Tri-City Sun

A finalized budget plan for Michigan will help solve a budget shortfall, while also ensuring that school districts, law enforcement agencies and other community priorities receive all the funding they need, Rep. Ben Frederick said.

The Michigan Legislature approved a plan, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also approved, a release issued on the Michigan House Republicans website said. The plan addresses a $2.2 billion shortfall, which was brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and executive orders that limited tax revenues from businesses.

“Our top priorities were to preserve funding for education, law enforcement and local communities – and that’s exactly what this budget agreement does,” Frederick (R-Owosso) said in the release. “Resolving this budget shortfall required some difficult decisions. But we made them so we could protect funding for our kids, schools and local governments.”

Money from Michigan's rainy day fund will help address the budget shortfall, which has been building up over the years by the Legislature, the release went on to say. The rainy day fund is built up to help the state face financial emergencies such as the coronavirus pandemic. The budget will make use of $350 million from this fund.

The budget will also use $460 million from savings and efficiencies to address the budget gap and coronavirus relief funds, which give $500 million to schools and $150 million to local state governments.

Federal funds will also address state revenue reductions to help the Michigan State Police, therelease said. This will ensure that law enforcement will be able to continue protecting residents and the state.

While this budget was approved, there are still more issues that will have to be addressed as the new year approaches, the release stated. Many of those decisions will be difficult for the next budget year, which begins Oct. 1.