Conference draws more than 300 to Mackinac Island; President Kuyers urges unity

More than 300 county leaders from across Michigan converged on Mackinac Island this week for the 2021 Michigan Counties Annual Conference, which culminated with the swearing in of Ottawa Commissioner Phil Kuyers as MAC Board president.

The conference, which was held at the Grand Hotel Sept. 26-28, featured plenary sessions, policy breakouts and the MAC Annual Business Meeting, where commissioners approved policy platforms for the 2021-22 year.

Kuyers, who is starting his third term on the MAC Board, is the 113th person to hold the president’s position.

In his speech after taking the oath on Monday, Sept. 27, Kuyers pledged to “raise up MAC as an example of unity, of bipartisanship, of civility and of common sense” in a time of controversy and high passions.

“You are here tonight and at this conference because you believe in the value of MAC. I urge you to lean on this organization like you never have before. Our comfort zone is gone, another victim of the pandemic. Expectations of county government are rising on new fronts from broadband service to affordable housing,” Kuyers continued. “MAC stands ready to help each of you, and your colleagues who are not here tonight, with navigating these new issues. But we must work together.”

Keynote addresses at the event included presentations by Deputy State Budget Director Bethany Wicksall and Dave Lorenz, who leads the highly popular Pure Michigan travel campaign.

Kuyers will lead a board that gained one new member via elections held at the conference: Melissa Daub of Wayne County. She will fill one of the three at-large seats on the MAC Board of Directors.

As the conference closed, the MAC Board confirmed officers for the 2021-22 term. Joining Kuyers are Stan Ponstein of Kent County (first vice president) and Eileen Kowall of Oakland County (second vice president). Veronica Klinefelt of Macomb County moves to the role of immediate past president.

“We were pleased with the attendance at our first in-person conference in two years,” said Stephan W. Currie, MAC’s executive director. “It speaks to the quality of the policy breakouts and keynote presentations that more than 300 county leaders set aside the time to join us.”

 

During regional caucuses held at the Michigan Counties Annual Conference Sept. 26-28, MAC members re-elected four incumbents and selected a new at-large director for the MAC Board of Directors.

Melissa Daub of Wayne County fills the vacancy created when Kalamazoo Commissioner Julie Rogers was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2020.

“Upon taking office, I immediately became involved with the Michigan Association of Counties to share ideas with my colleagues across the state, as well as the work we’re doing in Wayne County,” said Daub. “Today, I’m proud to be named an at-large member for the MAC Board of Directors and to be continuing my focus on transportation needs in my home county and across the state, as well as tackling the many other shared issues we see at the county level.”

Daub was first elected to the Wayne County Commission in 2018. She represents District 10, which includes Canton Township, Plymouth Township and the City of Plymouth. A proud graduate of Plymouth-Canton High School, Commissioner Daub holds a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Michigan University.

Incumbent board members were returned to the Board from MAC’s Regions 1, 2, 3 and 5.

President Phil Kuyers of Ottawa County will be starting his third term on the board from Region 2 (Southwest Michigan).

After taking the oath as president at the Annual Conference Banquet on Sept. 27, Kuyers pledged to “raise up MAC as an example of unity, of bipartisanship, of civility and of common sense” in a time of controversy and high passions. Kuyers is the 113^th person to serve as president of MAC, which was first organized in 1898.

Joe Stevens of Dickinson (Region 1 – Upper Peninsula) and Christian Marcus of Antrim (Region 2 – Northwest Michigan) also were elected to third terms. Eileen Kowall of Oakland (Region 5, Southeast Michigan) was elected to her second term and to serve as second vice president of the Board.

Board members can serve a maximum of three 3-year terms.

County revenue sharing increase highlights FY22 budget

Lawmakers and the governor reached a deal on the FY22 budget this week, just days before the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year. The budget allocates $10.4 billion in General Fund dollars.

The budget includes a 2 percent increase in the base for county revenue sharing, but retained the language requiring the increase in revenue sharing in counties that have been deemed to be in an underfunded status with their pension system to go toward those pension obligations.

Other items of note include:

• $148.9M in Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Grants, which includes implementation of standard 5
• $14.5M for PFAS Remediation Grants
• $13M to fund a Dam Safety Grant Program, with an additional $6M for the Emergency Dam Safety Action Fund
• $14.3M in High Water Infrastructure Grants
• $16M in a one-time appropriation to the state 911 fund for NextGen Infrastructure
  • This appropriation allows the Legislature to eliminate a fee increase in House Bill 5026 for postpaid phones and reduce the fee increase for prepaid
• $29.1M to the Raise the Age Fund, which is to cover cost outside of Child Care Fund eligible expenses for 17-year-olds
• EMS Medicaid fee schedule would be set at 100 percent of Medicare, which is an increase of $54.3M
• $51.4M for essential local public health services, with strings attached depending on local health orders: “If a local health officer has an emergency order under section 2453 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.2453, in effect as of October 1, 2021, the funds appropriated in part 1 for essential local public health services are unappropriated. This subsection does not apply if a county board of commissioners passes a nonbinding resolution by a record roll call vote to support any emergency orders the local health officer has in effect on October 1 of the current fiscal year.”

According to news sources, “Language in the budget that would strip local health departments of their state funding if they have an emergency health order in place to protect against COVID-19 without the assent of their county board of commissioners will likely be deemed unenforceable by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.” MAC expects more legal information to be released soon.

In other county-related details:

• $5.2B transportation budget includes an additional $52.8M for local road agencies for a total to local road agencies of $1.8B.
• $414.5M gross ($146.1M GF) for a $2.35 per hour direct care worker wage increase.
• $26.5M gross, ($5M GF) (6 FTEs) to support a two-year implementation for the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Demonstration program
• $5.1M for the second year of a five-year phase-out of the use of Local CMH Local Match funding to support the Medicaid Restricted Mental Health Services line
• $4.25M to the county veteran service fund, $200,000 of which can be used by the Michigan Veteran Affairs Agency to fund administration and technical assistance to counties
• $2M in one-time money for the secondary road patrol grant program is to compensate for lost revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing total support to the program at $15M
• $14.8M in the county jail reimbursement program, and agreement to remove language that bars reimbursement for any county that enacts or enforces any law or ordinance concerning the immigration status of an individual
• $2M for local conservation district operational support with an additional $1M one-time funding for FY22
• $45M in Federal funds for Water Infrastructure Improvement Grants for the City of Flint
• $2.1M increase to fully fund PILT payments
• $3M increase for the Michigan Infrastructure Council

Of the $6.5 billion in American Rescue Plan funds allocated to the state of Michigan, the FY22 budget and supplemental for FY21 utilizes just more than $770 million, including $150 million for the Unemployment Trust Fund. The remaining $5.76 billion will be allocated through a series of supplemental budget bills expected to begin negotiations this fall.

For more information about the budget, please contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org or Meghann Keit-Corrion at Keit@micounties.org.

 

FY22 budget deal announced; 2% boost on revenue sharing expected

A fiscal 2022 state budget deal is in hand, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republican legislative leaders announced this week, just days before the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1.

The Legislature is set to push through a single omnibus spending bill covering the funding for all state departments for FY22. The House and Senate Conference Committee could take up the bill as soon as Tuesday, Sept. 21, with a floor vote expected within the week. Although, details have yet to be released as to what’s inside this budget, MAC is expecting a 2 percent increase in county revenue sharing.

Not included in the omnibus budget bill will be the $6 billion in federal American Rescue Plan funds allocated to the state or the $1 billion surplus identified in the May Revenue Estimating Conference. These funds will be part of supplemental bills passed throughout the rest of calendar 2021, after all sides have had time to negotiate for the inclusion of their priorities.

MAC will continue to monitor the FY22 budget and supplemental bills as they move through the Legislature.

For more information on this issue, please contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

 

On March 11, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) of 2021 establishing the $350 billion Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, $130 billion of which is earmarked for distribution to local governments. Generally, allowable uses of the fund include (but are not limited to):

• Responding to or mitigating the COVID-19 public health emergency
• Providing government services to the extent of a reduction in revenue
• Making necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure
• Responding to workers performing essential work during the COVID-19 public health emergency by providing premium pay to eligible workers

Member regions of the Michigan Association of Regions will host Michigan State University (MSU) Extension faculty and local and tribal government officials to explore Local Fiscal Recovery Fund spending opportunities in a regional context. Join other local leaders to learn about:

• ARPA Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Basic Rules
• Best Practices for Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Spending
• Practical Considerations for Contracts, Accounting, and Project Management
• Group Discussions Related to Regional Collaboration
• Leveraging Other State and Federal Funding and Priorities

The workshops are intended for regional planning and development board members, other local elected and appointed officials, tribal government officials, economic development practitioners and other public and nonprofit community development organization staff.

Program details
All workshops run 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (registration opens at 9 a.m. for in-person programs). Format varies by region: virtual (exclusive Zoom), hybrid (choice of in-person or Zoom attendance) or in-person.

All events are free.

The first session is set for Sept. 23 in Traverse City. To see the full list of dates, locations and registration information, click here.