MML Review Magazine Spring 2026

A West Michigan group called AxMiTax has been working for several years to put an issue on the ballot calling for the elimination of all local property taxes. The group failed to get the issue on the November 2024 ballot and apparently is struggling to get enough signatures to put the measure on this November’s ballot. LaMacchia says he doesn’t “see any way” the proposal will make this year’s ballot. But if the measure should make it and be approved by voters, it would cut $17 billion in support for local governments, public safety agencies, and schools. Local governments would “almost cease to exist,” LaMacchia said. “It would impact everything we do.” The movement to at least reduce property taxes isn’t likely to go away as elected officials respond to constituents’ demand to shrink the cost of living. “The broader narrative on affordability involves property tax relief in one shape or another,” LaMacchia said. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, for instance, is pushing a total $90 million tax refund for state residents 65 and older as part of her proposed fiscal 2027 budget. And House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has made comprehensive property tax relief a top legislative priority this year. “Affordability is probably going to be the biggest issue in the election” this year, he recently said on the public affairs program Off the Record . The economic slowdown and move to cut taxes in Lansing come at a time when local government officials are increas ingly worried about their communities’ fiscal futures. A survey last year of all 1,856 Michigan cities, villages, townships, and

counties by the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy found the percentage of jurisdictions reporting relatively good fiscal health was at the lowest point in the past 11 years. Just over half (56 percent) said they were in good shape, down from nearly 75 percent in 2014. Smaller communities have been the hardest hit, with only 48 percent reporting they were relatively fiscally healthy. And just 39 percent of villages reported good fiscal health last year, down sharply from 61 percent in 2023. The survey cited concerns expressed by local officials about inade quate revenues, declining fund balances, and the difficulty of meeting service demands. Local officials also said they were pessimistic about being able to meet fiscal needs this year and into the future. “Concerns about long-term fiscal stress have consistently increased since 2021, despite the infusion of state and fed eral funding during that period,” the report said. LaMacchia says the League is going to be “very focused” on maintaining revenue sharing levels in a tight budget year and ensuring cities and villages are held harmless in whatever tax cut proposals emerge in the legislature and the governor’s office. It’s going to be a busy year.

Rick Haglund is a freelance writer. You may contact Rick at 248-761 4594 or haglund.rick@gmail.com.

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