DOWAGIAC — On Monday, Rep. Aaron Miller, of District 59, paid the Dowagiac City Council a visit.

As Miller addressed the council, his family waited in the car, with a plan to visit one of their favorite places in downtown Dowagiac — The Wounded Minnow.

“You have something very special here in Dowagiac. Your downtown is ‘happening’ as someone from my generation would say,” Miller said. “Things are going on here, and that’s a good thing. I get to see a lot of downtowns for a living, and yours is one of the best I’ve seen.”

Miller gave his reasoning to the council about why he voted, “yes” to approve a state law regarding collecting sales tax from online retail entities.

The new set of bills, introduced in October, were created following a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair case, which allowed South Dakota to collect sales taxes from online retail sales.

Miller said in his opinion, this would not be a new tax, but instead would provide tax fairness.

“If someone downtown is selling something, and they get sales tax charged on that purchase, that is a handicap to your local brick and mortar seller,” Miller said. “An online seller doesn’t have to have that same handicap. Why is that fair at all?”

Miller said Michigan’s objective is to reflect the national Supreme Court case by putting a framework together and allowing the state to collect additional tax revenue.

With Michigan collecting sales tax revenue, Miller said the money will be passed down to local governments, schools, and anybody else that benefits from sales tax revenue. Miller added this is money that these local governments should have been collecting for the last 25 or 30 years.

With vetoes coming down from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Miller said some state cuts will be restored. An example significant to Dowagiac is Cass County will receive secondary road patrol dollars.

“That is money for sheriff’s deputies to patrol the secondary roads in the county,” Miller said.

Councilmember Patrick Bakeman asked Miller about the states of legalizing sports betting and internet gambling in Michigan, as it has been a topic of discussion among his friends.

Miller said there has been disagreement between Whitmer and Rep. Brandt Iden, a Republican from Kalamazoo County’s Oshetemo Township, who helped create the legislation.

Miller said Whitmer’s worry was that it would take away from the lottery going on now, and that would take down school revenue. Iden’s argument is to bring the gambling that is already going on into a regulatory structure and tax it, Miller said. Three months ago, Miller voted yes on the bill.

“I’ll be really honest, I was lukewarm on it,” Miller said. “We had a house vote on it, and I was ultimately in favor given the argument that it is already going on.”

Also on Monday:

• Chuck Burling was unanimously appointed to fill a vacancy on the board of review with a term expiring in 2021.

• A public hearing was hosted to take public input regarding the abatement of a blighted property, 212 First Ave., Dowagiac, as a public nuisance. City Manager Kevin Anderson updated council on the property’s status.

“Two cars were removed, and there has been some improvement to the fence that doesn’t change the building inspector’s recommendation,” Anderson said.

With no one speaking at the public hearing, a resolution was unanimously passed to authorize a cleanup of the blight.

• A resolution was set to host a public hearing on Jan. 13, 2020, to consider comments or objections regarding the city’s Park and Open Space Plan.