State Representative Joe Andrews is calling for cooler heads to prevail in Benton Harbor city government as an impasse over using city income tax dollars to fund day to day operations continues.
The city commission Monday voted five to four against a $420,000 transfer of income tax money to the general fund, prompting warnings from the mayor about a government shutdown and other consequences. Andrews issued a statement Tuesday, saying the decision “puts Benton Harbor and its financial standing at serious risk and threatens the safety and stability of residents.” He tells us he remembers some local history.
“When I see this, it kind of sends up a flare pretty quickly that this is exactly how we ended up under emergency management last time, and I think myself and the mayor both desperately want to avoid that sort of situation happening again,” Andrews said. “And it also sends a pretty bad signal to anybody looking to invest in Benton Harbor.”
Andrews says his particular concern involved the water plant.
“In this conversation about moving this income tax money was funding to help close the gaps on the water treatment plant for the company that’s running that, as well as paying their city employees, continuing to meet their obligations. If they fail to do that, the Treasury has to step in because you can’t just have cities failing, effectively. That was kind of akin to what happened back during the recession when Benton Harbor fell under emergency management the first time when they failed to be able to pay their bills. And so when I see this, it kind of sends up a flare pretty quickly that this is exactly how we ended up under emergency management last time.”
Andrews says intervention by the state likely wouldn’t be immediate, meaning there’s time for city leaders to change course.
“I don’t think this would be something that would happen tomorrow by any means, but as I’m sure you know, there’s been issues with the water treatment plant and the city’s ability to fund that for a couple of years now. And so that has been on the state’s radar for a little bit. So my concern is that if we start compounding these problems, we could end up in a really bad situation very quickly.”
Andrews has been in contact with Mayor Marcus Muhammad, joining his call for some commissioners to reconsider Monday’s vote.
“I think there’s a lot of misinformation flying around from the members of the board who voted against the transfer, and I think the public needs to understand that it is not a normal thing for a city council or a government to vote against funding itself.”
Andrews is urging the city commission to act swiftly to ensure that employees are paid and essential services continue without disruption. Commissioners are set to meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to further discuss the issue.
