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IRON MOUNTAIN -- Action is needed in the Michigan Legislature as a law that allows courts to collect fees from criminal defendants is set to expire Dec. 31, Dickinson County commissioners were told this week.
Stephan Currie, executive director of the Michigan Association of Counties, said the potential lost revenue totals $20 million to $30 million to counties statewide.
Court fees remain under review by lawmakers after the state's Trial Court Funding Commission in November recommended a new judiciary funding model. It calls on the Legislature to appropriate a larger share of state funding to trial courts, while court-generated revenues would be moved to a fund managed by the Department of Treasury.
Under the plan, Treasury would distribute court revenues to local governments for judiciary functions based on costs to run the courts.
MAC has voiced concerns with the recommendations, particularly the loss of local control. It supports House Bill 5452, introduced by state Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, which would eliminate the sunset and allow courts to collect costs from criminal defendants permanently.
The sunset has previously been extended in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
The Trial Court Funding Commission was created after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that state law didn't give courts the authority to impose costs on defendants to fund court operations.
MAC's position is that removing the sunset would allow the collection of court fees in perpetuity and demonstrate a commitment to sustainable trial court funding. Currie touched on the issue and identified it as a 2026 priority during an update to the county board Monday.
Another priority, he said, is defending county revenue from poorly designed property tax changes.
In May, the Republican-led House passed bills aimed at cutting nearly $5 billion in taxes. Among other changes, the package would eliminate the 6-mill State Education Tax, repeal the state real estate transfer tax and end the "pop-up tax" on property value transfers.
MAC, Currie said, is concerned about local governments losing tax revenues without reimbursements.
Of note is the proposed elimination of the "pop up" in taxable value when property transfers ownership. Under current law, taxable value resets to State Equalized Value upon sale and then becomes capped again under Proposal A limitations. The House package would eliminate that uncapping mechanism starting in 2027, but no provision for revenue replacement is included.
In other action, the county board:
--Was introduced to Anthony Cavalieri, who has joined Prosecutor Abbey Anderson's office as an assistant prosecutor. Cavalieri previously was an assistant district attorney in North Carolina for three years.
-- Heard Sheriff Aaron Rochon report the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District plans to offer a first responder class, which he said should be a positive development for future staffing in EMS and other areas.
-- Learned that passenger boardings through June have totaled 9,157 at Ford Airport. While slightly below the airport's pre-COVID pace, this puts the county already near the 10,000-passenger yearly benchmark used by the Federal Aviation Administration to classify an airport as a primary airport, Controller Brian Bousley said.
-- Received an update from Jim Harris, managing director of the Dickinson County Road Commission, who said state funding is close to being secured for improvements on Waucedah Road in the Hamilton Lakes area. An upcoming project is the widening of Pine Mountain Road from Kingsford north to U.S. 2, he said.
-- Received for review a proposal from forester Brock VanOss of Crystal Falls for a forest management plan for five county parcels covering 155 acres, excluding the Fumee Lake Natural Area.
-- Appointed Commissioner Joe Stevens to a three-year term on the Dickinson County Land Bank Authority.
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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.