Snyder lays out local government reforms
Consolidate and cut costs or lose state aid, governor tells municipalities
Paul Egan / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Grand Rapids— Gov. Rick Snyder said Monday he will give local governments the tools they need to reap significant savings by sharing and consolidating services, but conceded he has no estimate of how much money his proposed changes could realize.
He also called on local leaders to cut the costs of pensions and health insurance for municipal employees and announced steps to curb "pay to play" abuses on pension boards such as the two major public funds in Detroit.
The changes, if implemented, likely mean more cooperation, if not outright mergers, among the roughly 2,000 local government units in Michigan, in their attempts to get a larger share of the state's $200 million pot for revenue sharing.
The changes also could lead to reduced benefits for new municipal employees.
Many municipal leaders said they welcome Snyder's initiatives, which include proposed amendments to state laws he said have made it too difficult and costly for local government consolidations to occur. Most of what he spelled out will require approval of bills in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
