected by the company renting the equipment and submitted quarterly to the Michigan Department of Treasury.

By May 20 of each year, Treasury would be required to send 90 percent of this revenue to the local tax collecting unit where the rental transaction originated, and 10 percent of the revenue to the other counties, cities, villages and townships not receiving a share of the distribution. Within 35 days of receiving the revenue, the tax collecting unit would be required to disburse the revenue to the taxing units (counties, et al) in the same proportion as it distributes property taxes. 

In addition to the equipment rental bills, bills affecting the PPT on solar energy facilities have been introduced. Senate Bill 1105, by Sen. Curt VanderWall (R-Mason) and SB 1101, by Sen. Kevin Daley (R-Tuscola), would exempt solar energy facilities and storage systems from the PPT and instead create a PILT (payment in lieu of taxes) system. 

Proponents are seeking a standardized, statewide system that will provide predictability in the taxes owed, regardless of the jurisdiction; escape the variability in assessments and millage rates; and provide a flat stream of revenue for those communities that host this equipment. The legislation would create a PILT of $3,500 per megawatt maximum annual payment, as opposed to a tax based on an assessed value and depreciation schedule.

In order to qualify for PILT as opposed to a tax, the owner of the facility would be required to file for and receive an exemption certificate, which would not expire unless they permanently ceased production, received a judicial determination that they failed to make their payments, or upon the jointly agreed upon termination date. MAC is seeking clarification on the equitable amount per megawatt hour, the assumptions that brought them to that amount, the efforts of the Michigan Tax Tribunal to make recommendations on standardizing the assessment of the equipment and the overall financial impact to counties.

MAC has not yet taken a position on any of these bills. The legislation will be discussed at our September Finance and General Government Committee session.

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

State launches health IT input campaign

A new effort by the state Health and Human Services Department (DHHS) to create a “roadmap” for health information technology will include a series of 16 virtual engagement sessions on a variety of topics such as care coordination, racial disparities in health, coronavirus response, and behavioral health. The sessions get under way on Sept. 15 and will continue into November.

Click here for full schedule. 

“These sessions will provide an opportunity to collect input from stakeholders across Michigan on using data from health IT systems to address business needs as well as the needs of individuals they serve,” the department stated.

For more information, visit the MDHHS Health IT Commission web page.  

Registration is now open for the Great Lakes PFAS Summit

The Great Lakes PFAS Summit has been moved to a virtual, week-long event to be held Oct. 26-30, 2020. The goals of this conference are to provide the most current and reliable science and policy, facilitate networking and information sharing, and explore current and future research topics related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

One of the biggest stories in chemical contamination emerging over the past several years has been PFAS. States throughout the nation, including the Great Lakes region, are finding PFAS contamination in a growing number of locations where these persistent chemicals pose a threat to people and the environment. The Great Lakes Virtual PFAS Summit will bring together environmental program managers, policy experts, researchers, and contractors from around the Great Lakes region to share the challenges of addressing this contamination and present innovative technical solutions developed to address these “forever” chemicals.  

Participants may include local, state, and federal government officials; environmental consultants and vendors; academic researchers and students; industry managing PFAS contamination; and community organizations. The cost is $50 and professional development hours will be available.

Property tax exemptions are growing problem for counties, lawyer says

The misapplication of a 2006 court decision has led to a growing number of businesses avoiding local property taxes, putting more stress on already-strained county revenues, a tax law expert told a Wednesday workshop during the 2020 Annual Conference.

Via a virtual session, Jessica Wood of the firm of Dickinson Wright showed county leaders how the 2006 Wexford has led Michigan awry. Pre-Wexford, Wood said, the state had a “common sense, relatively intuitive, straightforward test” for determining whether a business qualified as a charity and therefore received a tax break. But the Wexford decision, she said, “the truck that drove the hole through” state law.

Duo: Invest in tech to deal with COVID in facilities

In the conference’s first workshop on Tuesday, Gary Nauts of the city of Rochester Hills and Terry Van Doren of MMRMA discussed experiences and best practices on handling public facilities in the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Among the points highlighted by the pair:

• Communication is key.
• Invest in technology.
• Facilities and maintenance leaders will lead the return to normal.

“We are off to a fast start with the amount of information in our workshops,” said MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie. “While we can’t meet in-person, the digital format still allows us to support continuing education for our members.”