banner 04-08-2021

Page 8 — Thursday, April 8, 2021 — The Hastings Banner

How Michigan communities can, and should, spend stimulus

Bridge Magazine
Government officials across Michigan are
confronting something of a welcome chal-
lenge this spring: The need to design pro-
grams and systems to maximize billions of
dollars in federal stimulus funding heading
their way — and spend it down before the
federal government can take it back at the end
of 2024.
“We’re going to have to buy buckets to
hand out money from,” Ingham County
Commissioner Mark Grebner joked in March
after learning Ingham is in line for nearly $
million from the federal government.
“Maybe we could have parades and throw
dimes at children?”
Michigan cities, townships, villages and
counties are expected to receive a combined
$4.4 billion from the latest COVID-19 stimu-
lus package signed into law last month by
President Joe Biden, according to initial esti-
mates. Half the money should reach local
governments this year, with the other half
arriving in 2022.
That’s the equivalent of $441 for each of
Michigan’s roughly 10 million residents,
many of whom already qualified for their own
$1,400 stimulus checks.
All told, the $1.9 trillion federal stimulus
plan is expected to provide $10 billion for

governments across Michigan: the $4.4 bil-

lion for local governments plus another $5.

billion for state government, which

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the

Republican-led Legislature will need to nego-

tiate.

And that’s separate from Biden’s $2 trillion

infrastructure proposal unveiled last week.

Experts say the “rescue plan” presents huge

opportunities for local government officials to

not only meet immediate needs and rebuild

economies that suffered during the pandemic,

but to also think long-term, with an eye on

equity, and begin to invest in infrastructure

that will last decades beyond the public health

crisis.

“It’s hard to exaggerate how big of a deal it

is,” said Stephanie Leiser, who leads the

Local Fiscal Health Project at the University

of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and

Urban Policy.

“I’ve heard it compared to the New Deal,

and I think this is a good way for communities

to kind of frame this, as a really big injection

of resources, and probably not one they’re

likely to get again for a long time.”

The federal stimulus law includes some

restrictions on how the money can be spent

— states can’t use it to cut taxes, and local

governments can’t prop up struggling pension

funds — although it is more flexible than

earlier stimulus packages. Officials are await-

ing additional guidance, as well as exact fund-

ing levels, from the U.S. Treasury, which they

expect by early May.

But spending discussions have already

begun as officials anticipate funding that in

some cases will rival their annual operating

budgets.

The immediate priority is “taking care of

people,” but beyond that, local governments

should focus on making “generational

change,” said state Sen. Adam Hollier, a

Detroit Democrat who has a master’s degree

in urban planning. “And if we’re talking gen-

erational change, it’s real infrastructure.

That’s removing lead and copper lines, and

taking those out.”

The stimulus also includes ambitious

national programs that could lift 117,

Michigan children out of poverty, and addi-

tional funding for tribal communities. There’s

also money for local transit systems in

Michigan, including $250 million for cities

from Benton Harbor to Saginaw, and another

$20.6 million for rural transit agencies.

Some local governments will focus their

spending on immediate business or resident

relief programs to help restore the pre-pan-

demic economy, and that’s reasonable given

the number of businesses and people that “got

crushed” financially over the past year, said

Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future

Inc., a nonprofit focused on encouraging a

“knowledge-driven” economy.

“But the wisest use of this money is to try

to begin to make structural reforms” that will

last for years, Glazer said. “What are the basic

services, infrastructure and amenities that

they have underinvested in, probably for

decades, that are needed to be an attractive

place where people live, work and play?”

Here’s what we know so far about how the

money can be spent — and how a variety of

experts say it should be spent to maximize its

impact.

Relief programs for businesses, residents

The first “traunch” of federal funding is

expected to reach local governments by May,

and experts say officials should work to

deploy that money as quickly as possible to

benefit those impacted by the ongoing pan-

demic.

The federal law allows local governments

to use funding for “costs related to the public

health emergency, including assistance to

households, small businesses, nonprofits and

aid to affected industries like tourism, travel

and hospitality.”

That means cities, townships, villages and

counties across Michigan could set up their

own relief programs and hand out grants,

either directly to local businesses or house-

holds, or through partnerships with nonprofits

and other community organizations.

“I think we’re all in the business now of

seeking the names of desperate restaurant

owners,” said Grebner, the Ingham County

Commissioner. “The real point of this stimu-

lus package at the local level is giving it to

people and businesses in need, and this is a

process that is going to be controlled by the

local units of government, which do not have

any system for doing that.”

Setting up those systems will require local

governments to identify residents or business-

es that struggled in the pandemic. Some could

have a head start on that front if local busi-

nesses have already applied for other relief

programs earlier in the pandemic. Then they’ll

also need to build systems to hand out the

grants, partner with industry groups or build

regional collaborations, which have generally

been elusive in Michigan.

The federal law prohibits states from using

the stimulus funding to directly or indirectly

pay for new tax cuts or delay any pending tax

increases. But that prohibition does not apply

to local governments, which could choose to

lower property taxes or other assessments.

Business or resident relief programs could

take a variety of forms, said Chris Hackbarth,

director of state and federal affairs for the

Michigan Municipal League.

Some communities may decide to use the

funding to reimagine their downtowns with

more spaces for outdoor gatherings, which

some already did during the pandemic to help

restaurants and bars attract customers who

were wary of eating or drinking inside, he

said.

“I’m sure some businesses will start

rethinking how they can model themselves to

be year-round,” Hackbarth said. “Their com-

munities have an ability to help them with

some of that.”

Pandemic expenses and hazard pay

Unlike prior pandemic stimulus plans, the

American Rescue Act allows local govern-

ments to use the funding to plug budget holes

caused by revenue declines during the pan-

demic.

The size of those budget holes — and

therefore the ability to spend the funding to

fill it — “is kind of all over the place,” said

Leiser of U-M. “Communities that are mostly

reliant on property taxes have fared better

than the ones who have more reliance on

income tax or the kind of excise taxes on tour-

ism-related things and have more of a gap to

fill in.”

The 24 Michigan communities that impose

a local income tax are facing a combined loss

of $250 million in revenue this year alone,

according to Hackbarth of the Municipal

League. That’s because residents who lost

jobs during the pandemic no longer had an

income subject to being taxed, and others who

transitioned to remote work may no longer

have reported to an office in the cities with a

tax.

Detroit, the state’s largest city, reportedly

lost $170 million in expected income taxes,

part of a $410 million million revenue loss

since the pandemic began in March of 2020.

Other cities with a local income tax include:

Albion, Battle Creek, Benton Harbor, Big

Rapids, East Lansing, Flint, Grand Rapids,

Grayling, Hamtramck, Highland Park,

Hudson, Ionia, Jackson, Lansing, Lapeer,

Muskegon, Muskegon Heights, Pontiac, Port

Huron, Portland, Saginaw, Springfield and

Walker.

Communities like Southfield, Troy, Utica

and Auburn Hills in metro Detroit, with a

large concentration of commercial office

space, may still face a major budget hit in

coming months as local businesses appeal

their property tax assessments, Hackbarth

said.

The stimulus also allows local governments

to use funds to provide hazard pay to govern-

ment workers who “performed essential func-

tions during the public health emergency.”

Specifically, the money can be used to pro-

vide up to $13 an hour in “premium pay” to

those employees, who are barred from receiv-

ing more than $25,000 total.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has not

yet provided local governments with addition-

al guidance on who can qualify for that hazard

pay, but it’s expected that officials will be able

to provide back pay to many workers who

stayed on their job during the pandemic.

At the county level, that could mean extra

pay for sheriff’s deputies, health department

workers and jail guards. At the city level,

local police, fire and paramedics could bene-

fit.

And it might even mean extra pay for “peo-

ple who didn’t know they were going to get it

and hadn’t even asked for it” but may now

qualify, such as 911 operators, said Grebner,

the Ingham County Commissioner. “Maybe

we won’t, but it’s the sort of thing we’re

thinking about, because it’s permitted.”

The federal law includes one big prohibi-

tion for local governments: They cannot use

the stimulus funding to prop up pension sys-

tems or pay down unfunded liabilities that

pose major budget challenges for communi-

ties in some parts of the state.

But using stimulus funding to fill a hole in

one part of the budget could ultimately free up

resources for those other priorities, Leiser

said. “This will give them some breathing

room to make it easier to do that in the long-

run.”

Lead service lines and clean water

The federal law allows local governments

to use the stimulus funding to make “neces-

sary” investments in water infrastructure, and

that is a “huge opportunity to focus on clean

water,” said Justin Onwenu, a Detroit-based

environmental justice organizer for the Sierra

Club.

Local governments could use the funding

to replace lead service lines, whose dangers

were exposed in the Flint water crisis, for

instance. Or they could build new water treat-

ment plants, and Onwenu said officials may

also be able to fund water affordability pro-

grams.

A new rule adopted in the wake of the Flint

water crisis requires public water systems

across the state to replace any lead service

lines that still remain in the ground. That pro-

cess began in January, and the state is giving

them 20 years to complete the job.

Whitmer last year announced $139.6 mil-

lion in funding to help communities comply

with the rule change and called on state law-

makers to free up more money. But available

resources have paled in comparison to the

likely cost.

There are nearly 100,000 known lead ser-

vice lines still in use in Michigan — and that’s

only in the 148 communities that are certain

what kind of pipes they have underground.

Another 56 public water systems suspect

they have at least some lead service lines, and

another 65 simply do not know what is under-

ground and may have to dig to confirm,

according to preliminary inventories submit-

ted to the state last year.

All told, there are nearly 300,000 known or

suspected lead service lines in Michigan, and

275,000 pipes made of unknown materials

with no available documentation. There are

another 560,000 pipes without documentation

that officials believe are not likely to contain

lead.

Grand Rapids, the state’s second largest

city, reported 18,557 known lead service lines

and another 8,540 it suspects are made of

lead. Saginaw and Jackson each reported

more than 10,000 known lead service lines.

Detroit reported 2,420 known lead pipes but

more than 77,000 it suspects are also made of

lead.

The stimulus funding could help local com-

munities “accelerate” lead service line

replacement initiatives they were already

planning, Leiser said. “It’s sort of a remedial

thing, as opposed to kind of investing in 21st

Century infrastructure, but we only have to

Lake Odessa

Lake O News

Jeffrey A. Keessen

AIF®

Karen Hayward

Administrative Assistant

Taking care of what's important to you

so that you can focus on what matters most to you

Jeffrey A. Keessen, AIF®

(269) 948-

525 W. Apple St. Hastings, MI 49058

http://www.watersedgefinancial.com

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC

Elaine Garlock
Has spring arrived for good? Weather in
the 70s would make one think so. Forsythia is
showing its yellow color. Daffodils are at their
best. Hyacinths are in bloom. Other spring
flowers are coming into bud and blossom. We
see robins quite often. Easter was a beautiful
day.
Central United Methodist Church had
its Good Friday service at 6:30 p.m. with
members and some guests present with the
sanctuary bright with late afternoon sunlight.
A Tenebrae service was held with several
candles lit on the altar. This includes readers,
a bell rung after each Scripture and music.
Members of St. Edward Church and the local
historical society will remember residents Dr.
William Lynch and wife, Arlene, who lived
on Beech Street off brown Road for several
years before and after the turn of the century.
Her father had been an implement dealer
here many years earlier, but their building
burned. After that, the Zerfas family moved
to Portland. Rene Conway was a member
of the Zerfas household. She later married
Leander Peacock and remained a resident
the rest of her life. Now Evelyn has died at
age 89. She was a duplicate bridge player, a

former travel agent, MSU graduate, early an

army wife in Oklahoma while her veterinarian

husband served at an Air Force base in the

1950s. They raised their five children in Ann

Arbor. A private mass was held in DeWitt and

burial was at Fort Custer Cemetery near Battle

Creek.

Easter Sunday brought celebrations at all

local churches. At Central Untied Methodist

Church members arrived to find many

butterflies in evidence, flowers at the entrance,

a lawn sign with the greeting “Alleluia,”

singing by Cantor Tom Reiser, a recording

of an anthem “Our Savior is Alive” sung in

a previous year. The platform was bedecked

with many lily plants.

With temperatures in the 70s most days, one

would wonder why the Floria sojourners do

not come home to such near-perfect weather.

One Lake Odessa couple used to plan on

seeing the Florida Spring. Then they made

a halfway stop in Tennessee for two weeks

to again experience another spring. Then

they got back to Lake Odessa in time for a

Michigan spring. If they enjoyed fall weather,

they might be able to have three falls by taking

the reverse route in October.

MICHAEL KINNEY

PLUMBING

Licensed Master Plumber

Licensed Journeyman Plumber

New construction, remodel, repair, drain cleaning.

BRADFORD WHITE WATER HEATERS

Same Day Installation

Office (269) 948-

Mobile (269) 838-

License

#

& Insured

-NOTICE-

To Members of Hastings Mutual Insurance Company,

Hastings, Michigan:

Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of Hastings

Mutual Insurance Company will be conducted via conference

call on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, beginning at 9:00 a.m., due

to the COVID-19 restrictions. The annual meeting agenda

includes a ballot for the election of the following Directors:

Douglas J. Drenth, Mark A. Kolanowski, and Janice A.

Oshinski. For more information contact Michael W. Puerner,

Secretary, 269-948-1532.

157100

More than 50% of adults have a positive

perception of ads in print newspapers.*

Want to be next to trusted

content? Place your ad in this

newspaper and a network of

newspapers in the state!

Call this paper

or 800-227-

*Kantar Millward Brown, Feb. 2018

THIS AD FOR SALE!

http://www.cnaads.com

EXECUTIVE

DIRECTOR WANTED

Middleville Housing Commission (Lincoln

Meadow Senior Apartments) is seeking

a highly motivated individual to serve as

the director of a 50 unit HUD housing

building.

HUD experience is preferred. Applicant should

have a minimum of an Associate in Business,

experience in accounting, & budgeting. Must

be able to get along with people & a problem

solver. Willing to work flexible hours, 25-30,

a Deputy Director, 15-20 hours & available to

be on call. Starting salary is dependent upon

qualifications. Position is open until filled.

Must be able to pass physical, drug screen &

background check.

Resumes may be sent to:

Middleville Housing Commission,

500 Lincoln St, Middleville, MI 49333

or emailed to:

[email protected]

Continued next page