2000 Publications

Proposal A: An Arts and Culture Tax for Oakland and Wayne Counties,
Memo 1057, ( October 2000 )

At the November 7, 2000, general election, the voters of Oakland and Wayne Counties will be asked to approve the levy of one-half mill (0.5 mills) to support regional cultural institutions and local arts and recreation programs in these counties for ten years. Regional cultural institutions, such as zoos, science centers, public broadcast stations, museums, historical centers, performing arts centers, visual or performing arts centers, orchestras, and opera houses, will benefit from this tax.

Statewide Ballot Issues: Proposal 00-2 - "Let Local Votes Count"
Memo 1056, ( October 2000 ) 4 pages

Summary of Report 332

Statewide Ballot Issues: Proposal 00-1 - School Choice
Memo 1055, ( October 2000 ) 4 pages

Summary of Report 331

Statewide Ballot Issues: Proposal 00-2 - "Let Local Votes Count"
Report 332, ( October 2000 ) 16 pages

This analysis examines the affect of the amendment and past legislation that would be repealed if it is adopted. It examines a number of issues, including, the state's role in restricting local powers, grouping non-charter units of government together with charter units, the undefined terms used in the proposal, the status of state revenue distribution programs, minority rule issues, tax policy issues, the problems presented for any future government reform efforts, and the issue of federal regulatory primacy. Finally, the analysis provides some background about home rule, its implementation in Michigan, and how the proposed amendment fits into that system of state/local relations.

Statewide Ballot Issues: Proposal 00-1 - School Choice
Report 331, ( September 2000 ) 20 pages

A detailed CRC analysis of Proposal 00-1 (school choice) on the November statewide ballot. The analysis contains background on public aid to nonpublic schools in Michigan, a description of the proposal, a consideration of its potential financial impact, a review of U. S. Supreme Court decisions regarding public aid to sectarian nonpublic schools, an analysis of the "4-year graduation rate," descriptions of voucher plans in other states, and data regarding nonpublic schools in Michigan.

Michigan’s Unrestricted Revenue Sharing Program: Retrospect and Prospect
Report 330, ( September 2000 ) 33 pages

In December 1998, the Michigan Legislature approved a major revision in the State's revenue sharing program. The unrestricted revenue sharing program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 will pay over $1.4 billion to general-purpose local units of government: cities, villages, townships, and counties. These units may use the revenues for any legitimate governmental purpose.

Although counties receive revenue sharing, most revenue sharing dollars are paid to cities, villages, and townships and it is these payments that have attracted the greatest legislative attention and interest and are the focus of this report. The report traces the development of Michigan's program over a six decade period, describes the formula components in place prior to the 1998 revisions, and provides illustrative projections of payments under the new formulas beyond the year 2000.

Michigan’s Unrestricted Revenue Sharing Program: Retrospect and Prospect
Memo 1054, ( September 2000 ) 4 pages

Summary of Report 330

Avoiding Local Government Financial Crisis: The Role of State Oversight
Report 329, ( July 2000 ) 56 pages

Over the years, the State of Michigan has enacted a number of laws to prevent or react to local government fiscal distress. Despite these laws, the state has remained relatively inactive in the oversight of local government finances, and a few units of local government have experienced fiscal distress. Through proactive monitoring of local government finances, the state could identify local units with management policies, financial practices, or debt management practices that allow financial conditions to erode. By continuously working with local governments, the state could assist in changing the course of those unit’s finances. Based on the experiences of other states, the likely result of such actions is tax savings for residents of those units likely to get into fiscal distress, improved management practices by officials of those units, and reduced interest costs for all Michigan residents.

This report considers the proper state response to local government fiscal distress, examines the policies of other states, and makes eight recommendations for how the state might alter its current practices to better deal with fiscal crises.

Avoiding Local Government Financial Crisis: The Role of State Oversight
Memo 1053, (July 2000 ) 8 pages

Summary of Report 329

E-commerce and the Michigan Use Tax,
Presentation 00-1, ( June 2000 ) 27 slides

A presentation to the Detroit Regional Chamber
20th Leadership Policy Conference
Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island

Introduces the problems of taxation of goods sold over the Internet and discusses the role the Use Tax should play in as the tax is conceived.

Provisions of the Kids First! Yes! Ballot Proposal
Misc. ( June 2000 ) 3 pages

Summary of the provisions of the proposal, and the actual language of the proposed amendment.

The 2000 Census and State and Local Finance in Michigan
Report 328, ( March 2000 ) 32 pages

The study identifies 34 provisions in state law where a reference to local government population affects state and local government finance: 11 affect the allocation of state funds to local governments and 22 affect local governments’ authority to raise revenue. The potential changes of the most significance are the provisions in: (1) the State Revenue Sharing Act that eliminate limitations on growth for as many as 1,000 cities, villages, and townships whose population increases more than ten percent between censuses; (2) the Downtown Development Authority Act that could allow Detroit to raise its tax from one to two mills; and (3) the City Income Tax Act that could restrict Saginaw’s ability to levy its tax at a rate higher than that generally allowed other cities.

Changes to the Property Tax Delinquency and Reversion Process in Michigan,
Memo 1052, ( January 2000 ) 12 pages

Recent changes to the General Property Tax Act have significantly shortened and simplified administrative processes affecting delinquent real property taxes. Before these changes, it was common for thousands of tax-delinquent parcels of property to revert to the State annually, a process that took up to five years or more. Beginning with the 1999 tax year, tax-delinquent parcels will proceed to judicial foreclosure in local circuit court in a process that returns the property--with marketable title--back to tax productive status about two and a half years after delinquency.

Included in the changes are two additional acts that allow local units of government in Michigan to return tax-reverted or abandoned property to the tax rolls more quickly. The Tax Reverted Property Emergency Disposal Act addresses the problem of large backlogs of tax-reverted parcels returned by the State to the local unit, which, because of their tax-reverted status, are not marketable by the local unit. The Certification of Abandoned Property for Accelerated Foreclosure Act allows local units to subject locally-certified abandoned property to an accelerated foreclosure process that shortens the two and a half year process to about one and a half years.

It is the CRC policy to make all publications online. If a document you desire is not yet online, please let us know of your desire. It can be put online with little turn around time. Documents may be requested at crcmich@crcmich.org.

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Last Updated July 25, 2006