Steve Currie

Stephan Currie, executive director for the Michigan Association of Counties, is disappointed that there isn’t an increase in revenue sharing included in Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed 2027 budget. Counties and other local municipalities depend on State revenue sharing to help cover operational costs.

“The Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) is disappointed with the lack of increased funding for statutory revenue sharing in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s fiscal 2027 budget recommendation,” Currie said in a press release on Thursday. “Unlike cities, villages and townships, counties do not receive constitutional revenue sharing and therefore do not benefit from automatic increases tied to the growth in state sales tax collections. County revenue sharing is entirely dependent upon annual legislative appropriations. When those appropriations remain flat, counties fall further behind — regardless of the state’s overall revenue growth.”

While the budget proposal points to increases in road funding as an offset to flat county revenue sharing, these funds are restricted for road purposes only. Road dollars cannot be used to fund courts, jails, prosecutors, public health, veteran services, emergency management, elections or any of the other constitutionally and statutorily mandated services counties are required to provide. Counties are the backbone of local public service delivery, and restricted infrastructure funding does not address the growing operational costs of these essential services.

Counties are partners with the state in delivering critical public services to Michigan residents. A sustainable, predictable and growing statutory revenue sharing commitment is essential to maintaining those services. We urge the governor and Legislature to work with counties to ensure state revenue growth is shared equitably and that counties have the resources necessary to fulfill their constitutional and statutory responsibilities.