DETROIT – State Representative Bert Johnson (D-Detroit) today announced that a bill he introduced, which
applies only to Highland Park, has passed the House. House Bill 5449 would
revise the eligibility criteria under the Emergency Municipal Loan Act to allow a municipality to submit a loan
application to the Department of Treasury Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board, and increase the maximum loan
to any one municipality in any one fiscal year from $1 million to $3 million.
"The city of Highland Park is home to over 300 businesses, and over
the past few years, it has stabilized and begun to reinvest in its infrastructure," Johnson said. "More than 100
blighted properties have been removed, and renovations have been made to the library, municipal building, field house
and parks. We need to give this up-and-coming city the chance to partner with the state and really thrive."
Johnson also pointed out that Coca-Cola and Visteon recently set up shop in Highland
Park.
The Municipal Emergency Loan Board authorizes loans of up to $1 million annually for struggling communities, if the
communities are experiencing little or no growth in their income tax collections. Highland
Park has met that criterion and was granted two separate loans in 2003 and 2006. Generally,
to be eligible, a community's income tax growth rate must fall below .90.
In the most recent two years of collections, Highland Park's growth rate
was 1.24 -- a level of improvement that is too high for the city to qualify for another loan. This bill has been
introduced to revise the eligibility criteria for municipal emergency loans so that Highland
Park could again qualify for state assistance.
