Tri-City Sun

State Representative Mike Hoadley voted against advancing a budget plan after a nearly 20-hour voting session, citing concerns that it prioritizes pet projects over critical needs in northern Michigan.

“This budget plan doesn’t take into account issues that people across northern Michigan are facing,” said Hoadley, of Au Gres. “It doesn’t provide additional dedicated funding to fix local roads people depend on from driveway to highway. It makes critical cuts to school safety and takes away key transparency measures as people continue to call for a government that is more accountable to them. For how much money this budget spends, it completely misses the mark for our region and doesn’t give people sufficient return on their investment.”

Hoadley highlighted several areas of concern within the budget:

Cuts to school aid: The new budget plan does not include an increase in the foundation allowance. It reduces last year’s $328 million allocation for school safety and mental health grants down to $26.5 million—a reduction exceeding 90 percent. Additionally, the budget complicates efforts for schools to hire resource officers, which Hoadley stressed is vital for rural areas lacking other means to ensure student and staff safety. The plan also proposes reallocating over $600 million from Michigan’s public school teachers’ retirement fund (MPSERS) to other projects.

Four Lakes area funding: The budget does not allocate funds for the Four Lakes Task Force aimed at dam restoration in Gladwin and Midland counties, which are still recovering from the 2020 flood with reconstruction costs surpassing $400 million. Property owners face special assessments despite not being at fault, a situation Hoadley deems unfair given taxpayer contributions from these counties.

Government transparency: Despite reports earlier this year about misuse of funds by a Detroit businesswoman awarded a $20 million grant in last year’s state budget, key accountability provisions were omitted from the current plan. Additionally, increased contingency spending limits allow unelected bureaucrats more freedom to spend without legislative input.

Wasteful spending: The budget includes allocations for a COVID racial disparity task force, e-bike purchase incentives, zoos, boxing gyms, theaters in Detroit, and $25 million for electric vehicle charging stations—expenditures Hoadley views as misaligned with inconsistent EV demand.

Local road funding: Although the total budget nears $80 billion, no extra funds are earmarked specifically for local road agencies to address deteriorating roads. An amendment supported by Hoadley that would have redirected millions from an electric vehicle pilot program to local road funding was not included in Democrat plans.

The fiscal year budget plan now proceeds to the Governor for review.

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