"The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about."

-Lent Upson, first director of Citizens Research Council

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March 7, 2025

Local governments continue to face fiscal consequences of two landmark property tax limitation constitutional amendments without a strategy to address their faults. Of particular interest is the authority to increase millage rates that were reduced under the Headlee Amendment to be reinstated without voter approval (known as a “Headlee rollup”).  State and local policymakers should address Headlee Rollups together with overall local government fiscal reforms.

IN A NUTSHELL

 -- The fiscal consequences of the Headlee Amendment and Proposal A, Michigan’s two landmark constitutional property tax limitations, continue to challenge local governments that are heavily reliant on property tax revenues.  

 -- Local Governments are supporting a change in law to allow millage rates that were reduced under the Headlee Amendment to be reinstated without voter approval (known as a "Headlee rollup"). They best begin with a review of the original intent of the Headlee Amendment as well as a legal assessment.

 -- State and local policymakers should launch a deliberate and comprehensive review of Michigan’s local government fiscal system. Establishing a state-level expert-supported commission to examine overall local funding challenges, including the impact of Headlee millage limitations will go a long way to identify durable reforms that benefit both local governments and taxpayers. 

Catch Up on More Recent Briefs:

• Policymakers at All Levels Can Work Toward Better Indoor Air Quality
• Bringing Oversight and Transparency to Legislative Earmarking
• Consequences of State-Directed K-12 Funding: Loss of Local Decision-Making
• Getting the "Dys" out of Michigan's Dysfunctional Legislature

It’s that time of year - pothole season! We invite members of the Emerging Leaders Council to join the Citizens Research Council and special guest host John Truscott on Thursday, March 27 from 3-5 pm in Lansing to discuss one of the most pressing issues facing state lawmakers: road funding, aka: fixing the damn roads!"

How much funding is needed? Who will pay? How would a road funding plan alter the next fiscal year’s budget as proposed by the Governor on February 5? There are currently two competing road funding frameworks, one offered by Speaker Matt Hall and the other by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. How do they differ?

We will pose these and other questions to John Truscott, who offers a unique perspective as former Governor John Engler’s communications director. He was with the Governor in 1998 when a previous massive road deal was struck. We will ask him how they sold a bipartisan road plan decades ago. What was the “art of the deal” in 1998? How was the deal struck? We will lay out the current proposals with John and discuss some of the tradeoffs that will likely need to happen.

Free ramp parking provided.

The Research Council is thrilled to announce the arrival of Mary Woloskie as our fundraising director. Mary is a seasoned fundraiser with over 20 years of experience working with not-for-profit, for-profit, federal, and tribal organizations.  She has secured over $4 million for various organizations during her career.  This includes writing the testimony before Congress that secured $174 million to increase airport interoperability security after September 11. She is a graduate of Oakland University. Welcome, Mary!

Hall Not Sold on Final Book Closing, MIRS News (March 5)

Detroit’s Mayoral Race Heats Up as Candidates Battle for the City’s Future and the People Trust, Michigan Chronicle (February 21)

Detroit’s finances are stable. Can the next mayor keep it that way? Crain’s Detroit Business (February 20)

Michigan’s highway funding becomes the white whale of public policy, City Pulse (February 19)

Student enrollment down as state considers more K-12 funding, The Center Square (February 18)

Whitmer, Hall’s Road Funding Proposals Leave CRC Scratching Its Head, MIRS News (February 18)

Spotlight on the News: Michigan public policy, WXYZ Detroit (February 14)

Legislature Reaction Splits Along Party Lines on $3B Whitmer Road Plan, But Hall Seems Open, Gongwer (February 11)

What’s a Con-Con? Michigan voters will decide if they want to rewrite the constitution in 2026, Michigan Advance (February 10)

Opinion: How to make Michigan’s Legislature less dysfunctional, Crain’s Business (February 10)

Report: To Curb Budgetary Earmarks, Put Pork Protocols Into State Law, Gongwer (February 7)

Whitmer proposes tax on vapes, nicotine products to curb usage, generate more revenue, WWJ Detroit (February 6)

The Senate Finance, Insurance and Consumer Protection Committee invited the Department of Treasury and Citizens Research Council to present before the committee on Michigan taxes and tax abatements. Following a presentation on Michigan's tax structure by Chief Deputy Treasurer Jeff Guilfoyle, Research Council President Eric Lupher and Senior Research Associate Robert Schneider provided an overview and history of taxes in Michigan. One of the most downloaded documents published by the Research Council is the "Outline of the Michigan Tax System," which will be updated later this year. 

Left to right: MTA Legal Counsel Rob Thall, Eric Lupher, MTA Executive Director Neil Sheridan, MTA President Connie Cargill 

Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council, this week presented before nearly 200 township officials from across the state as they convened in Lansing for the Michigan Townships Association’s (MTA) 2025 Capital Conference. He discussed property tax reform and an assessment of the AxMiTax, a proposed constitutional amendment that will begin collecting petition signatures in a few weeks.

The annual conference provides insights and information on key township issues at the forefront in Lansing, including the critical need for preservation of local control, and adequate funding and investments in Michigan’s communities, local roads and infrastructure.  The Michigan Townships Association advances local democracy by fostering township leadership and public policy essential for a strong and vibrant Michigan.