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constitution requires.
Duchane said that under its constitution, the state should be providing 48.9 percent of all
state spending to be used locally, going toward local municipal governments and public
schools. The state has instead been providing closer to 33 percent, he said.
“They’re not meeting that,” Duchane said. “They’re funding things such as charter schools
that don’t count toward local government. I’m not saying ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ on them, but they
can’t be calculated as a local government because they’re not — and the state also has
decided to calculate spending on roads where they contract with us to maintain a (state
owned) trunk line; they’re calling that local spending, which it is not.”
The other factor, he added, is that state law limits how much a city or school can raise in
taxes within its own borders through the Headlee Amendment. Duchane said the state
failed to adjust the amendment accordingly when Proposal A passed and schools started
getting their money through the state as well.
Eastpointe Finance Director Randy Blum said that the city has lost millions over the years
since the state started reducing its shared revenue to local governments.
“Based on how much it’s dropped over the years, if you did it cumulatively, maybe $3.5 to
$4 million, maybe even more,” Blum said. “I would comfortably say if they did it right, (we
would see) $200,000 to $250,000 more a year.”
Duchane believes the issues communities like Detroit and Flint, and school districts like
Detroit Public Schools, have faced are all symptoms of these funding issues, and despite
participating in statedesignated task forces to come up with solutions, the Legislature has
failed to act on them up to this point.
As a result, Duchane said the organization hopes to utilize a right under the Michigan
constitution to bring the state government to court and force it to change these funding
calculations.
“The state has shown no interest in fixing these problems,” he said, adding that the
problem goes back to before Gov. Rick Snyder’s time in office. “We don’t believe there’s any
negotiation available to correct this without more significant legal action to force their
hand to do so.”
He said they have people at the Wayne State University law school and another law center
helping with the “legal grinding” and filing costs, and they are trying to raise money to
help get expert witnesses to prove their case in the courtroom.
Currently, the nonprofit has pledges of around $10,000, though Duchane said they are
still trying to raise money. Around a dozen communities have already voiced support,
Duchane added, and more information is pending as the nonprofit rolls out its goals and
strategy.
Eastpointe Mayor Suzanne Pixley said the city’s donation of $1,500 is a small investment
compared to what it could get back.
“I think the city stands to gain a great deal more than the $1,500 would cost,” Pixley said.
State Rep. Sarah Roberts, DSt. Clair Shores, and a representative of the Michigan
Attorney General’s Office could not be reached by press time for comment.
For more local news coverage, see the following newspaper:
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