December 21, 2018
Feb. 1, 2019: Gov. Whitmer rips Republican pork deals, but won’t block them
Update: Michigan Gov. Snyder swapped pork projects for votes in lame duck
Related: See what Michigan lame-duck bills we're tracking
Michigan legislators went deep into the morning before approving a wide-ranging, $1.3 billion spending plan. Accompanying that plan was $115 million directed to projects large and small across the state -- pet projects of the legislators who overwhelmingly approved the bill.
Below is a list of all the projects and where they're located in Michigan. Did your community get a piece of bacon? Check out the list.
| No. | Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gogebic Community College | $2.0 million |
| 2 | Rochester Hills Park | $200,000 |
| 3 | Michigan Research Institute (Pittsfield Township, Washtenaw County) | $750,000 |
| 4 | Chaldean Community Foundation | $500,000 |
| 5 | Macomb Co. Retention Basin | $3.0 million |
| 6 | War Memorial Hospital (Chippewa County, Sault Ste. Marie) | $1.3 million |
| 7 | Leelanau County Discovery Pier | $2.0 million |
| 8 | Oscoda Water Line PFAs | $580,000 |
| 9 | Michilimackinac Historical Cultural Center | $1.0 million |
| 10 | McLaren Petoskey | $1.0 million |
| 11 | Primary Care Clinic | $200,000 |
| 12 | MiHIN (East Lansing) | $1.5 million |
| 13 | TART Trails (Leelanau County) | $162,000 |
| 14 | St. Clair CC: STEM Children's Museum | $400,000 |
| 15 | Home Confinement Inc. (Oakland County) | $500,000 |
| 16 | SW Michigan First Talent Strategy (covering Kalamazoo and nearby counties) | $466,000 |
| 17 | MEDC Large Special Event's Fund | $1.5 million |
| 18 | Stottlemeyer Park (Westland, Wayne County) | $150,000 |
| 19 | Detroit PAL | $50,000 |
| 20 | Owosso Armory | $327,500 |
| 21 | John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids | $1.0 million |
| 22 | Holy Cross | $1.2 million |
| 23 | EMU IT Hacker Program | $1.0 million |
| 24 | Mid-Michigan College | $2.5 million |
| 25 | Monroe Public Health | $100,000 |
| 26 | Catholic charities addiction treatment | $100,000 |
| 27 | PGA Detroit Economic Growth Association | $2.0 million |
| 28 | Traverse City School District Audit | $700,000 |
| 29 | Willow Run | $2.5 million |
| 30 | Salem Township (Washtenaw County) | $10.0 million |
| 31 | Families Against Narcotics | $75,000 |
| 32 | Jobs for MI Grads | $1.0 million |
| 33 | Dairy Plant - Kroger | $2.0 million |
| 34 | Henry Ford Kingswood IT | $500,000 |
| 35 | St. Jude Iraq | $200,000 |
| 36 | Flint Development Center: virtual library | $50,000 |
| 37 | City of Lansing Road Improvements | $3.3 million |
| 38 | Bridge Rehab Bagley Street | $2.7 million |
| 39 | Road Detour Manistee | $300,000 |
| 40 | St. Clair Co. Rd Commission | $200,000 |
| 41 | American Center For Mobility Tech Park | $10.0 million |
| 42 | Muskegon Industrial Park | $4.0 million |
| 43 | Inkster Park Band Shell | $150,000 |
| 44 | Grand Traverse Civic Center Amphitheater | $147,000 |
| 45 | Muskegon Lake cleanup | $5.0 million |
| 46 | Impression 5 Science Center | $100,000 |
| 47 | Dearborn Heights Fire Department | $300,000 |
| 48 | Buffalo Soldiers Stable and Fence upgrade - Detroit | $150,000 |
| 49 | GR Public Schools T2C Studio | $300,000 |
| 50 | Grand Rapids Children's Museum STEAM lab | $1.5 million |
| 51 | Kids' Food Basket | $350,000 |
| 52 | Grand Rapids JA Free Enterprise Center | $250,000 |
| 53 | Lowell Showboat | $1.3 million |
| 54 | Gerald R. Ford Airport Improvements | $5.0 million |
| 55 | West Michigan Amphitheater | $5.0 million |
| 56 | Protect and Grow program | $500,000 |
| 57 | South Haven American Legion | $85,000 |
| 58 | Van Buren County School Safety Grant | $500,000 |
| 59 | Midland/Gladwin county dam project | $5.0 million |
| 60 | Spring Lake/Grand Haven wastewater | $2.5 million |
| 61 | Grand Haven pavilion | $1.5 million |
| 62 | Sloan Museum | $500,000 |
| 63 | Paving of White Pine Trail | $3.0 million |
| 64 | McDevitt Ave from US-127 to Francis Street in Jackson | $3.7 million |
| 65 | Mental Health and Substance Abuse Pilot (Hope Network) | $3.75 million |
| 66 | Flint Schools HVAC Repairs | $208,000 |
| 67 | Food Forward FARM incubator | $2.0 million |
| 68 | Sherman Blvd Investment attraction/safe neighbor | $3.0 million |
| 69 | Restore the Rapids (Grand Rapids) | $2.0 million |
| 70 | Beaver Island Ferry | $1.0 million |
| 71 | Mackinac Island road improvement | $500,000 |
| 72 | Escanaba River environmental project | $936,000 |
| 73 | Sheldon House renovations | $214,000 |
| 74 | Traverse City DDA Civic Square | $2.0 million |
Comments
NO Money for Michigan roads?No roads No tourist coming!
yeah .but would have given earlier Michigan voters a better change WHO to Vote for.maybe even save republican.since Money TOOKS and B S walk.
Still Michigan is number 2 in Corrupt State see www.wsj.com
That's a pretty impressive list.
Now, how much of that are legitimate expenditures of state money (or in other words is it authorized by the Michigan Constitution)?
So "Paving the White Pine Trail" gets 3 million while repairing the HVAC systems in Flint schools gets 208,000.00??????? Seriously?? Who owns the company that will pave the trail?? Relatives of someone in the Capitol?? What a bunch or absolute horseshit!!!!! And Rethugs wonder why they are being replaced????
To be fair, paving a 92-Mile long trail would most likely cost more than repairing an HVAC system for a school system. That being said, the price tag for the actual paving of the trail does seem to be higher than I would (in my very unprofessional opinion) assume.
Not mentioned in this article is that this money is being taken from the public schools: https://www.bridgemi.com/public-sector/michigan-lawmakers-dole-out-1b-we...
Republicans are going out of their way to ensure that as many public schools as possible receive an "F" grade in their new simplistic rating system. This is of course just another way to drive students to their failing for-profit charter schools.
Never let it be said that Republicans allow the welfare of Michigan's kids stand in the way of making a couple extra bucks for their friends.
Could have dumped the pork and increased the Earned Income Tax Credit, one of the best poverty fighting tools developed and one gutted by Snyder in his first tax cut to businesses.
The EITC at the federal level is a well-intentioned absolute failure. While this program helps a small percentage of taxpayers who genuinely desire to use this credit to help their families keep more of their earned income, the vast majority of taxpayers that I see (as a licensed tax preparer) have figured out how to leverage the maximum EITC by working just enough to hit the "sweet spot" on the tax table, as well as how to game the system to claim kids in the most beneficial way (guys claims his, girlfriend claims hers, etc.). Clients who have little to no tax withheld from their checks can walk out expecting "refunds" frequently in excess of $5,000, occasionally reaching five figures. I use the word "refund" advisedly, because in my mind a refund involves the return of money one has already paid. At least since the Michigan EITC was reduced, few of my tax dollars are now flowing into the pockets of those milking the system.
Under what state law or statute are you "licensed" to prepare taxes? I know tax attorneys have licenses, as do CPAs... I don't believe the state licenses Enrolled Agents... and I know that the state does not license paid preparers. If you are a tax attorney or CPA or EA, then you are better of saying "as a CPA/Tax Attorney/EA" since there is no licensing requirement for tax preparers in Michigan. I guess you could also say "credentialed" or "certified" if you are by some other voluntary association.
That said, as a "certified" tax preparer, I have had the exact opposite experience with my clients. The vast majority of them do not game the system and use the EITC and other tax credits to pay off bills, including Michigan property tax bills.
Thank goodness these politicians gave the money away. Too often they just forget about it and it ends up collecting interest.