Shelby Township receives $150,000 boost in statutory shared revenue from state

As part of the finalization of the state of Michigan’s 2015 budget, state officials awarded $195,000 in statutory shared revenue to Shelby Township.

According to the state’s Department of Treasury estimates, Shelby Township was scheduled to receive $42,069, or 57 cents per resident, of statutory funds in 2014. Unlike the constitutional shared revenue municipalities receive, which are fixed amounts; statutory amounts are distributed to municipalities at the discretion of the Governor and Legislature.

“On behalf of all of my fellow Shelby Township residents, I’m thankful that our State Legislators, Representatives Peter Lund and Jeff Farrington and Senator Jack Brandenburg, were successful in increasing the amount of statutory shared revenue our Township received from the state,” Township Supervisor Rick Stathakis said. “The increase to roughly $195,000 equates to $2.64 per resident.”

“I am very pleased that we were able to boost the amount of money that the state sends back to Shelby Township’s coffers,” Lund said. “I’ve always believed tax revenue needs to be handled by local units of government as they are closer to the people and do a better, more efficient job of rendering services and utilizing those funds.”

The 2014 estimates were $1,290 higher than the amount of statutory revenue the Township received in 2013, but the reason the amount was able to jump so severely in 2015 was the change in the criteria used by the state to distribute the funds.

From 2012 to 2014, statutory funding was tied to the Economic Vitality Incentive Program, which asked municipalities to follow guidelines to improve financial accountability and transparency, consolidation of services, and forming unfunded liability plans.

“I never had an issue with the EVIP program as we were always in compliance and ready to receive the maximum amount of EVIP funding that was available to Shelby Township,” Stathakis said. “My issue with EVIP and statutory funding has always been in the inequity of distribution between different municipalities.

“In 2013, our Township received a paltry $40,779 or 55 cents per resident,” Stathakis added. “In comparison, the city of Detroit in 2013 received $130,037,349 in statutory revenue from the state or $182.18 per resident.”

Stathakis said that he hopes the changes in statutory revenue distribution continues and closes the gaps between different units of local government.

“While I am extremely grateful for the increase in revenue Shelby Township received, there is still a severe inequity in the way our state tax dollars are redistributed to our residents,” Stathakis said. “I will never stand here and tell you that the state of Michigan needs to give Shelby Township more money. But, as a member of the Board of Trustees, I am bound to point out this inequity and continue to fight for you to get as great of a return on your tax investment as possible.”