MAC analysis of FY27 budget plan finds disappointments in revenue sharing, veteran grants portions
Feb 13, 2026 | Blog, Legislative, MAC news
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.
Counties are partners with the state in delivering critical public services to Michigan residents. A sustainable, predictable and growing statutory revenue sharing commitment is essential to maintaining those services. MAC urges the governor and Legislature to work with counties to ensure state revenue growth is shared equitably and that counties have the resources necessary to fulfill their constitutional and statutory responsibilities,
$11.6 million for public safety support
Whitmer calls for $11.6 million in new funding for counties to apply toward public safety measures. Unlike some restricted pots of funding, this allocation provides flexibility: counties may direct the dollars to a wide range of public safety services, not just sheriff’s departments.
Backfilling on Medicaid, SNAP to address OBBBA changes
The budget would assign $94.3 million to compensate for changes in the “SNAP” food aid program made by the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
It also adds $60.4 million for staffing at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and support to handle the new federal requirements, $30 million for job training and employment services to help residents meet updated work rules and $2 million to improve data systems so eligibility and verification can move more smoothly. The goal is to keep things running without major backlogs or confusion as the new rules take effect.
On Medicaid, the state is taking a two-part approach. First, it proposes a new dedicated revenue stream into the Medicaid Benefits Trust Fund. Instead of relying entirely on year-to-year General Fund dollars, certain revenues — including an estimated $232 million in FY27 from proposed tobacco tax changes, along with adjustments to gaming and digital advertising taxes — would be deposited into that trust fund.
Second, the budget targets about $150 million in annual efficiency savings by improving operations and cutting unnecessary administrative costs.
For counties, this matters because they partner with the state to deliver many of the services connected to Medicaid and SNAP.
EMS funding
A $31.5 million increase is slated for local ambulance partners. The funding is tied to a Medicaid reimbursement change that would allow Michigan to draw down additional federal match dollars and increase reimbursement rates for eligible emergency transports. This move, however, requires federal approval. Until that approval comes and the Legislature finalizes the appropriation, this remains proposed funding — not guaranteed dollars.
Hazardous waste tipping fee
The budget calls for revenue tied to changes in Michigan’s hazardous waste tipping fee, with $80 million ongoing under a line item focused on protecting Michigan from out-of-state waste and supporting cleanup and remediation efforts. This is restricted revenue generated from per-ton disposal fees — not General Fund dollars.
The governor has proposed tipping fee increases in prior budgets, and similar legislation continues to move in the Senate this session. But MAC has consistently opposed these increases. The concern has remained the same: When disposal fees go up, those costs are often passed along to counties, local businesses and residents.
Local Public health funding remains steady
The budget would continue with $69 million for Essential Local Public Health Services, the primary funding stream that supports county and district health departments, the FY26 levels.
Veteran Service Grants
The County Veteran Service Fund would remain at its current funding level, which means supplemental funding is missing to backfill the shortfall counties absorbed this year. MAC is disappointed that a supplemental backfill was not included and will continue advocating for Rep. Julie Rogers’ bill to provide that relief. MAC also supports increasing the ongoing annual appropriation to $5 million to better reflect growing demand and county participation in the program.
The Legislature will now begin its review of Whitmer’s plans. A state law requires the Legislature and governor to enact a budget by June 30, though that deadline has been missed in the recent past.
