Vote Yes in May

Let's be clear: When you hear the "Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interest Deals" advocating a no vote on the May sales tax ballot measure, Paul Mitchell's "special interests" are Michigan schools and communities, like East Lansing.

A YES vote on the May ballot measure will restore the EITC and secure much needed revenue for roads ($1.2 billion), public transit ($100 million), cities ($100 million), and schools ($300 million). What does that mean for East Lansing? It means an estimated $493,105 annually in revenue sharing to support the essential city services that our residents expect and deserve. To put that in context, we are receiving roughly $2 million less per year in revenue sharing today than we were before the state started robbing cities to balance their budget. A yes vote will help restore a portion of that disinvestment. When fully implemented the proposal would also mean over $1.8 million annually for our city streets, 62% of which are currently rated as "poor" on the PASER rating scale. Why? Because Michigan hasn't updated our road funding mechanism in nearly 20 years.

Let's also talk about the political reality for a second. Defeating the ballot measure will send us back to square one with a much more hostile legislature. The best case scenario after a no vote in May is that the legislature does nothing and our infrastructure continues to deteriorate. The other possibility is that the legislature passes a funding plan along the lines originally proposed by the House during the lame duck session, which would rob schools and cities of roughly $1 billion in revenue. Michigan can't afford that kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul. ‪#‎OffTheRecord‬

Hear more from this Off the Record interview from February 6, 2015.

#taxes