Tagged: budget

Western Michigan University says it's raising tuition 3.9 percent for the coming academic year, reports the AP.

Trustees at the Kalamazoo school approved the increase today. The school says instate freshmen and sophomores will pay $9,982 in tuition and mandatory fees in 2012-13. That's up $376 from the current academic year.

Western Michigan says with the increase, the school is 10th in cost among the 15 Michigan public universities.

Out-of-state freshmen and sophomores will pay $23,262 for the academic year.

The trustees approved an operating budget of $349 million for the 2012-13 year.

Last year, Michigan Radio's Jennifer Guerra reported on public university tuition increases for the 2012-2011 academic year:

• University of Michigan: 6.7% increase for in-state undergraduates, 4.9% for out-of-state students.
• Western Michigan University: 6.6% increase
• Oakland University: 7% increase
• Saginaw Valley State: 6.9% increase
• Lake Superior State University: 6.94% increase
• Michigan Technological University: 6.95% increase
• University of Michigan-Flint: 6.8% increase

This year for in-state undergraduates, tuition has increased by:

• University of Michigan: 2.8 percent
• Saginaw Valley State: 3.9 percent
• Lake Superior State University: 2.98 percent
• Michigan Technological University: 3.9 percent
• University of Michigan-Dearborn: 3.7 percent
• University of Michigan-Flint: 3.6 percent
• Michigan State University: 3.5 percent
• Eastern Michigan University: 3.95 percent

-Elaine Ezekiel, Michigan Radio Newsroom

Last night,  a reluctant Lansing City Council approved a plan to eliminate a nearly two million dollar budget deficit.   Lansing's fiscal year concludes at the end of this week.

Flint residents will get a chance this afternoon to have their say about a proposed fee increase to pay for city streetlights.    But what they say may not be enough to prevent the fee from going into effect.

The city of Flint pays for keeping its streetlights lit with money from the city’s general fund.

 It appears a budget deal between Governor Rick Snyder and the Legislature’s Republican leaders could include an election year tax cut. An early version of the proposal would accelerate a drop in the state income tax rate and increase the personal exemption.

The governor and G-O-P leaders want to wrap up the budget by the end of next week.

 Governor Snyder says he was skeptical at first, but he says revenue projections look promising enough to at least start talking about a tax cut for individuals and families.

In the next few days, Lansing mayor Virg Bernero is expected to veto all or part of the budget plan the city council passed. 

Bernero indicated his intention to veto the budget during a sometimes contentious city council meeting last night.    He did little, if anything, to conceal his contempt for the changes the city council made to the budget plan he submitted two months ago.

Flint’s emergency manager got an earful during a public meeting last night on the budget he imposed on the city last week.

Emergency manager Michael Brown had planned to take the first half hour of a 90 minute public meeting to review his budget plan and then allow an hour for questions.

But the budget presentation had barely started, when several people in the nearly full auditorium jumped to their feet to shout down the emergency manager.

After the outburst, a parade of people took turns at the podium denouncing emergency manager Michael Brown, the law that put him in charge of Flint and the budget he introduced and imposed last week. That budget cuts the city’s workforce by about 20 percent and imposes hundreds of dollars in new fees for city water, street light and other city services.

Flint resident Carolyn Shannon questioned the expertise behind the decision to make deep cuts to the city’s police and fire departments.  

“Even a person off the street…can cut somebody’s throat," scolded Shannon.

One man, identified only as Maurice, glared at Brown as he talked about how he can’t afford to pay any more taxes.

"You want to take more from me and my daughter?" the man asked, "You ain’t no different than these people that are out here murdering our own children."  

Brown insists the budget cuts and fee increases are needed to address Flint’s  projected $25 million gap next year. That's not Flint's only financial problem. The city is also seeking the state's OK to sell more than $18 million in loans to pay off the city debts from the past few budget years.