Page 2 - Chris Hackbarth News Today

A House bill would bar 24 Michigan cities from imposing taxes on non-resident workers. Critics say that would be ‘catastrophic,’ but one Republican says ‘Thomas Jefferson would be proud.’

LANSING — The White House is asking officials to think big as it sends nearly $11 billion dollars in federal stimulus funds to the state and local governments, including $885 million in additional funding Michigan had not expected. The U.S. Treasury this week unveiled final allocations for some of the $350 billion it will provide to state, local, territorial and tribal governments nationally through the American Rescue Plan designed to speed up the national recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic...

Lansing and East Lansings 2020 ncome tax returns are due by June 1. Hackbarth is hopeful that part of local income tax collections could rebound fairly quickly as unemployment drops. But the trend of working from home is likely to persist even once the pandemic subsides, leaving some cities with a long-term hit to their bottom lines. "How do we keep these cities whole?" Hackbarth said. "It’s large communities. It’s small communities. It’s urban. It’s rural." Local governments are receiv...

Will cities ask citizens for input on spending billions in federal funds? Many are unsure. Updated 11:09 AM; Today 11:09 AM Hand sanitizer sits on a table next to the public comment microphone during the Portage Public Schools Board of Education work session at Portage Northern High School Auditorium in Portage, Michigan on Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. (Joel Bissel | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com Facebook Share Sometimes it’s the way government made a decision, not the decision itself, that ...

See how much stimulus money your town gets; Michigan splits $10.3B in funding Updated Mar 18, 2021; Posted Mar 17, 2021 Sun shines on the U.S. Capitol dome, Tuesday, March 2, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)AP Facebook Share It was not. While the $1,400 per person checks may be the most popular part of the plan, cities and towns are celebrating the cash influx local governments will see. In Michigan alone, the package gives $4.4 billion to cities, townships, villages and count...

Municipal leaders from Battle Creek to Lansing are welcoming a budget plan from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that would allocate $70 million to bail out 24 cities hit hard by decreasing income taxes from the pandemic. In Michigan, 24 cities rely on income taxes to comprise 25 to 33 percent of their annual revenue.  Some had to lay off workers last year because state law doesn’t allow municipalities to collect local income taxes on unemployment or from employees who worked outside of their ...

State emergency management officials told a mid-Michigan community this month that the state will change the way it processes emergency aid requests after the community was denied financial aid to pay for its response to a massive ice jam that caused flooding in 2019.  State agencies are mum on the changes, with Attorney General Dana Nessels office and the Michigan State Police declining to comment on the situation.  The changes will clarify the process for getting emergency aid in a way tha...

Now, after months of negotiations, congressional leaders are nearing agreement on a second stimulus, as leaders fear the economy, which was bolstered by the CARES Act, is worsening. Michigan’s unemployment rate in November climbed to 6.9 percent from 6.1 percent, the first increase since April, according to figures released Wednesday. Nationally, job growth slowed in November, due in part to coronavirus restrictions on businesses, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The latest stimulus...