Revenue From State to Cities is Increasing

In a recent editorial arguing that the state does not give cities enough of its tax revenue, Detroit Free Press columnist Stephen Henderson wrote that Lansing is “shorting” the revenue collected from sales tax that is shared with cities, villages and townships.

“Yes, state government has balanced its own books by shorting revenue to cities, but the consequence is more municipal governments in financial distress, and more necessary state intervention that is both costly and less effective than properly funding cities on the front end,” Henderson wrote.

ForTheRecord says: The amount of revenue-sharing money the state gives local governments has increased in each of the past six years, from $994,196,100 in FY 2010 to $1,252,406,100 in FY 2016, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency.