An MSU Board of Trustees meeting was canceled Tuesday morning because members and city leaders were unable to reach an agreement on East Lansing's income tax proposal.
The planned meeting, called late Monday evening, had 30 minutes of private deliberation before the public meeting was called off because of time restrictions from the city. The limit led to the inability to reach an agreement with city leaders on the proposal.
MSU spokesperson Kent Cassella issued an institutional statement after the meeting was called off.
"MSU has been offering alternatives to city leaders to help address their municipal finance concerns, and we sincerely hoped that a mutually satisfactory alternative could be worked out," the statement reads.
It goes on to say the $20 million offer — relating to fire safety — represented MSU's share of the solution.
According to the statement, MSU reached out to Lansing as well to explore how other cities could generate revenue.
"We are not unsympathetic to the city's financial circumstances," the statement reads. "Regrettably though, we simply ran out of time with the ballot language deadline. We will continue to work in support of the long-term interests of the City of East Lansing and MSU. MSU needs and wants a vibrant home community."
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