MI governor seeks $300 million for Flint water, Detroit schools

“I actually grew up in Flint – I have family that is actually living in the area that have lead problems”, said Perrigan.

On Tuesday, Weaver called for m to replace an estimated 15,000 lead service lines running to homes in the city. Detroit Public Schools are failing both financially and academically and they have been for a long time.

“I am upset that the governor’s not here”, said Democratic congressman Elijah Cummings, a member of the government oversight committee. Presenting the 2017 budget to Michigan’s Republican-controlled Legislature on Wednesday kept Snyder from accepting an invitation to testify before Congress about the Flint crisis.

“The people of Flint have suffered because they were failed by all levels of government, and so it is understandable that there are questions at all levels of government”, he said in a statement.

The measure, which began as a $600 million request from Democrats, had been trimmed to a $220 million proposal to fix Flint’s infrastructure, help with the ensuing health care crisis and to support more than $1 billion in infrastructure loans that could have gone to Flint and other places dealing with lead problems.

In October, the state changed the city’s drinking water source back from the polluted Flint River to the Detroit water system, but warned that the water is still not safe. Residents complained of discolored, foul-smelling water and anger quickly turned to outrage at local, state, and federal officials, especially the city’s emergency managers, who were appointed by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder.

“I implore you, on behalf of the city of Flint, to help us restore our city”, Weaver said.

Snyder, a former accountant who has been keen to fatten the state’s savings account, called for shifting $165 million he had planned for the rainy day fund to a new Michigan Infrastructure Fund. A commission he announced in his recent State of the State address would recommend how to prioritize the money. It’s part of broader outreach efforts by state and local officials. A study released in September 2015 by Flint’s Harley Medical Center found that the number of children 5 years and younger meeting that threshold had doubled since the city’s switch.

On Wednesday, the Governor’s office denied withholding the information.

Snyder is also seeking $72 million annually over 10 years to fund a plan to split DPS into an operating entity and a debt-paying entity.

Governor Snyder unveiled his proposed budget this morning in Lansing, hoping to address several big issues facing our state.

The district, which has been under state emergency financial management for nearly seven years, is burdened by debt, falling enrollment, inadequate buildings and low morale among teachers whose recent “sickout” absences have closed schools. The city said it would inform citizens when the advisory is lifted. Snyder’s funding request included $25 million for Flint infrastructure, which the mayor’s office described as “an important first step” in beginning the pipe replacement.