The East Lansing Financial Health Review Team published a news release regarding their several public meetings, which have dealt with the City of East Lansing's financial challenges and new revenue and expenditure options.
The team is expected to have a report and recommendations ready this summer regarding the City's unfunded liabilities for legacy costs (pension and other post-employment benefits).
Community members are invited to attend two Citizen Engagement Meetings. They will take place on Wednesday, June 15 and Wednesday, June 29 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 211 of the East Lansing Hannah Community Center (819 Abbot Road).
The first meeting will consist of presentations by City staff and brief comments from members of the team.
The second meeting will be a forum for community members to share their ideas and feedback. Community members can also share feedback online at the Financial Health Review Team webpage or via a topic posted on e-TownHall.
The team will be looking at new revenue options to deal with the city's financial challenges, one of these options is the possibility of an income tax. The team is requesting an Income Tax Study from Plante Moran. This would look at the amount of revenue that would be generated if an income tax were to be implemented in the City of East Lansing. The study should take about eight weeks to be developed.
“The team is diligently working and exploring options,” said Financial Health Review Team Chairperson Mike Moquin. “As part of our ongoing work, we will continue to gather and review data and community feedback – taking all things into consideration as we develop our final recommendations for the East Lansing City Council.”
The Financial Health Review Team's work should be done by the end of the year, and final recommendations will be made by December of 2016.
The Financial Health Review team holds meetings that are open to the public.
