Must read! This is the caliber of those ruining that city!-----Muskegon Heights councilman explains why he voted to fire the interim city manager - mlive.com

The city has not done tax compliance – collecting on unpaid taxes – in nearly a decade, Merriweather said during the meeting.  - Kayla Tucker| ktucker@mlive.com

The city has been without a city manager since January 2023, appointing interims since not renewing the contract of former City Manager Troy Bell...

• “The state’s not going take us coming in the front door - they’re already in the building,” William Kitchen said. “The door was open for them. So, yeah, I blocked it along with many of my colleagues, because we understand the ramifications that that bring(s).”

Representatives from the State of Michigan Department of Treasury proposed a 10-year agreement for full-service tax administration during an April 27 meeting in Muskegon Heights.

• The city has not done tax compliance – collecting on unpaid taxes – in nearly a decade, Merriweather said during the meeting. 
• It was proposed that the city would pay $255,000 annually for the state to do its income tax administration, processing, auditing, compliance and collections.

“She opened the door to bring the state treasury to co-op or to absorb into our income tax department,” Kitchen said. 

“Are we struggling in our income tax department? Absolutely. Can we do a better job? Absolutely. And we will. But when I asked the state, ‘If y’all came in and did that, and in three or four years we felt like we were in a better position to run things ourselves, could we do that?’ 

They specifically told me: ‘No, we’re here for 10 years, no matter what.’