Snyder's Budget: Revenue-Sharing Funds and Film Affected in Northville

The announcement of Gov. Rick Snyder's proposed budget cuts means different things for the and the .

For the city, it means budget cuts – one-third of its $80,000 revenue-sharing dollars from the state, according to City Manager Patrick Sullivan. That means a certain loss of more than $26,000 for the city if the Legislature approves the governor's budget.

Snyder has said the goal in reducing statutory state shared revenue by $92.1 million would be tied to a competitive incentive plan for the remaining $200 million. The incentive plan would rely on a system of "best practices" for municipalities, which would need to adopt specific standards.

The problem for Northville is that it is unclear now what those best practices will be.

"We'll see how best practices are defined and whether we’re one of the communities who meets the best practices," Sullivan said. "I hope we would be considered one of those communities."

In a previous interview, Sullivan discussed the many resources on which the city already collaborates, including Parks & Recreation and dispatch, which are shared services funded by the city and township, and the 35th District Court in Plymouth, which is shared by five communities.

Sullivan hopes that such regionalized efforts will put Northville ahead of the curve and make the city competitive for the rest of the funding.

The specifics on what constitutes best practices are expected to be defined in March, he said.

The township, which does not get revenue-sharing funds from the state, would not be directly affected by the proposed cut.

Township Trustee Christopher Roosen discussed this on Northville Patch's Facebook page. "I can't speak for schools, but I can speak for townships," he wrote. "The townships of Plymouth, Canton and Northville receive zero statutory revenue sharing, so we don't stand to lose anything.

"We are already leaders in shared services and transparency and have responsible union contracts," he wrote. "We continue to be responsible leaders, and our taxable values have fallen less than other communities, one indication that people find this an attractive area to live."

In line with the city's hope that its revenue-sharing efforts make it competitive for the remaining statutory funds, Roosen added that "depending on the new rules, we may be in a position to actually start receiving revenue sharing again. Regardless, we will continue to look for more areas where we can collaborate and share services."

Township Manager Chip Snider added that "with a great deal of pride, the two Northvilles have been collaborating for over a decade at almost all levels ... I highly suspect our collaborations would meet or exceed his (Snyder's) criteria today."

Another proposed cut that may affect the city and township is a little more indirect: elimination of the Michigan film incentive.

In the past year, cast and crew members in the film Scream 4 have made at least two filming visits to the city and township.

"I was quite pleased to see the attention the Northville community got as a result of film industry," Snider said. "I think people were pleased and proud to know there were big-screen films showing their community. I think it’s a shame we’re losing that."

Snider said that in addition to the attention it brought, the film industry also boosted local business. Crews and actors stayed in local hotels, ate local food and patronized local businesses.

He said there has been some serious interest from film scouts who wanted to film in the township's former psychiatric hospital on Seven Mile Road. Because the building is in such disrepair and off-limits, the project scouts had to pull interest, he said, but that action was not related to the tax incentive.

The film industry also paid the township for services, such as to the Public Safety Department during street shutdowns. Snider also said the township has "untapped resources," such as the prison on Five Mile and Beck roads, that would be great for filmmakers but that might go unused if the film incentive cut is approved by the Legislature.

Sullivan shared some of Snider's sentiments on the film incentive. Sullivan said that while the city won't lose any direct funds from losing in-town film projects, it will lose something else.

"We broke even on the costs," he said of services for which filmmakers paid the city. "We didn’t make any money off the movies. What I can't measure are the benefits to local businesses. But we don’t see any of that financial activity."

Part of Scream 4 was filmed around the downtown area, including lots of filming at the .

Sullivan said a film scout has contacted the township about a made-for-television movie, but no official commitment has been made. It would not be affected by the cut because it would be filmed in March, before proposed cuts would go into effect.