Economic development, housing, urban renewal, economic gardening, and rural development were major themes in Governor Rick Snyder’s first State of the State address, given last night. The Governor also unveiled a new online “dashboard” to score how Michigan is doing compared to other states in the areas of Economic Development, Public Safety, Value for Government, Quality of Life, and Health and Education.
Some of the Governor’s specific ideas included:
- creating an Office of Urban Initiatives,
- fostering economic gardening throughout the state to help entrepreneurs build their businesses and create jobs, and
- strengthening the coordination of regional economic development strategies with the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG), Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).
While specific details of the Governor’s new plan will not be known until he issues his budget recommendations next month, his speech last night did outline a solid foundation that could provide much-needed support for the work that many CEDAM members are doing every day to help rebuild Michigan’s communities. We look forward to hearing more details on the Governor’s plans to rebuild Michigan, and we will be working diligently to ensure that the priorities of our members (via our policy committee, Asset Building Policy Project, Michigan Foreclosure Task Force, and Michigan Rural Network) are included in these efforts to move Michigan forward.