Revenue sharing, property taxes lead MAC’s 2026 policy priorities
Securing the funds for counties to provide critical public services is the theme of the Michigan Association of Counties’ policy priorities for 2026.
Once again, MAC’s advocacy team will be advancing a bipartisan strategy to create a dedicated Revenue Sharing Trust Fund to bring real meaning to the state’s decades-old promise to share revenue with tax-limited local governments.
MAC also will be at the forefront of work to ensure any proposals to alter Michigan’s property tax system do not wreck county operations.
MAC’s work on revenue sharing continues to focus on creating a dedicated fund backed by earmarking 8 percent of the first 4 percentage points+ of the state’s sale tax. The money deposited would stay in the fund for distribution to counties, cities, villages and townships and not lapse to the state General Fund at the end of each fiscal year.
“This system is what revenue sharing was originally designed to do,” said Deena Bosworth, MAC’s director of governmental affairs, “by sharing in the state’s revenue. If sales tax revenue goes up, local allocations go up, if sales tax revenue falls, so do allocations, just like it does for constitutional revenue sharing for cities, villages and townships.”
In response to growing talk in Lansing of property tax cuts, MAC this year will oppose any reduction in county property tax revenues and any additional limits on county property tax growth, plus advocate that any county property tax reductions enacted by the Legislature be fully and reliably reimbursed by the state through a secure funding mechanism that bypasses the annual appropriations process, ensuring county revenues are protected regardless of year-to-year budget negotiations.
MAC’s remaining four priorities in 2026 are
- State reimbursement for veterans property tax exemptions to address the millions of dollars lost to local governments since 2013.
- Restoration of $3.5 million in funding gaps for county service grants via House Bill 4423 by Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo)
- Extension of the authority for courts to collect fees from criminal defendants, a funding measure that is now set to “sunset” on Dec. 31, 2026.
- Development of a state-county partnership on tourism to counteract the strain on public services and housing seen in high tourism areas of Michigan.
To see complete details on MAC’s priorities this year, visit our website or click on the image above for a printable document.
For more information on MAC’s advocacy work in 2026, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.
MAC analysis of FY27 budget plan finds disappointment in revenue sharing, veteran grants portions
A state spending plan for fiscal year 2027 is noticeably lacking in larger investments for county revenue sharing and veteran grants, a MAC analysis of the budget finds.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer presented her spending proposal on Wednesday, which includes $13.6 billion for the state General Fund.
“Unlike cities, villages and townships, counties do not receive constitutional revenue sharing and therefore do not benefit from automatic increases tied to the growth in state sales tax collections,” said MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie in a statement. “County revenue sharing is entirely dependent upon annual legislative appropriations. When those appropriations remain flat, counties fall further behind — regardless of the state’s overall revenue growth.”
Revenue sharing maintained at FY 2026 levels
County revenue sharing would continue at FY26 levels, about $291 million, with the same distribution formula in place.
While Whitmer’s budget documents point to increases in road funding as an offset to flat county revenue sharing, these funds are restricted for road purposes only. Road dollars cannot be used to fund courts, jails, prosecutors, public health, veteran services, emergency management, elections or any of the other constitutionally and statutorily mandated services counties are required to provide. Counties are the backbone of local public service delivery, and restricted infrastructure funding does not address the growing operational costs of these essential services. …
SEE MORE: MAC’s Deena Bosworth appeared on WILX-TV in Lansing on Wednesday to discuss county concerns with the budget. (Comments begin at the 2-minute mark.)
Podcast 83: Budget presentation this week is focus of new ‘Legislative Update’ episode
MAC’s Podcast 83 team discussed concerning trends this week as the state awaits Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s formal budget presentation on Wednesday afternoon.
“Over the weekend, we saw (Whitmer) talk about property taxes,” said Deena Bosworth, “which, you know, … I’m a little nervous about what that means.
“It’s a theme we’ve heard a few times now from different people,” replied host Stephan Currie.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Bosworth said. “Speaker (Matt) Hall (R-Kalamazoo) talks about it quite a bit. He talked about it again last week at his press conference. …
“We’ve been told over and over again that it would be revenue neutral, that they’re not looking at decreasing the revenue available to local units of government. But you know how these things shake out, so it’s something that we will watch very, very closely, and make sure that it’s not any kind of cut to local property tax revenue.”
Also looming over a fiscal 2027 budget will be Medicaid resources:
“Jimmy, you’ve spoken to it before, we still haven’t seen what the budget’s going to look like as far as Medicaid goes, right? Because what are the numbers you’re hearing as far as the range that it could impact the state budget?” Currie asked.
“It’s a very wide range,” replied Jimmy Johnson. “It’s honestly scary numbers when you hear $200 million to $600 million. I know that is a huge discrepancy, but what we have to factor in is there’s different Medicaid eligibility rules that they’re factoring in here, the SNAP error rates. So, again, you know, bottom line, it’s going to be about $200 million that you either have to backfill it, or we have to find out what is the best service to cut so then the state can have a good return on investment. I don’t want to be in their shoes for that.”
To watch the full episode, recorded on Feb. 9, click here or on the image above.
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Attorney general meets with MAC Board
MAC President Antoinette Wallace welcomed Attorney General Dana Nessel to MAC’s headquarters on Feb. 10 for a discussion between Nessel and the MAC Board of Directors. Among the topics explored were ongoing work on opioid settlement funding and the attorney general’s role in energy issues.
Garner shares a laugh with Allegan Commissioner Mark DeYoung at the Exhibitor Show during the 2022 Legislative Conference in Lansing.
MAC recognizes Garner for two decades of service to counties
A milestone was reached in the MAC offices this month, as our Kristina Garner celebrated her 20th anniversary of service to the association on Feb. 6, 2026.
Garner’s official role is operating MAC’s COBRA insurance benefits program for participating members, but county leaders may know her best from her many years of staffing booths and registration desks at our conferences.
“Kristina exemplifies what MAC is about: family,” said Executive Director Stephan Currie. “In a family, members pitch in to do whatever is needed, and you always know you can count on them to deliver.”
Cutline: Garner shares a laugh with Allegan Commissioner Mark DeYoung at the Exhibitor Show during the 2022 Legislative Conference in Lansing.
Van Buren’s Peat passes at age 78
Randall Peat, a commissioner in Van Buren County, passed away this week. He was 78.
Peat was first elected to the Van Buren board in 2018, and he served for several years as board chair.
“This is not just a loss for the community but for me personally as well,” said Van Buren County Administrator John Faul. “His mentorship inspired me to be a better administrator and to always remember our core service is to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of our citizens when making decisions.”
Peat’s service to his country including combat duty in the Navy during the Vietnam War. After his service, he co-founded Manatron, a software firm that included many county governments among its clients.
MAC extends its condolences to Peat’s wife, Madelynn, his family and his friends and colleagues in Van Buren County. For service details, click here.
MAC offices closed Feb. 16 to observe Presidents Day
MAC’s Lansing offices will be closed on Monday, Feb. 16 to observe the Presidents Day holiday.
Normal office hours will resume at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Presidents Day’s origins are from the 19th century, when Congress designated a day for President George Washington. In 1968, Congress passed legislation to reorganize holidays and designated one meant to honor both Washington (birthdate – Feb. 22) and President Abraham Lincoln (birthdate – Feb. 12).
Learn more:
- Read the text of Washington’s famous “Farewell Address”
- Read the text of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
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