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County finance director: DDAs captured $876,000 in county taxes; commissioners call for talks with cities
Summary
Finance Director Jackie Bennett told the board that $876,000 in county taxes was captured by downtown development authorities and similar districts, with the city of Lapeer accounting for the largest share ($554,000), prompting calls for county-city talks.
Finance Director Jackie Bennett told the Lapeer County Board of Commissioners that county tax capture by downtown development authorities (DDAs) and similar districts totaled $876,000 for the period assessed, and she provided a city-by-city breakdown during elected-officials time.
“$876,000 of county taxes were captured by DDAs,” Bennett said. She told commissioners the city of Lapeer was the largest captured area and that the city had $554,000 captured. Bennett also said that voter-approved public-safety millages produced about $51,000 captured across the various districts combined.
Commissioners reacted with concern. Commissioner Hanks said he had asked DDA leadership not to capture veteran-specific millages and called the practice “in bad taste.” Commissioner Kemp said the county had previously taken a restrictive stance on supporting development programs inside captured districts and that the absence of a clear county response encouraged more aggressive capture by local DDAs and TIFAs.
Bennett explained how capture works in practical terms: money captured in a development district is intended for development inside that district rather than remitted to countywide funds directed to veterans or other voter-approved levies. “They are supposed to use all of this money to develop whatever money that they have,” she said.
Commissioners said they want further discussion with municipal leaders to seek increased coordination. “We need to have a discussion with the city of Lapeer and Emily City eventually and try to get a higher level of cooperation on this,” one commissioner said.
What the transcript does not show: no ordinance or binding action to change capture rules was proposed or adopted at this meeting. Commissioners recorded concerns and asked for further conversation with city officials; no legal or budgetary changes were voted.
Clarifying details recorded in the meeting: Bennett said the $876,000 figure is verified by county finance; figures for individual cities were given in the meeting but not all municipal breakdowns were read into the record. Commissioners raised that the captured money had been authorized by voters for specific uses and expressed concern that capture directs those dollars to local development projects instead.
