LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The clock is ticking on Michigan’s July 1 budget deadline, and the state’s economic development programs are a main priority for majority Democrats.
A package of House bills would earmark $250 million for Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR), which will be renamed “Make It in Michigan.” Republicans are pushing back against the program’s lack of oversight when it comes to these types of projects, like the various megasites popping up around the state.
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“The lack of information surrounding most of these projects is deeply troubling and unacceptable,” said Representative Sarah Lightner (R-Springport). “Michigan taxpayers have the right to know exactly how their money is being used, and they expect real, measurable outcomes from these investments.”
Rep. Lightner also blasted the timeframe of the budget. She told The Steve Gruber Show on Wednesday that she’ll receive a packet of information today and be pushed for a quick voting turnaround.
“We essentially have zero time to review what’s actually in it and are expected to vote on it,” she said.
It seems others are feeling steamrolled as well. While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her right-hands at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) have pushed three megasites on communities in Big Rapids, Marshall, and Eagle Township in Clinton County, a fourth project has emerged in the Flint area with limited details.
“The Mundy Township project, in particular, is a huge risk,” Rep. Lightner said. “We’ve been provided with next to no information to show that it even qualifies for SOAR funding. There’s no evidence that Genesee County or Mundy Township has any substantial stake or involvement in this project, and officials have admitted that equipping the area with the necessary water and sewer services for a large industrial site will be extremely expensive.”
Concerned residents in Mundy Township told Michigan News Source protestors showed up on Monday outside a fundraiser for Mundy Township Board Member Tonya Ketzler and police scurried them away.
“Heads need to roll at the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County,” Mike Killbreath wrote in The Daily Gazette. “If not, I’m ready to lead a campaign to close down the recently formed force to patrol the City of Swartz Creek and Mundy Township.”
Another resident, Leah Davis, told Michigan News Source that a business manager expressed he had no concerns about protestors, but said police told him to discourage them from parking on the property.
“[This is] pressure from the police to impede the public’s First Amendment right of the freedom to assembly and protest,” Davis said. “It is unlawful.”
Mundy Township residents have pushed back against the proposed megasite, which as of right now has no specific plan or details as to what type of company will be put there.
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