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Lobbyist outlines Lansing priorities: public safety fund, water fee proposal, Nowicki Park funding among topics
Summary
A Lansing lobbying update to Rochester Hills council covered a proposed Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund, a state water‑meter fee proposal, road funding debates, and local appropriations efforts such as Nowicki Park.
Adam Wright of Midwest Strategy Group briefed the Rochester Hills City Council on developments in Lansing and how pending legislation could affect the city.
Wright described a recently reintroduced Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund that would divert a portion of state sales tax into grants distributed to communities according to their violent‑crime statistics; he said an initial estimate indicated Rochester Hills could receive about $83,000 under that program if enacted. He also discussed a proposed meter fee (previously $2, now reintroduced at $1.25 with an opt‑out provision) intended to create a central fund to help households pay water bills; Wright said local governments opposed mandatory participation and noted the program’s success would depend on broad statewide participation.
Wright characterized several other bills as largely messaging items: sanctuary city penalties that would risk state revenue if a municipality was designated a sanctuary city (he noted Rochester Hills is not one), and measures on energy siting that would restore local control after last term’s state restrictions. Road funding remains a high‑profile, unresolved topic: the governor and House GOP have divergent plans (the House plan would scale back economic development programs and redirect money toward roads), and Wright said the Senate had not yet consolidated its own plan. He discussed an ongoing effort to create a state refund mechanism for local governments offsetting the cost of the disabled veterans property tax exemption, and said a phased‑in fix over five years was under consideration because of the size of the general‑fund impact (estimated $50–100 million annually statewide).
Wright also described local advocacy work: representatives Tisdale and Weber are supporting an appropriations request for Nowicki Park infrastructure to comply with election‑law requirements and to provide additional community space; Wright said the city had submitted a request through the House online portal and that more than $4 billion in legislative requests are under consideration statewide.
Wright answered council questions on how residents and council members can help elevate local projects and urged continued conversations with legislators and the city’s advocates in Lansing. He said the state’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference later in the week would set updated revenue expectations that will frame budget negotiations.
Ending: Council thanked Wright for the overview and discussed local outreach to their state legislators about specific projects.
