State government would play a bigger role in monitoring and suggesting ways to fund local governments' debt to retirees, but counties, cities, villages and townships would maintain flexibility under recommendations from a task force appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder.
Snyder created the task force early this year to explore ways to tackle the nearly $18 billion in unfunded pension and retiree health care debt carried by local governments. Lansing city government leads the state in unfunded health care costs, with nearly $432 million in debt on the books.