Paul Hillegonds

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#0000BF" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="044005a0exvipq.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Copperplate Gothic Bold" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eastside Republican Club"><U><B>Home</B></U></A><B>  </B><B> </B></FONT><B>  | </B><B> </B><B> </B><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Copperplate Gothic Bold" ><B>Eastside Republican Club</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="erc_meeting_dates.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Events"><U><B>Events</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="eastside_republican_review_summary.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ERC Review"><U><B>ERC Review</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="michigan_s_13th_district.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Congressional District News"><U><B>Congressional District News</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="civic___governmental_links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="erc_officers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U><B>About Us</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Paul Hillegonds</B></div> <div> <A HREF="link_to_michigan_gop.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Michigan Republicans"><U><B><IMG SRC="05358580.gif" border=0 width="88" height="88" ALT="Michigan GOP" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="michigan_s_13th_district.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Congressional District News"><U><I><B>Congressional District News</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="more_blog_sites.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="More Links!"><U><I><B>Informative Blog Sites</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="erc_testimonials.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="What Theyre Saying About Us"><U><I><B>Read what they've said about us</B></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="erc_meeting_dates.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Events"><U><B><IMG SRC="81b871f0.gif" border=0 width="135" height="31" ALT=">>Events" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div>  <A NAME="top_of_page"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <I><U>Civic Leader Offers Prescription for the Future</U></I></div> <div> <B>Hillegonds Cites Detroit Progress, Need for More Efficiency</B></div> <div> <B>But Suggests Increased Taxes to Support Government Initiatives</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="11654aa30.jpg" border=0 width="330" height="419" ALT="Jim Miller, left, with Paul Hillegonds, center, and ERC chair Marti Miller" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="2">Soft-spoken Paul Hillegonds arrived at the ERC Forum as a newly minted <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.dteenergy.com/news/background.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.dteenergy.com/news/background"><U>DTE Energy</U></A></FONT> senior VP, but for the Forum he focused his remarks on the City of Detroit and Michigan.</div> <div> Illustrating how important it is for a public figure to remain humble, Hillegonds recounted an experience earlier in his career as participant in a live radio call-in program. A caller had just finished lavishing compliments, saying, “Young man, you are doing a fine job.” But then she realized the legislative guest on the radio was Paul Hillegonds, and she blurted, “I'm talking to the wrong person!”</div> <div> Now, after eight terms in the Michigan legislature followed by more than eight years leading <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.detroitrenaissance.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.detroitrenaissance.com/"><U>Detroit Renaissance</U></A></FONT> and service on the Wayne State Board of Governors, Hillegonds responded to a question from the ERC Forum audience asking for his greatest accomplishment. Hillegonds replied, “It was promotion of investment in the Detroit river front, and housing in the downtown area.”</div> <div> “I kept CEOs involved in Detroit Renaissance in spite of their own global pressures,” he reflected. “I feel hope! Leadership is expanding,” Hillegonds said.</div> <div> The ERC Forum was held June 21, 2005, at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, Grosse Pointe Farms.</div> <div> <I><B>Major Detroit Development</B></I></div> <div> Of his Detroit Renaissance tenure, Hillegonds reported at the ERC session, “I've had a wonderful eight-and a half years working with distinguished CEOs.” Looking back, Hillegonds quickly listed ten recent accomplishments in and around the heart of <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/default.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/default.htm"><U>Detroit</U></A></FONT>:<IMG SRC="116218960.jpg" border=0 width="280" height="406" ALT="Civic leader Paul Hillegonds addresses ERC Forum" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="4" VSPACE="2"></div> <div>   1. Michigan State government's new status as a major employer in the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.newcenter.com/about/planning.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newcenter.com/about/planning."><U>New Center</U></A></FONT> area, which Hillegonds attributed to efforts of Gov. John Engler.</div> <div>   2. Creation last year of “<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.techtownwsu.org/detroit.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.techtownwsu.org/detroit.php"><U>Tech Town</U></A></FONT>,” a 12 block research and technology park in the New Center area.</div> <div>   3. <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.housing.wayne.edu/reshall_newresidence.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.housing.wayne.edu/reshall_new"><U>Wayne State University</U></A></FONT>'s new dormitories, residence halls, and its growing presence as a research anchor.</div> <div>   4. Lively <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.freep.com/news/midtown2004" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.freep.com/news/midtown2004"><U>midtown</U></A></FONT> cultural institutions in the area just north of downtown Detroit, between the Chrysler, Ford and Lodge Freeways.</div> <div>   5. Thriving housing in the Cass corridor with its $95 million in private investment providing 650 <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.crosswindsus.com/michigan/detroit_woodward_place" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.crosswindsus.com/michigan/det"><U>housing units</U></A></FONT>.</div> <div>   6. The new stadium complex, drawing thousands of people downtown to sporting events and 17 new area businesses and <A HREF="http://www.freep.com/sports/baseball/dtguide8e_20050708.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.freep.com/sports/baseball/dtg"><U>restaurants</U></A>.</div> <div>   7. A lower Woodward Avenue corridor now with 500 new units of <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.loftsofmerchantsrow.com/thelofts.asp" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.loftsofmerchantsrow.com/thelo"><U>loft housing</U></A></FONT>.</div> <div>   8. <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.freep.com/realestate/renews/arch6e_20050106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.freep.com/realestate/renews/a"><U>General Motor's</U></A></FONT> $750 million transformation of Detroit's riverfront.</div> <div>   9. Kresge Foundation's $50 million grant for the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.imakenews.com/tourism/e_article000330927.cfm?x=b11,0,w" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.imakenews.com/tourism/e_artic"><U>Detroit RiverWalk</U></A></FONT>.</div> <div> 10. Preservation of downtown's historic <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://info.detnews.com/history/story/index.cfm?id=160&category=locations" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://info.detnews.com/history/story/in"><U>Campus Martius</U></A></FONT> and its <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.pps.org/info/newsletter/thirtieth_anniversary/greatest_hits_7" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.pps.org/info/newsletter/thirt"><U>renewal</U></A></FONT>.</div> <div> All of these projects, Hillegonds says, will spur additional, new private investment. Looking to the future, he predicted, “Housing investment will grow.”</div> <div> In contrast, he noted, “The core is seeing a rebirth, while neighborhoods are declining.” Contributing to Detroit neighborhood problems, Hillegonds said, is concern over the fate of Detroit Public Schools.</div> <div> <I><B>Informed Citizens Always Exercise Choice</B></I></div> <div> “We as a community, can not afford to ignore choices,” he said. Of these individual citizen decisions, Hillegonds said, “We will see more of what we've seen--middle class families abandoning the City.”</div> <div> He noted that such choices have seen the Detroit population drop from 1.5 million in 1970 to 950,000 in 2000. Today, Hillegonds estimates Detroit population at fewer than 900,000. Consequently, he said, the City has lost 65% of its retail and service establishments, while the tax base has declined from $4.6 billion to only $1.5 billion, and the number of Detroit income tax returns has fallen from 750,000 down to a mere 300,000.</div> <div> Added to Detroit's budget challenge is a decline in State revenue available for allocation to cities like Detroit. According to Hillegonds, governor John Engler had worked with Detroit mayor Dennis Archer to provide constant revenue sharing of $334 million each year for a four-year period. This accounted for one-fourth of Detroit's annual budget each year. But due to the State's own fiscal situation, Detroit's State revenue sharing allocation is now $60 million less.</div> <div> Hillegonds recognized the improvement of some <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.detroitk12.org/index.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.detroitk12.org/index.shtml"><U>Detroit</U></A></FONT> public school test scores, and, he said, “The gap between Detroit and the balance of the State is closing.” He attributed this to a number of meaningful Detroit school reforms instituted over the past five years by “a strong CEO.”</div> <div> Yet, improvements have not occurred fast enough to stem the tide of residents who choose to abandon Detroit. One result has been a sharp decline in public school enrollment from 175,000 to 140,000 over the past nine years. Hillegonds repeated published reports projecting a near-term exodus of 10,000 pupils per year from Detroit's public schools.</div> <div> <I><B>Detroit's Need for Greater Efficiency</B></I></div> <div> “Detroit has the burden to become more efficient,” Hillegonds said. “Benchmarking has shown tens of millions of savings are available.”</div> <div> Hillegonds said that these fiscal pressures would serve to encourage change. He said, “The threat of receivership will drive change on how the Detroit delivers services.”</div> <div> His experience as legislator and as president of Detroit Renaissance gives him insight into the operation of government at both the state and local levels.</div> <div> <I><B>Tax Increases Needed</B></I></div> <div> Turning to the State of Michigan, according to Hillegonds, there is a “structural deficit”-people expecting more from our government while refusing to accept tax increases.</div> <div> Where is the tax money spent? Hillegonds noted that 80% of State revenue is disbursed to entities delivering services, either through revenue sharing, health care programs, state universities, or K-12 education controlled by public school districts.<IMG SRC="11482c270.jpg" border=0 width="300" height="295" ALT="Following his presentation, Hillegonds, left, chats with ERC members Walter Koppy and Bob Cosgrove" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="6" VSPACE="2"></div> <div> Noting that income taxes as a major source of revenue are presently compromised, Hillegonds said, “State employment is at the lowest level in three decades.”</div> <div> For the future, Hillegonds sees the need for stepped up cooperation between the public and private sectors. Hillegonds cautiously made the case for addressing problems in the region by finding ways to increase government revenue.</div> <div> Without overtly advocating increased taxes, Hillegonds promoted growing tax revenues by what he called, “tax restructuring.” While light on specifics, he hinted at regional sales/use taxes and a broader application of the state sales tax to capture tax revenue from transactions involving consumer services and some presently exempt food sales.</div> <div> Also on the subject of taxes, Hillegonds lamented failure of the <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.detroitrenaissance.com/policy.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.detroitrenaissance.com/policy"><U>regional arts tax</U></A></FONT>, twice defeated at the polls by Wayne and Oakland County voters in 2000 and 2002.</div> <div> ”Think regionally in a broader sense, beyond the seven-county area,” Hillegonds said.</div> <div> Considering the fiscal problems at ground zero in Southeast Michigan, it is no wonder Hillegonds sees the need for continued, broader political cooperation, and called for the business community to encourage cooperation between institutions in Detroit, Ann Arbor and beyond, including the area's many colleges and universities.</div> <div> >><A HREF="erc_meeting_dates.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Events"><U><I>More events</I></U></A>.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="#top_of_page" TITLE="Paul Hillegonds"><U>back to top</U></A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>