Under the plan, a 3 percent tax would be levied on the value of minerals removed from the ground, said Keith Creagh, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. Revenue would be split by local governments and a new fund to support rural economic development projects.

As you know, the Michigan Rural Council has been talking about this proposed tax for a few months now. Director Keith Creagh from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, joined us at our February Council meeting to talk about this issue. And it is tied into recent mentions of “U.P. Secession” that we discussed on our blog.

What do you think of this proposed tax? Let us know so can keep you informed as this progresses through the Michigan Legislature.

As I read through the weekend’s news articles, one headline caught my eye: “Yoopers are talking secession from Michigan again”. This isn’t the first time I have seen that phrase in my life, but I am an ardent fan of the U.P. and all it has to offer so I had to read more.

The issue was raised and briefly discussed at the last Marquette County Board of Commissioners meeting and, while those quoted in the article agree that the path toward secession is complicated and not very practical at this time, it seems that the discussion gives rise to real concerns.  According to Walsh-Sarnecki, the article’s author:

There also is the growing notion among many in the U.P. that Lansing is trampling the rights of local government, stirred in part by two issues:

• The state Legislature, as some locals see it, “rammed through” in 17 days a bill allowing anyone to mine land, undermining a Michigan Supreme Court ruling that said local government could determine which areas are off-limits to mining based on residential or other concerns.

• Lansing lawmakers are considering changing the way some ore mines are taxed. Currently, the mines pay property taxes, which go to the local government. The new tax would create a severance tax on the ore as it is mined, which many in the U.P. say would send the money to Lansing instead.

Those two points specifically caught my eye as mining in the Upper Peninsula is not new to us at the Michigan Rural Council. In February, we hosted a discussion with Director Keith Creagh from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development focusing on that specific topic. If you are not familiar with the topic, you should read this great introduction to severance taxes on mining in the U.P. As a follow up to that conversation, our economic development working group developed a white paper, entitled “Severance Tax: Investing in Rural Michigan’s Future” (pdf). As of this year, at least five big operations are getting underway or entering the permitting process, and  more are busily exploring and testing the waters for future mines. Our concern, as the Michigan Rural Council, is to advocate for long-term gain as a result of any severance taxes collected. As mentioned in the white paper:

Community input, assessment and local decision-making are critical for ensuring that investments made
with severance tax dollars are focused on creating economic development, especially in areas directly
impacted by mining activities.

The Michigan Rural Council will be monitoring this issue as it moves forward and alerting our members to changes as they occur. The economic development working group will also issue updates to the white paper as appropriate. Join the Council today to stay informed!

The Bright Side is a CEDAM program committed to telling the stories of CEDAM members and other organizations helping Michigan’s people and communities. Each episode focuses on a different topic in community economic development. CEDAM members are invited to submit ideas for the show and participate on the show’s advisory committee. Interested? Send a note to Olivia Courant, courant@cedam.info, 517-485-3588.

Get the good news on  | Twitter | YouTube

Episode 6 – Michigan: A Good State of Health
Supported by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Find out more about helping a future episode.

In this Episode:
Introduction by host Anneshia Freeman in Grand Rapids [watch now]
The Lies That Bind® [watch now]
Extra: Anneshia Book Interview [watch now]
Ingham Health Plan [watch now]
Crim Festival of Races [watch now]
Everybody Eats [watch now]
Just B Yoga [watch now]
The Wellness Center [watch now]
Ending, credits, and outtakes [watch now]

Tags: fun, health, members, video

Be sure to mark your calendars for next year’s conference, scheduled for April 22-24, 2013 at Crystal Mountain.

Photo credit: flickr.com/adamknits

The 2012 Small Town and Rural Development Conference is now in the books. If you were not able   to join us, here is just a small taste of conference happenings.

• Mary Randoph, Executive Director of the Wyoming Rural Development Council, kicked off with a dynamic keynote address about conducting community assessments in small towns. The Michigan Rural Council will be continuing to discuss this work and how it can be employed throughout rural Michigan. Be sure to let us know if you are interested in participating in these discussions.
• Roger Brooks, from Destination Development International Inc., kept everyone awake after lunch with a terrific luncheon address about the “Reinvention of Rural America”. Roger helped us think about what makes our individual communities stand out from the crowd.
• Becky McCray, author of Small Town Rules, treated us to a brief discussion about the rules governing small town business success and what big brands have found that the rules apply to them as well.
• There were  23 breakout sessions covering 20 different topics important to small town and rural development.
• We enjoyed two networking receptions where we could connect with old friends and make new ones.
• Five different small communities shared stories about successful programs and initiatives in their towns.
• The conference added a Twitter hastag this year and plans to incorporate this into future conferences as well.
• We enjoyed the pleasant, even if it was a touch windy, weather in beautiful northern Michigan.

There are just a few things that happened during our short time together at Crystal Mountain Resort. We will be posting the breakout session presentations on the Conference website over the next couple of weeks. We will also be forming a Conference Planning Committee for the 2013 conference; if you are interested in volunteering for that committee, please let us know. And be sure to save the date for next year’s conference: April 22-24, 2013.

Now it’s your turn, what was your favorite moment during the Conference? Let us know so we can try to make sure that it happens again in the future!

There are only two more weeks to take advantage of the early registration discount for the 2012 Small Town and Rural Development Conference. The early bird rate of $100 ends on Friday, April 6…make sure you take advantage of this and register soon! In case you have missed any of our content-related announcements, here is a brief outline of what you can expect from this dynamic conference.

Keynote Speakers - we have three exciting speakers lined up, each with relevant and timely topics to discuss with us. Be sure to read about each speaker and get a preview of their topic on a recent blog post.

Breakout Sessions – the Conference will feature 26 breakout sessions in six different blocks, offering participants the opportunity to hear as many as possible. You can view the breakout schedule and descriptions of each session on the Conference page.

Wednesday morning general session – Back by popular demand, on Wednesday morning we will be featuring six community projects that have been successful in various areas of the state. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions after each project presentation and speak with the project representatives at the conclusion of the session.

And don’t forget, we have ample time to network, reconnect with old friends and make new connections that can help move your work forward. Not to mention that we do all this surrounded with the beautiful setting of Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa. Register today and make sure that you are a part of the 2012 Small Town & Rural Development Conference!

Empowering Rural Communities to Create Their Own Future

Mary Randolph

Three simple questions asked of in town hall settings became the basis for citizen-driven change in rural Wyoming   communities during the last ten years. The state’s Rural Development Council assembled a cadre of nearly 400 trained volunteers willing to listen to the citizensof small towns and help them put together a simple and realistic plan for their future. One hundred of these community assessments have been completed since 2000, and virtually every community participating has a list of proud accomplishments to show for their efforts.

The Reinvention of Rural America

Roger Brooks

There are more ghost towns in the making today than ever before in American history.  There are nearly 30,000 counties, cities, towns and villages in North America and more than 28,000 of them are rural.  So how do you win when every community is working to become THE destination of choice for business, residents and visitors?  How do you stand out from the crowd and get noticed?  In this engaging and humorous keynote address, you’ll see and hear the stories of what works and what doesn’t, while Roger walks you through the three ingredients of change and the seven things you need to do to win as rural America works to reinvent itself.

Small Town Rules

Becky McCray

Today, every business has to play by “small town rules”.  Consider that with social media any customer can express virtual satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a business as easily as word-of-mouth about a local merchant would spread in a small town café.  Really, our businesses in small towns already know what bigger businesses in bigger towns will need to learn.  Becky will outline these “rules” that, when followed, will allow small town businesses to thrive with limited resources while building their community and reaching beyond their  geographic boundaries.

Don’t miss this opportunity; register today to join us at the Conference! 

This document encompasses a wide variety of areas that are all related to, and essential for, economic development.  Similar to the Michigan Rural Council’s priority issue areas, there are articles related to health, education, asset based development, place making, philanthropy, regionalism, small business/micro enterprise support…the list goes on.  There were three themes, however, that resonated with what rural communities face every day.

• Sustainable development – rural communities must assess what is truly sustainable over the long haul.  As Alan Hooper notes in his piece, “Small towns just need a strategy that suits their situation”.
• Asset based development – it is important for rural communities to assess what already exists within their community and use those assets to their advantage.  Mary Randolph, Executive Director of the Wyoming Rural Development Council, spearheaded a decade-long process of conducting community assessments in communities across Wyoming.  That process “…empowered communities to put their future in their own hands, to dream big and make those dreams come true through hard work, teamwork and partnerships”. Mary will be joining us at the 2012 Small Town & Rural Development Conference; make plans to join us today if you’d like to hear more about this process.
• Sense of place – there are things that make rural communities unique, both from urban areas and even from neighboring communities.  These things are what make small towns attractive to residents of all ages.  Susan Baldwin, Mayor of Battle Creek, summed it up when she noted, “We want a community which recognizes that quality of life is critical to attracting talent.  We need to create places where workers, entrepreneurs and businesses want to locate, invest and expand.  We want a hometown where families play and grow”.

Take a moment to read through the Progress 2012 Experts Edition today and see what inspires you!

Are you curious to see what is in store for you at the 2012 Small Town & Rural Development Conference?  Then you should visit the conference page where we have just posted the breakout sessions that will be offered during our time together at Crystal Mountain.  We are excited to have such a great list of topics presenters…take a look today!

Don’t forget that registration is now open for the conference and the early bird rate of only $100 is available until April 6.  You can register and make your lodging reservations all from the conference site.  We’ll see you in April!

by: Brad Garmon, Michigan Environmental Council

A new mining era appears to be dawning in the Upper Peninsula. With at least five big operations either getting underway or entering the environmental permitting process, and maybe half a dozen more busily exploring and testing the waters for future mines, it’s clear that these companies are enjoying strong support from Governor Snyder, Northern Michigan lawmakers and state agency staff. Now it appears there may be a new opportunity to capture additional revenue from the rich mineral reserves and to reinvest that money into building an economy that could support rural northern Michigan for decades to come.

Michigan leaders, led by Director Keith Creagh and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, are currently making the rounds as they explore the potential for adding a new severance tax on minerals and investing the money in a yet-do-be developed Rural Economic Development program. The idea is to support these rural communities once the wealth of the mining operations has departed.  On the whole, rural communities around the country have learned that mining operations are relatively short-lived ventures. Times are good while the mine is running but once the minerals are removed (typically seven to 10 years) the companies and jobs move on. High unemployment and low wages (the long busts) have all too often followed the short booms of extractive industry.

This is especially true of new mines in Michigan’s beautiful and very rural Upper Peninsula. Minerals are a one-time boost; once they’re gone, they’re gone. Communities must then find a way to diversify that economy or face slow and painful decline.

One model being contemplated for Michigan is to use the severance tax to establish a trust fund that would invest for the long-term in the rural economic development initiatives that would help the Upper Peninsula become more diverse and resilient for the long haul. There is precedent for such decision. Sean O’Leary of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy suggests that:

 “Many of the top severance tax-collecting states preserve their natural resource wealth through severance tax-funded trust funds. These trust funds not only act as a stable source of funding through the swings of the natural resource market and as a permanent source of revenue for after the resource is gone, but they also act as economic development and diversification tools. In Montana, for example, the Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund program aids in the development of good-paying jobs and promotes long-term stable economic growth through grants financed by the fund.”

Currently 38 states have some type of severance tax, mostly imposed on coal, natural gas, and oil. Research has also shown that these severance taxes don’t deter mining in any significant way—the value and limited availability of these resources mean they will get mined anyway, and the incremental additional cost is largely offset by federal subsidies and marginally higher costs for end products. But these funds do offer states and local communities like those in Michigan a way to not only recoup the temporary costs of hosting the mining operation, but to invest wisely in the things that will provide a prosperous and sustainable future once the mining (and the minerals) are long gone.

During the last several years, Michigan took steps to develop laws that will hopefully make this new era of mining cleaner and less disruptive of the pristine wilderness and waterways they inevitably impact—hopefully the bust won’t include heavy burdens from pollution or costly clean ups of mismanaged operations. But better yet, with the addition of a severance tax and a new Rural Economic Development program, this new mining era can help build a more resilient rural Michigan, especially for the Upper Peninsula.

I think it makes sense to add a severance tax on the minerals to be mined in Michigan, and to establish a fund to support sustainable economic development for rural areas for the future. For me, the big question then becomes: what should we investment the money in? What do we create now, during the short boom period that will help build a sustainable foundation of prosperity in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula 10, 50 or 100 years from now?

For me, it amounts to Rural Placemaking—protecting and enhancing and promoting our best natural assets and tapping them for a strong agenda of talent attraction and quality of life. With that in mind I think a few key components should be prioritized in any economic development investments for Michigan’s rural communities:

• In a world where talented workers are more mobile than ever, and not tethered to a specific town or factory or firm, great places become successful places because they can attract the best and brightest people.
• Research shows that talented people, particularly young people and older professionals, want great places with access to the outdoors, including trails and recreation.
• Michigan’s best natural resource industries—forestry, agriculture, tourism, recreation—are largely sustainable and completely compatible with a place-based, talent-attraction agenda for rural Michigan.
• From sandy Great Lakes shorelines to cold, clear trout streams, from deep, restorative forests to rolling, grass-covered prairies, rural Michigan has an underlying foundation of natural assets that gives us a competitive advantage unique to the Midwest. We can attract talented people—including the well-educated innovators that will create the businesses of the future.

Granted, these assets must be nurtured and they must be coupled with other attractors: job opportunities, great schools, lively towns and safe neighborhoods. Those too are all likely candidates for a Rural Economic Development Trust Fund targeted toward a place-based economic development strategy. But at the end of the day, the best thing this fund could do, in my humble opinion, is to secure and restore the foundation of the Upper Peninsula’s greatness, and that is its unique outdoor heritage.

The U.P.—and all of rural Michigan— has more to offer the world than just minerals. And without turning our backs on our automotive heritage or the mining and forestry and factories that support us still, this is a chance for rural northern Michigan to rethink itself, and craft a new image—and self-image—built primarily on the Pure Michigan places we know and love.

Would you like to join us for the discussion with Director Creagh and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development?  The Director will join us for our regularly scheduled Michigan Rural Council meeting on Tuesday, February 21 from 2:00-3:30pm.  We will be meeting at the Michigan Municipal League Capital Office located at 208 N. Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933.   There is no cost to attend, but space is limited so you must RSVP (email Kari Marciniak at marciniak@cedam.info).

About the guest blogger:

Brad Garmon is the Director of Conservation and Emerging Issues at MEC, where he has worked since moving to Michigan in 2001. Brad holds degrees in Earth Science and Geospatial Analysis, and a master’s degree in English. In addition to policy work on natural resources protection, land conservation, economic development and Smart Growth issues across Michigan, he is a member of the Michigan Sense of Place Council, the Michigan Environmental Advisory Council, the national Growth Management Leadership Alliance and the People And Land Leadership Council. He was appointed by Governor Snyder to the Michigan State Parks and Recreation Blue Ribbon Panel in 2011.

Links for further reading:

“Will Mines Gets State Riches for A Paltry Sum?” Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/article/20111128/NEWS05/111280328/Will-mines-get-state-s-riches-paltry-sum-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

“Mines Beginning Digging Into UP Free of Key State Tax.” Bridge Magazine. http://bridgemi.com/2011/11/mines-begin-digging-into-u-p-free-of-state-tax/#.TzV9RrGPmwM

“Keeping College Graduates in Michigan: Michigan Colleges Foundation Student Survey Findings.” MCF April 2011 http://www.michigancolleges.org/files/michigancolleges.org/MCF_Findings%20Report_Final2.pdf

“Taxes On Resources Vary Widely Among States.” Bridge Magazine.
http://bridgemi.com/2011/11/taxation-on-resources-varies-widely-among-states/#.TzV9h7GPmwN

“Creating an Economic Diversification Fund: Turning Nonrenewable Natural Resources into Sustainable Wealth for West Virginia.” West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. http://www.wvpolicy.org/downloads/WVEconomicDiversificationTrustFundRpt013012.pdf

“Investing In The Future:  Making The Severance Tax Stronger For West Virginia.” West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy. http://www.wvpolicy.org/downloads/SeveranceTax121311.pdf