Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the long-awaited state budget on Tuesday. Not included in the budget is a $5 million plan to build the first state-operated veteran's cemetery in northern Michigan.
The governor requested funding for a veteran's cemetery in Crawford County. The state House budget proposal included funding, but the state Senate proposal did not. After much negotiation in Lansing, the final budget does not include it.
Advocates say military families in northern Michigan need a burial site. According to state data, the highest concentration of Michigan veterans lives in the northern lower and the Upper Peninsula.
There are no open burial sites in the northern Michigan region. The closest options are federally operated sites downstate, and in Wisconsin.
In addition, military families can only receive certain plot allowances from Veteran’s Affairs to cover burial costs if their loved one is laid to rest at a state or federal veteran's cemetery.
Service-related deaths are eligible for burial allowances of up to $2,000. Non-service-related deaths are eligible for up to $978 for burials and another $978 to cover the cost of a plot.
Carey Jansen is a former Crawford County Commissioner and advocate for the project.
"It's a devastating blow to our northern lower Michigan veterans’ families. I have a hard time understanding… $5 million is a drop in the bucket in terms of our total operating budget for the state of Michigan," Jansen said.
Jansen says that advocates will push to see the funding included in the 2027 fiscal year budget and has been hearing regularly from community members and military families.
“We will do our darnedest to make sure it is included in the FY27 budget,” she said.
