Michigan State's Scorsone Takes on Treasury Role

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Dallas -- The Michigan Treasury has appointed Michigan State University local government expert Eric Scorsone as senior deputy state treasurer for finance.

Scorsone, who has been with the university since 2005 as an economist and associate professor, is expected to take a leave absence to take on the Treasury position, which begins Monday.

Scorsone will bear responsibility for monitoring the fiscal health of the state's local governments and school districts, state and local debt financing, and higher education student financial assistance, Treasury said in a news release.

He will oversee the Bureaus of State and Authority Finance, Student Financial Services and Local Government Services. Scorsone will be a key part of Gov. Rick Snyder's efforts to create a long-term, sustainable fiscal framework for local governments, according to a statement.

In January, Scorsone formed MSU's Extension Center for Local Government Finance and Policy. He also spent a year as the chief economist for the Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency and before that he worked for the Colorado Governor's Office of State Planning & Budget.

Michigan's funding formula for local governments has come under fire as cities struggle to fund essential services. On Sept. 7, 14 local municipalities filed a lawsuit with the Michigan County of Appeals contending that a miscalculation in state aid has shortchanged them to the tune of $4 billion a year over two decades.

A recent University of Michigan Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy survey of all Michigan counties, cities, townships and villages found that nearly two-thirds of Michigan's local leaders believe that the state's system of funding local government is broken and in dire need of reform.

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