Budget Deal Leads To $50 million For Historic, Brownfield and Economic Redevelopment

[begingri]

Budget deal: $310M more for schools, $25M for films

Karen Bouffard/ Detroit News Lansing Bureau

Lansing — Cuts to K-12 education were softened under a budget deal announced Thursday that would also leave open Mound Prison in Detroit, restore some health programs and demand fewer concessions from state employees.

Gov. Rick Snyder, appearing with GOP legislative leaders at a press conference, said "tremendous progress" has been made on the budget and he expects to receive the budget by May 31 to sign into law. The leaders signed an agreement they said included financial targets and budget details for every state department.

The plan would divvy up $428 million in surplus 2011 revenue between K-12 schools and the state's savings account. All together, $900 million in surplus money, including unspent funds from the 2011 budget, was used to take the edge off some of the most painful cuts planned for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

The deal also calls for:

$25 million for film incentives, which Snyder had originally proposed, but was cut to $10 million in the House.

Reducing the amount of concessions sought from state employees from $180 million to $145 million.

$30 million more in revenue sharing money for local governments, half of which would go to cities, villages and townships in the form of incentive grants, with the other half going to county revenue sharing.

$50 million added to the Michigan Strategic Fund for economic development, brownfield redevelopment and historic preservation.

Putting nearly $400 million in "savings accounts," including $255 million in the state's rainy day fund.

There will be no change to the universities' 15 percent cut. Community colleges would be cut by about 4 percent.

Continued at: http://detnews.com/article/20110520/...#ixzz1MuTnH1CQ

[Novine]

The thread title isn't accurate. The $50 million is all going into one pot. While those dollars will be available for historic preservation projects, they also will be competing with other economic development efforts like brownfields.

[begingri]

The thread title isn't accurate. The $50 million is all going into one pot. While those dollars will be available for historic preservation projects, they also will be competing with other economic development efforts like brownfields.

You're right. I corrected it to make it more accurate.

[Gistok]

OK I'm confused... $50 million was "added".... to what? Was there already an existing pot of money... or is this just the annual total sum available to be split among these items mentioned??

$50 million spread across the state and various projects is not a whole lot of money... especially when some of the larger downtown/riverfront development possibilities alone could easily drain that fund...