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Lake Michigan College president outlines millage change, apprenticeships and police academy at Benton Harbor meeting
Summary
Lake Michigan College president told the Benton Harbor City Commission the college will place a rate change on the ballot that he described as a tax cut, emphasized capital-only restrictions on those funds, and highlighted apprenticeship and police academy programs designed to boost local workforce training.
Lake Michigan College President (name not specified in transcript) told the Benton Harbor City Commission that the college plans to put a rate change on the ballot and described the change as a tax cut. “And what we're proposing to do is to reduce that to 4. ... To me, that's a tax cut, and that's what will be on the ballot,” the president said.
The president said the revenue in question cannot be used for operating expenses and “we can only use that for buildings, maintenance.” He cited the Mendel Center as an example of a facility that needs repairs that “is going to take millions of dollars to fix,” and said the college regards the theater as an asset for community events.
The presentation also highlighted student-retention and affordability metrics. The president said a private ranking firm, SmartAsset, reviewed 500 community colleges and ranked Lake Michigan College first in Michigan and 13th nationally; he said the college’s retention rate is “up over 85%” and that the college’s faculty-student ratio is about 13-to-1.
On workforce training, the president described recent and new programs the college is promoting. He said the college is expanding dual-enrollment and early middle-college opportunities for Benton Harbor students, noting those programs can save families money and allow students to earn an associate degree more quickly. He also emphasized apprenticeships—particularly youth apprenticeships tied to Department of Labor programs—and said the college launched a countywide youth-apprenticeship program to build the local workforce.
The president described a newly established local police academy, saying the college stood up the program within 10 months, obtained approvals, hired staff and “graduated 27 officers in the last 2 summers.”
Commissioner Simmons praised the presentation and said the college’s programs—especially welding and other trades training—are “phenomenal” for Benton Harbor, noting apprenticeships and workforce pathways and urging the city not to take the college’s work for granted.
The president closed by noting recent campus investments including new turf fields and reiterated the college’s fiscal standing, saying it holds one of the highest credit ratings among Michigan community colleges and that the college is seeking reductions in a capital-rate figure and a freeze in an operational rate through 2046.
