Governor Rick Snyder is optimistic that Michigan’s budget plan for next year should be wrapped up in the next week or two.
Time is running short. The state legislature is only has a few weeks until it is scheduled to adjourn for much of the summer and there is still a lot left to do.
The state senate is expected to tackle funding for Detroit public schools this week. Last week, the state house passed a $617 million package that Democrats complain does more to protect the interests of charter school operators than students.
Meanwhile, Flint residents are still waiting to see if state lawmakers will pass a budget containing money to replace thousands of lead service lines. The pipes are suspected of being a prime source of lead in the city’s drinking water. This week, Flint city officials will sit down with contractors interested in bidding on replacing lead service lines. The city has $2 million to replace between 400 to 500 pipes. One analysis suggests $80 million dollars is needed to replace all the service lines that may be leaching lead into Flint’s drinking water.
Still Snyder is optimistic a budget deal will soon be in place.
“We’re able to find significant resources for Flint, for DPS, and still invest in the state,” Snyder told reporters. “That shows how robust our state economy is…in terms having resources.”
The governor talked about the budget process during a visit to the Mott Community College Regional Tech Center in Flint. Mott’s tech center has received more than $4 million in state and local funding to purchase state of the art equipment through the Community College Skilled Trades Equipment Program.
