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State Rep. Price outlines budget wins for local government, schools and infrastructure
Summary
State Representative Price briefed Royal Oak commissioners on the FY2024–25 budget lines that affect local governments: revenue-sharing increases, public-safety funding, school-aid relief, lead service-line replacement support, EV charging and water infrastructure grants, and workforce and housing programs.
State Representative Price appeared at the Royal Oak City Commission meeting to summarize provisions of the FY2024–25 state budget she described as most salient to local governments and schools.
Price highlighted a $75 million increase in revenue sharing to municipalities and a separate $75 million public-safety and violence-prevention fund. On education she said the legislature freed approximately $600 million by reducing employer contribution rates to the state retirement system, which she estimated translated to about $420 per pupil for Royal Oak Schools in addition to the regular per‑pupil allotment; she said the state remains roughly $4.5 billion short of full funding. The budget includes $200 million to continue universal free breakfasts and lunches and $87 million for literacy interventions.
On public health, Price said the budget includes loan-repayment support for nursing students serving high-need areas and $1.8 million in grants for community organizations to provide programming around extreme risk protection and safe-storage laws. She described transportation investments (e.g., $226.7 million toward local bus operations and $101 million to local road agencies) and environmental investments, including $40.3 million to pursue federal funding for lead service-line replacement and $30 million for EV charging and hydrogen fueling infrastructure.
Price also discussed workforce and small-business supports (a Michigan Innovation Fund), and programs supporting higher-education affordability (Tuition Incentive increase, Michigan Reconnect funding). She offered the commission assistance from her office for grant letters and constituents requiring help navigating state departments.
During questioning, commissioners pressed Price on the proposed Woodward noise enforcement bill; Price said it did not pass the House as hoped but she plans to reintroduce it and intends to pursue cleaner enforcement language and higher, waivable fines (she described a proposal with a first-offense up to $500, waivable if used to bring a vehicle into compliance, and $1,000 for later offenses).
