Opinion | Revenue Sharing Trust Fund would build vibrant, prosperous communities

From downtowns to small towns, farm towns to beach towns, local leaders are working to create vibrant communities that offer a better quality of life. These communities are where Michiganders call home, businesses grow and people gather together.

Strong communities are central to Michigan’s economic development and population growth. We keep our local communities strong by ensuring positive investment. We ensure roads and bridges are in good condition, streets are kept clean, water is safe to drink, and parks are maintained and ready to be enjoyed. 

Tending to these needs isn’t always a glamorous task. When government services are provided right, it may seem quite uneventful and stale to most people. The reality is, these services impact every resident, business and visitor in Michigan daily. Our local government leaders are on the front lines of these interactions, building relationships and creating long-term strategies to meet their communities’ needs. 

Every single time a local elected leader comes to Lansing, they tell us that local governments function best when they have a predictable and stable source of revenue they can plan around. It’s extremely difficult for community leaders to announce a new building improvement program, infrastructure project or public safety initiative when they don’t know if they will have the same state investments to continue those efforts the following year. 

As state lawmakers, it is our job to listen to this feedback and help develop solutions to address them, which is what we have done by proposing a Revenue Sharing Trust Fund. 

Currently, the state budget provides roughly $625 million to the state’s 1,856 local governments to help deliver essential services to Michiganders. These existing resources would be placed into the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund and protected from the political whims of the legislative process. Having communities that are safe and secure, maintain quality infrastructure and support economic growth is not partisan. The resources that support our communities shouldn’t be either.

Our communities, large and small, are the epicenter of our future success. Investing in them is not trivial. It is a proven economic growth strategy that boosts financial security, improves quality of life and attracts and retains talent and business — outcomes that are precisely what every leader desires. 

Only a few short weeks remain in this year’s legislative calendar. We must use this time to address the issues that will have a lasting positive impact for Michigan’s residents and businesses. 

It has been more than a year since the Michigan House of Representatives passed, with broad bipartisan support, House Bills 4274 and 4275 establishing the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund. We cannot afford to delay action on this any further. Let's get this across the finish line, Michiganders are counting on us!