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Update on East Lansing Income Tax Collection
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An update on the City of East Lansing’s income tax revenue collection was provide by Income Tax Administrator DaMar Boyd at this past Tuesday’s East Lansing City Council meeting.
As of July 5, 2019, $4.6 million has been collected in income tax revenue since the beginning of January, which includes monthly and quarterly withholding from East Lansing employers and quarterly estimated payments from individuals and businesses. A chart of the revenue collected by month can be viewed here: https://eastlansing.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&event_id=1854&meta_id=81174 (second quarter and June withholding payments continue to be collected). It is important to note that the final collection numbers for the first year of the income tax will be unknown until after 2019 income tax returns are filed next year. At that time, a portion of the revenue collected throughout 2019 will be refunded to some taxpayers, while others will owe additional amounts.
The City of East Lansing is currently on track to collect approximately $9 million by the end of 2019, which is the budgeted amount that was included in the City’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget based on early collection numbers. The original estimate of $10.4 million came from a study conducted by Plante Moran, an independent firm, prior to implementation of the new tax.
“Our income tax revenue to date indicates that we are on track to collect what we estimated we would in the first year based on our early numbers, which is great news,” said East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas. “These funds will help move East Lansing forward with much-needed reinvestment in public safety and infrastructure, while also helping us to safeguard the future financial sustainability of the City by addressing our long-term pension challenges.”
By City Charter, the income tax revenue will be used for supplemental pension payments (60 percent), police and fire protection (20 percent) and infrastructure improvements (20 percent). The City has already started reinvesting in public safety, with the addition of two new firefighters and two new police officers and the recent purchase of a new fire truck with better high-angle rescue capability. Community members will also see the income tax dollars at work this summer and fall with the renovation of the four existing baseball fields at Patriarche Park. The City will continue to keep the community updated as additional income tax dollars are used.
With the implementation of the income tax, the City’s property tax reduction went into effect, decreasing the City’s operating millage rate from 17.5362 mills to 12.5362 mills. Property owners saw this reduction for the first time on their summer property tax bills and will continue to see the reduction in all future years that the income tax is in place. The income tax is time-limited to 12 years.
Community members and employers with questions about income tax registration and payments are reminded that they can contact East Lansing Income Tax Administrator DaMar Boyd at (517) 319-6862 or incometax@cityofeastlansing.com. For additional information, visit www.cityofeastlansing.com/incometax.
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Target Opens in Downtown East Lansing
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This past Tuesday, City of East Lansing officials participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the soft opening of the new Target small-format store located at 201 E. Grand River Ave. in downtown East Lansing.
The 22,000-square-foot retail location is the first of its kind in Michigan and is set to employ approximately 80 employees. Despite its smaller footprint, the store is stocked full of many of the offerings customers would see in a full-size Target, including food and beverage items, personal care and beauty products, home décor items (including dorm and apartment essentials), apparel and merchandise, tailgating supplies and more. The store will also offer online orders/pickups and customer parking validation for the first 30 minutes. The new Albert Avenue Garage, located behind the store at 188 Albert Ave., is expected to open next month.
“This new store is an exciting and welcome addition to downtown East Lansing, providing a quick and convenient shopping option for our downtown residents, students and visitors alike,” said East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows. “We are thrilled that we now have two great options for fresh produce and grocery items in our downtown, with the recent opening of Campbell’s Market Basket on the east end of the downtown and this week’s opening of Target on the west end of the downtown.”
The Target small-format store is set to celebrate its grand opening this Sunday, July 21, with store hours from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. There will be a reusable bag giveaway and free samples throughout the day. There will also be a wine tasting from 1-4 p.m. All community members are invited to stop by and check out the new space! In addition to its Sunday hours, the store will be open on weekdays from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m.-11 p.m.
While community members are downtown for the grand opening celebration, they are encouraged to stop by many of the other wonderful, local businesses located in the heart of East Lansing. Visit www.downtownEL.com for a directory of businesses and visit https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/1912/Parking-Validation for a list of businesses that validate parking for customers. Community members are also reminded that the first 30 minutes of parking in all downtown gated garages/lots is free through the end of July. Parking locations can be found here: https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/335/Parking-Locations.
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City Celebrates Northern Tier Trail Bridge Improvements
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The City of East Lansing is celebrating the repair/replacement of six pedestrian bridges along the Northern Tier Trail with a series of ribbon-cutting ceremonies that kicked off yesterday.
The bridge projects would not have been possible without funding support from the Ingham County Trails and Parks Millage. The City of East Lansing was awarded $1,526,089 in millage funds to repair/replace the six bridges and make surface improvements along the trail. Close to 70 percent of voters in East Lansing approved the Ingham County Trails and Parks Millage in November 2014, demonstrating a tremendous amount of local support for improvements to outdoor recreational amenities in the local community.
“We would like to thank Ingham County and East Lansing voters for their support of this important project, which has resulted in significant infrastructure and accessibility improvements along the Northern Tier Trail,” said East Lansing Parks, Recreation & Arts Director Tim McCaffrey. “We are excited to celebrate the completion of this important project."
Yesterday's ceremony took place at the East Lansing Soccer Complex bridge and celebrated the complete replacement of that bridge, the installation of a new bridge at Albert A. White Memorial Park and repairs to the bridges at Harrison Meadows Park and Abbey Road. Details about the upcoming ceremonies are below:
- A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at the Kalamazoo Street bridge on Tuesday, July 23 at 11 a.m. Parking is available at Kircher Municipal Park, 301 Clippert St. and the bridge is located near the northeast corner of the Clippert-Kalamazoo intersection. This event will celebrate repairs to the Kalamazoo Street bridge, including approach improvements, repaired decking, support improvements, aesthetic improvements (repainted) and more.
- A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at the Hagadorn Road bridge on Tuesday, July 30 at 6:30 p.m. Parking is available at B/A Florist, 1424 E. Grand River Ave., and the bridge is located near the southwest corner of the Grand River-Hagadorn intersection. This event will celebrate repairs to the Hagadorn Road bridge, including approach improvements, repaired decking, support improvements, aesthetic improvements (repainted) and more.
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East Lansing Human Relations Commission Announces New Coffee & Conversation Series
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EAST LANSING, Mich. — The East Lansing Human Relations Commission (HRC) is excited to announce a new Coffee & Conversation series aimed at providing a monthly forum for community discussions on topics of diversity and inclusion.
In response to feedback from community members at previous organized events, the HRC will be hosting monthly informal conversations around a single-topic issue at rotating East Lansing locations. Topics will be related to human rights issues, such as protected classes, religion, the LGBTQIA+ community, race, disabilities and accessibility, veterans, immigration, incarceration and more. The conversations will be hosted by rotating members of the HRC.
“It is vital that, as a community, we provide this forum in order to have tough conversations about topics that affect all members of our City,” said East Lansing City Councilmember Aaron Stephens, who serves as the HRC’s Council Liaison. “Through this monthly series, community members will be able to learn, discuss and grow from one another in an informal and welcoming setting. We invite the greater East Lansing community to attend and look forward to engaging and thoughtful dialogue on a variety of issues and topics.”
The first session of the Coffee & Conversation series, “What is a Protected Class?,” will take place on Sunday, July 21 from 1-3 p.m. at downtown East Lansing’s Blue Owl Coffee, 213 Ann St., Ste. C.
The second session will be a “Religion Edition,” which will take place on Sunday, Aug. 18 from 1-3 p.m. at the Espresso Royale at 1500 W. Lake Lansing Road. The conversation will include discussion on racial discrimination, including hate crimes.
Additional sessions will be announced on the City’s website calendar, www.cityofeastlansing.com, and social media: Facebook and Twitter.
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Cooling Centers Open Through Saturday
Cooling centers throughout Ingham, Clinton and Eaton counties will be open through Saturday, July 20 in response to the extreme heat. In East Lansing, the East Lansing Public Library is available as a cooling center during regular business hours. Learn more.
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Summer Splash to Take Place July 24
Community members are invited to the 2019 Summer Splash – a poolside celebration that will come alive at the East Lansing Family Aquatic Center, 6400 Abbot Road, on Wednesday, July 24. This popular community event will take place from 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and will feature plenty of fun activities. Learn more.
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New Art Installation in East Lansing City Hall
Members of the community are invited to stop by East Lansing City Hall, 410 Abbot Road, to check out the City of East Lansing’s newest public art installation: “Faces of the Community.” The installation was created by local ceramic artist Doug DeLind with assistance from the community during this year’s East Lansing Art Festival. The commissioned piece was the result of a partnership between the East Lansing Arts Commission and ELAF. Learn more.
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