In Our Opinion … Will city taxpayers be hit with a hefty bill?

Hamtramck, like a number of other communities, is about to get screwed by Republican state legislators.
That’s because they went to court to block roughly $5 million that had been earmarked about a year ago to fund several projects here in town, including purchasing a new fire truck that is already under construction.
All together, $645 million is at stake for a number of various projects in communities throughout the state.
The legislators claim the funding is unconstitutional, according to some obscure rule in controlling state funding.
Fortunately, the state has already funneled some of this money to Hamtramck, but a question lingers whether communities will be forced to pay back money already spent.
That will be financially devastating to Hamtramck, which, like other communities, was selected because we are a community where many people are surviving on poverty wages.
We are also a city with aging infrastructure, and limited financial resources.
We understand that legislators want to be fiscally responsible, but subjecting communities to footing the bills for millions in improvements that were already promised is anything but responsible.
And, if Hamtramck is socked with a bill to pay back the funding, you can bet it will be property owners – homeowners – who will be forced to pay for it, through a court-ordered tax.
Legislators need to know that they are playing with their fellow citizens’ financial security.
Posted Jan. 31