A $62.8 billion budget signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer Wednesday with broad bipartisan support contained mostly good news for Traverse City: reinstated funding for Pure Michigan, the statewide expansion of 10 Cents a Meal, and stabilized school funding and revenue-sharing with local governments. The budget – made possible by federal pandemic aid and the draining of certain state funds, like the School Aid Fund – staved off grim cuts feared by local leaders, though legislators have warned next year’s budget could prove more painful.

The Pure Michigan tourism campaign and 10 Cents a Meal – a Traverse City-born program now run by the state to provide school districts with up to 10 cents per meal in matching funds to purchase Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables, and legumes – were both initial victims of last year’s budget. Whitmer used her veto power to cut 147 line items – including the two programs – from the 2020 budget. Funding for 10 Cents a Meal was restored retroactively this summer in the amount of $575,000, but Pure Michigan lost its entire $35 million budget for the year.

The state’s new 2021 budget, however, restores $15 million in funding for Pure Michigan next year. That’s good news for tourism bureaus trying to help local businesses stay afloat during the pandemic, says Traverse City Tourism President/CEO Trevor Tkach. "This is an opportunity to get back on track with one of the most recognized, award-winning destination campaigns out there," he says. "We still have a lot of opportunity to grow with it. I’m pleased to see $15 million in the budget. It’s clearly not at the level we’d like, but it’s a step in the right direction."

Tourism and convention and visitors bureaus such as Traverse City Tourism don’t receive direct funding from Pure Michigan, but instead partner with the program on national ad campaigns, such as highlighting Traverse City in ads aired on major networks. Traverse City also benefits from the overall boost in visitor traffic Pure Michigan brings to the state, Tkach says. While Traverse City Tourism is still struggling with a reduced staff and slashed revenues compared to 2019, Tkach says the organization will seek ways to utilize Pure Michigan and other programs to support the community in the coming months. "A lot of the hospitality industry is still struggling, and it’s going to be a difficult winter for a lot of businesses," he says. "We will be working to drive as much as business here as we can in the fall and winter."

The new budget handed a major win to 10 Cents a Meal, which initially began as a pilot program by the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities and eight local school districts to get healthier food to students and support Michigan farmers. The program has expanded to serve 57 school districts and more than 134,000 students in 27 counties, and is now entering its fifth year being administered by the Michigan Department of Education. Schools can apply for state grant funding to receive a match of up to 10 cents per meal to purchase locally grown produce and legumes.

The state budget increases program funding next year from $575,000 to $2 million and makes grants available to school districts statewide, rather than just pilot regions. Sponsors of early childhood centers can also apply for grant funding for the first time. Groundwork Center Senior Policy Specialist Diane Conners says more than 600 individuals and 200 organizations signed a letter urging legislators to approve the expansion, saying the program’s "value had been shown now more than ever in this time of health and economic crisis due to COVID." 10 Cents a Meal has the "active support" of the School Nutrition Association of Michigan, the Michigan Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, and the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to Conners.

Another relative win for schools came in the form of education funding, which was feared to be targeted for drastic cuts this year due to the pandemic. Lawmakers instead maintained per-pupil funding and added a one-time increase of $65 per student. Legislators and Whitmer previously approved a $500 bonus for teachers for serving as frontline workers, with the budget additionally providing a retention stipend for new teachers and up to $250 each for school support staff. The budget includes $5.6 million for school mental health services, an increase of $5.7 million for literacy programs, $1 million in school meal debt forgiveness, and $2 million in additional support for vulnerable students learning remotely. Michigan Reconnect, a Whitmer-championed program to help adults earn tuition-free postsecondary certificates or associate degrees, was allocated $30 million.

While Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) Superintendent Dr. John VanWagoner told board trustees this week that rising inflation and healthcare costs meant the district would still likely be facing a negative budget, he acknowledged “the real doom that was forecasted didn’t transpire” in education funding this year. That appears to hold true for community colleges as well, including Northwestern Michigan College (NMC). In a recent report to college trustees and President Nick Nissley, consulting firm Northern Strategies 360 wrote that “despite the dire forecast for the state’s general fund back in May, the fiscal year 2021 community college budget was essentially held harmless” – with NMC receiving a slight .3 percent increase in funding.

Municipalities also express cautious optimism about the state’s budget. In June, Grand Traverse County Finance Director Dean Bott shared concerns with county commissioners that state revenue-sharing could be slashed as much as 20 percent in the upcoming budget – an estimated $350,000 loss to Grand Traverse County. However, revenue-sharing payments were ultimately preserved in the state budget, to the relief of County Administrator Nate Alger. 

“We had concerns about how we were going to manage the projected loss of revenue and were in serious discussions about layoffs and reduction of services,” he says. “Now it appears that our revenues have stabilized, and while not a 100 percent recovery, the concerns about the state revenue sharing have been relieved.” Though Traverse City Manager Marty Colburn expresses ongoing concerns about how Michigan allocates funds to local municipalities – with revenue-sharing levels well below where they’re supposed to be year after year – he says budget impacts of COVID-19 this cycle “don’t appear to be as bad as we had projected.”

Other local impacts could also be felt from the state budget. Funds for statewide rail improvements – including $500,000 for Grand Traverse County – were included as part of $31.3 million designated for Michigan enhancement grants. The budget also includes $14.3 million in broadband funding to expand Internet access across the state, $7 million to increase the number of troopers in the Michigan State Police, $28.7 million for the Going PRO program (which provides grants to employers for job training), $26 million to expand childcare access for families, an extension of a $2/hour wage increase for direct care workers assisting the elderly, and $12.6 million for the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies program to “ensure women are given the care they need to have a healthy pregnancy and to expand support for interventions that are proven to improve outcomes.”

Pictured: Governor Gretchen Whitmer signing the 2021 budget. Photo credit: Michigan Governor’s Office