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Michigan’s new budget includes help for local governments struggling to pay down debts to their employees’ retirement system.
For years, during the ‘90s and early 2000s, the Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan underestimated the amount of money it would need to fund to cover future pensions. When retirements hit, local governments had to start making up the difference.
After the new state budget was approved by the legislature early Friday morning, State Senator Ed McBroom said millions of dollars was earmarked to help local governments address the issue…
Houghton County has been making extra payments for years to try to catch up, and the village of Baraga has also been struggling with an obligation.
The hardest-hit municipality in the state has been the village of Ontonagon, which inherited the pension obligations of employees who worked at the hospital before it was purchased by Aspirus in 2007…
Ontonagon has not been able to keep up with its payments, and a county-wide millage request to help provide funding will appear on the August election ballot. It’s not yet known what effect the state allocation will have on the ballot question.
