Legislation heads to Gov. Snyder
from Rep. Paul Opsommer
Legislation that state Rep. Paul Opsommer has been working on since first starting in the Michigan Legislature is now headed to Gov. Snyder’s desk.
The three-bill package will eliminate roadblocks for local government cost savings and updates provisions within Michigan’s Urban Cooperation Act which had become outdated and were preventing local municipalities from choosing to share personnel, overhead, and services.
Opsommer, a former mayor in DeWitt, had first advocated on the issue that when he was with the city and he and DeWitt Township were looking for voluntary ways to jointly keep taxes down.
“It is essential that local communities that wish to choose to work together and be more efficient have the ability to do so,” Opsommer said. “This was a serious issue in DeWitt and I’m pleased we have been able to work together and remove these unnecessary roadblocks.”
Current wording in the Urban Cooperation Act prevents local units of government from combining services in a manner that would save communities money.
The reforms are aimed to aid municipalities that would benefit from the potential cost savings of combined government services, including emergency services.