DOWAGIAC — One of the state’s lawmakers visited the members of Dowagiac City Council Monday, with some good news for the city’s bottom line in tow.

Fresh from a short jaunt through the community, State Rep. Aaron Miller, of Sturgis, stopped by the council meeting that evening at Dowagiac City Hall, where he shared some of the activities occurring in Lansing over the past several months.

Among the news he shared was that Dowagiac would be receiving a slight boost in funding from the state when the new fiscal year begins in October.

Under the fiscal year 2018 budget, which Gov. Snyder signed into law in July, the state’s cities, villages and townships will benefit from an increase in statutory revenue sharing, of more than $6 million. The bump in funding is the first in several years, and was something that the Republican lawmaker and other legislators fought fiercely for while crafting the budget, he said.

While not a massive increase, Miller said the additional funding should benefit the operations of the local government.

“Small victories are still victories,” he said. “I will be advocating the same increase or more this next budget year.”

Mayor Don Lyons and other city leaders were not entirely optimistic about the prospects of continuing state support, in light of the drop-off in state revenue sharing funding over the years. According to data from the Michigan Municipal League, from 2002 to 2012, Michigan was the only state in the country that saw a net decrease in revenue sharing, declining by 10 percent.

Miller — whose legislative district includes the city, as well as Wayne, Pokagon and La Grange townships — has spoken with Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson extensively about the issue of sagging revenue sharing, which has impacted the city’s affairs over the past 20 years. Anderson noted during Monday’s meeting that the city’s tax revenue has flatlined over the past five years, though wages and benefit costs for public employees has continued to increase. Over the past 13 years, the city has cut nearly 30 jobs from its payroll.

“The only way to deal with increased health costs and wages is reduction in services,” Anderson said. “We have made some tremendous reduction in services in 2008 and 2009, and we have continued to whittle away at it. The message for communities from the state is that ‘you will have less services at the local level.’ That is the only choice, should we not have any control over our local revenue streams.”

In response to a question from Lyons about what the state can do help communities struggling with this issue, Miller said the best he and other Lansing lawmakers can do is continue to push for additional revenue sharing funding in future budgets.

“They [lawmakers] have to recognize and understand that they have to at least keep up with inflation,” Lyons said. “They are kidding themselves if they think that can put it on our backs and let us carry the loads.

“It’s not us. It’s the citizens of Dowagiac. They are the ones who are getting hurt.”