Governor Gretchen Whitmer has just released billions in the latest Michigan budget.
Whitmer’s Billion-Dollar Balancing Act
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has just signed off on a billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2025. It’s an $82.5 billion budget with a focus on public safety, financial stability, and upgrades to public Infrastructure.
No New Taxes
Whitmer seemed proud when she announced, “What we have done here is create another balanced, fiscally responsible budget that doesn’t raise taxes by a dime, but yet makes another deposit into our rainy day fund which claims a new all time high of $2.2 billion.”
Detroit’s Windfall
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was also excited about the state’s cash infusion. Detroit is getting some serious help – with $100 million for affordable housing and over $500 million for replacing lead water lines.
A City Reborn
“In previous times, Lansing waited until there was a crisis on the lead pipes to act. But we are right now replacing 200 houses a week with new pipes,” Duggan pointed out.
Safety First
Public safety is the name of the game with this budget, with the creation of the Public Safety Trust Fund that’s getting $75 million to support law enforcement and community violence intervention.
Slashing Crime in Detroit
Community violence teams have already been out in force in Detroit’s Warrendale neighborhood, and their impact has been monumental. According to Duggan, shootings dropped by 70% thanks to these community heroes.
Community Heroes No Longer Facing Funding Shortfall
“The folks who are in the neighborhoods who are preventing the shots in the first place, they were funded with federal money that was going to expire in July,” Duggan explained.
100 New Cops Hit Detroit Streets
Detroit is also adding 100 new police officers, with other cities in Michigan set to do the same.
Guns and Domestic Abuse
Whitmer explained the budget is laser-focused on making the state safer – with new laws aimed at reducing gun violence and toughening up on domestic abusers. “We want to make sure that every Michigander, no matter where you live, is safe as you go to work, drop your kids off at school, run errands. This budget gets it done,” she said.
Michigan’s Economic Makeover
The budget isn’t just about safety – it’s also about jobs and Michigan’s economy. There’s $45.5 million for workforce growth, $500 million for the Strategic Outreach Attraction Reserve fund to attract new businesses, and $60 million for an Innovation Fund to help startups. Plus, there’s funding to help people transition to electric vehicles and clean energy jobs.
The $700 Million Question
Perhaps most controversial is Whitmer’s greenlighting of a massive $700 million for the final part of her Rebuilding Michigan Plan, which will be focused on highways and bridges.
Can Whitmer Finally Fix the Damn Roads?
Michiganders may remember back in 2018 when Whitmer was running for Governor and promising to “fix the damn roads.” Six years on and the progress has been slow, at best.
Michigan is already facing long-term debt from the Rebuilding Michigan program, and with construction and material prices rising alongside inflation, experts are worried that this money won’t stretch far enough.
Federal Boost
Federal funds might be able to push development along, and the budget contains $4.2 billion for road and bridge projects, which includes almost 2 billion dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Healthy Minds, Healthy Moms
On the health front, there’s $161.5 million for new behavioral health clinics and $18.1 million for the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies program to reduce racial health gaps for moms and babies.
Nuclear Revival
Another controversial part of the budget was a $150 million investment to reopen the Palisades Nuclear Facility. Following in the steps of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who paid out for the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant to remain open, Whitmer is pushing to reopen the decommissioned Palisades plant.
Green Groups See Red
Whitmer says it will save 600 jobs and create enough energy to supply thousands of homes, but environmental groups aren’t happy. They would rather Whitmer prioritize drinking and wastewater problems, public transport, and household energy efficiency upgrades instead.
Republican Rumble
Republicans also aren’t happy with Whitmer’s new budget. They accused Democrats of prioritizing “wasteful pet projects for politically favored communities.”
Northern Neglect?
Some Republicans think the budget doesn’t do enough to fix roads or make schools safer. Others claim that Whitmer is ignoring big problems in Northern Michigan that need serious cash to solve.
Whitmer’s Veto Pen
Even though many local projects got funding, Whitmer did veto nearly $9.2 million in requests, including $2.5 million for a faith-based housing grant and $3 million in rebates to gas stations to incentivize ethanol sales. This decision didn’t go down well either.
Budget Battles
“When we don’t negotiate things, I don’t think anyone should be surprised that they’re taken out of the budget,” Whitmer said, defending her decisions.
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