Senator Clarke asked and was granted unanimous consent to make a statement and moved that the statement be printed in the Journal.
The motion prevailed.
Senator Clarke's statement is as follows:
I will oppose this bill because my amendment was not approved that would have allowed the city of Detroit to receive up to $52.8 million only if there were surplus funds. I did support the omnibus budget because I felt that it was a prudent one. I do honor that agreement that this Legislature made on that, but I was requesting that the additional funds come from surplus money and that would have held all local units of government harmless from any cuts to revenue sharing.
You know, it is true that the money, the $52 million the city would have gotten if my amendment was approved, would have been spent by city government for the direct benefit of Detroit city residents. In the past, I would argue that this is only fair since there was an express provision in the law stating that the city would receive a fixed amount of money. You know, I believe that the city of Detroit should receive this full amount of revenue sharing as stated in our statute not just for the benefit of Detroiters, but to benefit this state. Many people have said that the state of Michigan right now is suffering economically when other states aren't. I believe that is true. I also believe that global competition had a lot to do with our economic woes, but, you know, whether it is a human being or an organization or state government, the heart of any entity must be strong in order for that organism, that organization, or that government to thrive.
The center of this state has been and still is the city of Detroit. Yes, we lost a lot of people, and yes, many of the streets that now line the city of Detroit are blighted and many businesses are gone. But if you ask someone out of state or out of the country what city do they know in Michigan, none of them will say any of the cities that are in your districts, none of them. The one city that people know is associated with Michigan has been and still is the city of Detroit. So, yes, the money I was requesting would go to help the streets to become safer places, to clean up the neighborhoods, but it wasn't just to help the city; it was to help the state.
What Detroit has right now, it has the roads, it has the sewers, it has the land, it has the water, it has the river, and yes, it has some of the most resilient people I've ever met. This city is still the heart of our state. What I do ask in the future is to help Detroit to help Michigan because if we want a state to be truly resilient to the competitive forces in our global economy, we need the city of Detroit to be as strong as possible. That's why I do urge that this Legislature look and work with me for a way to provide the resources back to the city that the residents of the state of Michigan deserve, so that we can be strong and prosperous again. A strong Detroit means a prosperous Michigan.
Because my amendment was not approved, I regretfully will not support this budget bill.