Michigan Association of Counties: opposition to House Bill 5623 (June 9, 2020)

Summary

A letter dated June 9, 2020 from the Michigan Association of Counties to Rep. Steve Marino, chair, and members of the House Commerce and Tourism Committee, signed by Deena Bosworth, Director of Governmental Affairs. The association, representing the state's 83 counties and 622 county commissioners, states its strong opposition to House Bill 5623, which would add sheriff correctional deputies to binding arbitration under Public Act 312. It states that property tax revenues for county governments have never recovered from the Great Recession and that binding arbitration makes collective bargaining more difficult. It calls the bill ill-timed in light of the coronavirus crisis and urges the committee to reject it.

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110 W. Michigan Ave., Suite 200
lansing, MI 48933
MA 517-372-5374 Fax 517-482-4599
www. micounties.org
MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES [Stephan W. Currie, Executive Director
June 9, 2020

To: Rep. Steve Marino, chair, and Members of the House Commerce and Tourism Committee

The Michigan Association of Counties, representing the state’s 83 counties and 622 county
commissioners, expresses its strong opposition to House Bill 5623, now before the committee.

The addition of sheriff correctional deputies to binding arbitration under Public Act 312 would serve only
to make several existing problems worse for county government that already are struggling to balance
limited resources with the service demands of their constituents. The bill also would strike another blow
against the principle of local control, a principle that this Legislature once held in high regard.

Committee members need to consider this bill in the following contexts:

e Property tax revenues for county governments have never recovered from the effects of the Great
Recession, even after the passage of 10 years.

e Property tax revenue accounts for more than half of the General Fund revenue for the average
Michigan county.

e Employee salaries and benefits are a significant portion of every county’s budget.

e Italso has the potential for creating greater disparity between bargaining units within each
county.

e Allowing an arbitrator to make decisions on benefits that have long fiscal tails has exacerbated
funding problems with post-employment benefit programs.

e Binding arbitration makes collective bargaining more difficult and time-consuming, thereby
disrupting the proper budgeting process.

This bill is particularly ill-timed in light of the coronavirus crisis and the likelihood of significant budget
and service cuts from the county courthouse to the State Capitol.

We respectfully urge the committee to reject the bill.
Sincerely,

Deena Bosworth
Director of Governmental Affairs

DB/drm

www.micounties.org


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