The City of Traverse City and Michigan Municipal League Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Anthony Minghine will host a Community Financial Health Forum at the Traverse Area District Library tonight (Monday) at 6pm. The event will take the place of the city commission's regular meeting.

The forum will be held in the library's McGuire Meeting Room and broadcast live on UpNorth Media's Channel 191 on Charter. Minghine will discuss why Michigan’s municipal funding system is failing, highlighting how "the way the state funds local government is broken" and what can be done to improve the system.

“I’m glad that Mr. Minghine will be bringing the topic of how local units of government are financed to the forefront," says Traverse City Mayor Jim Carruthers. "It’s important that we have a sustainable financial model that allows us to provide the services that touch everyone’s life on the most local level. I look forward to our elected leaders from around the region joining in the discussion.”

City Commissioner Richard Lewis and member of the Michigan Municipal League Board of Trustees, says he is "glad to have the opportunity to bring the region’s local units of government together to talk about what can be done to better allow cities, villages, townships and counties, to fund the services that matter most to our communities. The Michigan Municipal League is working with the State Legislature to refine the financing model, and it’s important for our communities to be part of that discussion.”

The City of Traverse City has invited the elected boards of Frankfort, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, Boyne City, and Charlevoix to attend tonight's event.