A L IS
u
The Senate -Judiciary Committ i
de tingtwobil thatd I with estab­
li hing nt ncing guid lin . Th y
re imilar to tho e propo ed by
Eng er, VanR genmorter id. Van-
By JENNIFER L
SUMMERFELT
C.plml N.w. S.rvlc.
percent of the co ts to local
providers, and in 1990, it 'Pro­
vided 19 percent, Scranton said.
It all depends on how much the
tate can afford, he said.
50/50 health care plan will go
through.
"The Legislature is inte ted
in providing reasonable health
care," Hoffman id. "We are
going to do all that we can to
that it is done. "
Robert K. Scranton, the assis­
tant director for tate and local
relations in the state Public
Health Department, said he is
optimistic that the propo ed
budget, including the money for
h Ith care, will pass, but it is
still questionable.
. "Local health care providers
will have to work hard to make
sure the funds come through,"
Scranton said.
In 1980, the state provided 30
LANSING - More than 15
million has been earmarked in
Gov. John Engler' proposed
new budget to split the cost of
health care needs such as immu­
nization and vision screening
with local health care providers.
Engler's plan, if endorsed by
the Legislature, would finally
fullfill a promise the state made
in 1978 to match certain local
health care costs dollar for dol­
lar, the deputy state budget di­
rector said.
The 50/50 split in costs would
include services such as free im­
munizations, infectious disease
control and food protection. . Dunes Correctional
"We had not had the re- , , ,£
sources available (in past
ears)," Mark Murray said.
• ly t e
THI I COSI TE C
makes it difficult for local health
care providers, Anderson said.
Even i the state does provide
greatly needed equal fund ,
those funds will not cover every­
thing local providers want to
make available. But Murray
said he does not see any major
problems passing the proposed
total budget.
"I really do expect this may be
the easiest budget deliberation
process we've had," Murray said.
The kick off of a major fund-raising �o In theA lean merican community took
$20,000 contribution to t Y C Fun etc:
(It to rt): S. Martin Taylor, Vee of Ity nd G emm a
Edi on; Frank Smith, Pre i t ber � er . neva .
William ,Chairperson, Detroit Compact Stakeh�der Cou�iI and CEO of United Com.munity
Service. Presenting the check: Horace Sheffield, PreSident, Detroit chapter-Coalition of
Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), James Trent, president, Detroit A soci�tion of !3lack Organi­
zatio (DABO) and Gerald Rowe, trea urer, Detroit chapter-CBTU. Thl. do�tlon also kick
off the beginning of plans for a tune-r ising radio-thon .t�king place thl pring. Cochairing
thl year' fund-raising drive for $500,000 are Taylor, Wilham and Sheffield
But a local health care official
is not so optimistic.
Duke Anderson, the health
officer for the District Health
Board in Branch, Hillsdale and
St. Joseph counties, said he was
shocked to hear the governor
had made allowances for a 50/50
split in funding for the 1994-
1995 budget year for certain
health care services that would
be available on Oct. 1.
By CATHERINE MALLEIS
C.plml New. Service
But in order for Dunes to be
sold, it must be declared state
surplus property, and that must
happen through legislation.
The real estate division of the
Department of Management
and Budget is drafting legisla­
tion to declare the Dunes facil­
ity, along with a number of other
properties, surplus property,
Light said ..
Once the real estate division
is satisfied with the drafting, the
proposal will be sent to th Leg­
. islature's bill-drafting staff to
make sure it conforms to the re­
quirements of Michigan law.
When this process is finished,
the bill will need a sponsor.
VanRegenmorter said this
kind of legislation is fairly com ....
mono
"If it protects the interests of
the citizens of the Saugatuck
area," he said, "I'd probably
sponsor the bill." Once the bill is
sponsored, it would hav to be
passed in the Hous and the
Senate, and signed by the gover­
nor. After these steps hav been
taken, the Dunes facility could
be declared state surplus prop­
erty and could be sold.
LAN ING - Dunes Correc­
tional Facility will not be active
again, say a Department of
Corrections spokesperson. In an
attempt to quiet rumors, spokes­
person Gail Light said, "the de­
partment· is not aware of any
plans to open the Dunes facility
as a prison again. "
Dunes Correctional Facility,
near Saugatuck, is one of two
facilities closed in 1991 because
they were not cost-effective
enough to keep open, Light said.
Dunes, a converted high
. school seminary, housed about
300 medium-security prisoners
and cost the state about 9 mil­
lion per year to operate, Light
said.
Because the facility was so
small, it cost a 'great deal more
per inmate to operate than
would a larger facility, Light
said.
nd'
__ 001
,
"AT TIllS POINT I feel we
are underserving our communi­
ties because the services aren't
there," Anderson said. "We ha­
ven't had substantial support
from the state government since
the 1970's, and we do not have
adequate funding."
Anderson said counties such
as Hillsdale, which have a high
percentage of rural area, need
state funds for rvices ranging
from sewage disposal to disease
control and prevention. In the
past, Hillsdale County has
charged fees for services such as
sewage permits. These could be
reduced if the state increased its
support with the 50/50 cost
share, Anderson said.
Sen. Philip Hoffman, R-Hor­
ton, said he is optimistic the
By KYLA KING
C.plml News ServIce
cent to 6 percent and th SBT
would b raised from 2.35 per­
cent to 2.75 per nt.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D­
Lan ing, who sponsor d th
original legislation to abolish
property ax ,said he ballot
proposal is unfair to vote .
An increase in income taxes is
a bett r option beca i can
tax deductible, Stabenow said.
The pl n will also contain an
educational quality plan which
mandates a number of reforms
for school districts. William
Mitchell, superintendent ofE t
Lansing schools, said he ho
the additional money in th
state budget will help fund some
of thos mandated programs.
Some highlights of the school
quality plan include:
A mandated cor curricu­
lum by ptember 1994.
Lengthening cla, sroom in­
struction hour form 00 .to
1,000 by. the year 200e.
Offering districts the option
to incr e th school day or the
chool y r.
Requiring elem ntary nd
high school tud nts to read at
fourth- and seventh-grade lev­
els, p iv ly, or ge tutoring.
Mitchell id ch of th
programs will East nsing
chools mon y it do not have
to spend.
"If th Legi latu manda
a new program th y ough to
fun It," Mi ch 11 .
m k
the amount of money spent last
year, Mitchell estimated.
The school reform plan also
contains a number of recom­
m nded tax hik s, including
raising the r 1 tate transfer
tax from 1.10 per $1,000 to $20
p r $1,000, or 2 percent when
the pro rty is transferred.
Maur en Mc ulty, budget
d p rtment press secretary,
aid the gov rnor has expressed
an int r st in reducing the
transfer tax from 2 percent to 1
percent, especially because the
additional projected revenue
was discovered.
The Departm nt of Manage­
ment and Budget announced
finding an unexpected $386 mil­
lion in addi ional nticip d
revenue last w ek.
In terms of education his
could mean a break for chool
districts and taxpayers. .
Last month, Gov. John
Engler and Legislators ap­
proved a completed school re­
form package to replace the near
$7 billion in school property
taxes eliminated last July.
The package of bills will pre­
sent voters a. choice, in effect,
between two plans in March­
raising the state les tax from
4 percent to 6 P r nt or inc� -
ing the income tax and ingl
Business Tax.
DUNE HAS BEEN up for
sale since it was closed down.
Thus far, however, "there have
been no hot offers," said Sen.
William VanRegenmorter, R­
Hudsonville.
Take the initiative and you
can own your own home.
IF VOT R approve the
sales tax, state income taxe
would drop from 4.6 percent to
4.4 percent and the SBT would
remain the sam. If th sales­
tax is rejected the income tax
would be increased from 4.6 per-
We eppreciete
signed letters
from our
readers.
Please mail to:
Michigan
Citizen,
P.O. Box
03560,
Highland Park,
M148203.
H s buying h m > r r fin n ing th n
always: '01·d lik om nhing out fyour r
I () y u 'V r C llik saying, "Wh t's th us of trying?"
11 h -r " an id a you'll lik '.
The Initiative Mortgag ,1\1 fr m First f Am -ri 'a Bank.
\: ith f1 -xibl 1 nTIS and . rnj titive rat s, it's a way to
h -lp pl • r -financ or buy a h m in D -tr it, Hi zhland
I ark, Hamtr: m 'k, r P inti '. .
\: n ou purcha 'a h me, y ur
down paym -nt an b ' a ..... littl 'a. 5'X, r
rtgag , and if y u'r int rest din r .finan 'ing
your · istin T r -sid n i.v«: 'an 1 an y u up to % f th '
valu 'of your h m .
Th'r"
All it tak s frr m you is' little initiativ -.
A· bank for life. �
f '" f/)/
("" r. -5 f 7 at J XI;: II 11111