At the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference (Sept. 18-21 in Port Huron), MAC members will vote on six seats on the MAC Board of Directors. Commissioners wishing to serve on the Board, whether incumbents or new candidates, have until Aug. 18 to file official notice of their intent to run. (The application form is found here.)

Seats representing regions are filled by a vote in regional caucuses at the conference. At-large seats are filled by the candidate that wins a majority of the six regional caucuses.

The MAC Board of Directors is the key body in guiding the legislative and organizational strategies of MAC. Board terms are three years in length and individuals may serve up to three terms.

2022 Board seats

• At-large Seat B – open
• Region 4 Seat A – open
• Region 4 Seat B – open (to fill 1 year of unexpired term; winner is still eligible to serve 3 full 3-year terms after first year)
• Region 5 Seat A – open (to fill 1 year of unexpired term; winner is still eligible to serve 3 full 3-year terms after first year)
• Region 6 Seat A – Vaughn Begick of Bay is the incumbent
• Region 6 Seat B – Scott Noesen of Midland is the incumbent

Any member wishing to run in the election must download the application form and return it by Aug. 18, 2022, at 5 p.m. to be eligible. Candidates are also encouraged to submit a statement of up to 400 words on why members should support them. These statements will be posted to the MAC website in late August.

If you have any questions about Board duties, please contact Executive Director Stephan W. Currie at 517-372-5374.

By Will Hansen/Communications Intern

From “101 Dalmatians” to “Lady and Tramp” and “Bolt,” the dogs in Disney films have dodged danger, risen above indifference and cruelty and started new, brighter lives for themselves.

So, when Grand Traverse County Animal Control was confronted with an unprecedented canine crisis, a very Disney-like tale with the usual large cast of interesting characters began to unfold.

The story begins when more than 160 dogs were seized from an East Bay Township home in late January by Grand Traverse staffers and eventually encompasses animal control and adoption agencies from across Michigan, all trying to bring the animals a happy ending.

It was Cherryland Humane Society in Traverse City, which provides sheltering services for dogs rescued by the county, that first applied the “Disney Dogs” label because, “They deserve a happy ending,” said Naomi Washburn, Cherryland communications and marketing manager.

The county and Cherryland spearheaded the early rescue operation, one that quickly had its share of sadness, as 32 of the animals were found dead upon arrival at what has been described as a “large-scale” breeding operation.

This news only spurred on the rescue teams, though.

“This extremely negative situation was quickly turned into a positive one by the outpouring of help and donations from our community and other surrounding communities,” said Jaime Bemiss, Grand Traverse County animal control supervisor. “This positive response really shows how much our community cares about animals and the needs for agencies like Animal Control.”

“It’s almost indescribable the feeling of everybody coming together to care for these animals and just the sheer number of them was overwhelming in itself, and emotional and heartbreaking,” added Washburn, “It was really incredible working with a large number of animal control and adoption agencies to give these dogs the best care.”

The county was investigating the property because the owner had failed to comply with a junk ordinance. But then the dogs were found. Many of them were malnourished and had frozen paws, suffering in deplorable conditions, with little access to food, clean water and medical attention. Due to huge number of dogs, Grand Traverse County and Cherryland Humane Society knew this was something they could not handle alone.

At the time of the seizure, for example, Cherryland was housing fewer than six dogs. “We’re very lucky to have that extra space in our shelter,” said Washburn. “We have had a broad spectrum of assistance and help. There are many different veterinarians that have reached out. The Bissell Foundation paid for all the vaccinations. Several different groomers came in because some of these dogs were in boxes and crates hidden in a truck. You can only imagine that kind of abuse. Their fur was very bad, so we had to have all the different realms of our community come together to take care of them,” she added.

Additional allies arrived, including Little Traverse Bay Humane Society, Kalkaska County Animal Shelter, Otsego County Animal Shelter, Charlevoix Area Humane Society, Humane Society of Huron Valley, Ingham County Animal Control & Shelter, Wexford Animal Control, Eva Burrell Animal Shelter and H.A.N.D.D.S. To The Rescue.

The owner of the residence recently was sentenced to six months in jail for failing to provide adequate care to animals, an all-too-common story in our country. As many as 5,000 new cases of animal hoardings are reported each year in the U.S, involving 250,000 animals. Most such cases involve fewer than 50 animals, however, so the Grand Traverse situation was an extreme one – requiring a unique response.

The agencies have been in the process of adopting the dogs out, “we have received over 100 applications for these dogs before we even were able to put them on our website,” said Washburn in May. “We have to process applications for these dogs very carefully because they have been through a lot of distress and need a lot of love and work, but the adoptions are going really well across the board as long as I’ve heard from the other shelters that we transported to.”

Dogs were rehomed as far away as the Upper Peninsula and Lansing. Only one dog with some challenging needs is still at Cherryland to be adopted.

“We learned quite a few lessons throughout this situation,” said Grand Traverse’s Bemiss. “One of the most important being that if we band together as one, we can accomplish most anything.

“We need to take a closer look at our county ordinances and state laws surrounding animals so these situations can be dealt with prior to becoming this dire,” she added. “Most Animal Control agencies are small programs that aren’t always funded as they should be. Communities can make a huge difference by supporting their local agencies through helping spread awareness messages, volunteering and donating.”

“From this operation, we have learned that our community is incredible,” added Washburn. “These dogs now have a second chance at a better life, and it took a village to make it happen.”

Registration opens for 2022 Annual Conference on Sunrise Side

Join us on the sunrise side of the state for the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference, put on by the Michigan Association of Counties in coordination with the Michigan County Medical Care Facilities Council (MCMCFC).

This year, we are in Port Huron in St. Clair County. The venue is the Bluewater Convention Center, located along the St. Clair River, with views of freighter traffic entering and exiting Lake Huron and the Blue Water Bridge to Canada.

Running from the afternoon of Sept. 18 through the morning of Sept. 21, the 2022 Annual Conference will feature:

• Four plenary sessions featuring key issues now before Michigan and a MAC Legislative Update (Speakers will be announced soon.)
• 12 breakout sessions for MAC members and 6 workshops for MCMCFC members (Speakers will be announced soon.)
• A Welcome Reception and Strolling Dinner on the evening of Sunday, Sept. 18.
• A lavish President’s Banquet on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 20.
• Plenty of free time in the afternoons for attendees to enjoy sights and sounds of Port Huron, including the St. Clair River.

Members of MCMCFC will enjoy specialized breakouts designed for its members to earn Nursing and NAB Continuing Education credits.

MAC members attending the conference will receive credits in MAC’s County Commissioner Academy.

Conference Rates

The conference fee provides you access to all conference activities. (The spouse fee also provides access to any conference event, including the President’s Banquet on the evening of Sept 20.) This fee includes two dinners, two receptions, two breakfasts and two lunches.

		Early bird (register by Aug. 10)	Full rate (after Aug. 10)
Member	Full conference	$395	$425
	Single day	$275	$325
	Spouse/guest	$150	$175
Non-Member	Full conference	$525	$575

NOTE: The member rate is open to all county commissioners, administrators, countywide elected officials and county employees of MAC member counties, plus employees and board members of MCMCFC facilities.

Hotel Information

The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is attached to the Blue Water Convention Center (conference headquarters). You can expect a DoubleTree famous chocolate chip/oatmeal cookie, served warm upon arrival. After you’ve settled in, take a stroll along the St. Clair River, view watercraft/freighter traffic on the river or see the big Blue Water Bridge to Canada!

To make your reservations, you can call the DoubleTree Hotel directly at 810/984.8000 or go online at www.porthuron.doubletree.com. 

As always, MAC and MCMCFC have secured highly competitive room rates that begin at $149 per night for single/double occupancy. Breakfast is not included with your hotel pricing. Join us in the conference center instead!  GROUP CODE: MIA

The room block deadline is Aug. 17, 2022.

In anticipation of another popular conference, we have also reserved a block of rooms at the Comfort Inn at $129 per night. The Comfort Inn is located at 1720 Hancock St., Port Huron, MI 48060. To book your room reservations, contact 810-987-5999. Group Name: Michigan Association of Counties.

We expect a large gathering this year, so members are strongly encouraged to book their rooms immediately to ensure access to the conference room block and best room rates.

Getting around: For those staying at the Comfort Inn, we will provide complimentary shuttle service via Blue Water Transit during the conference schedule. There also is plenty of free parking at the convention center.

Please direct any conference registration questions or issues to conference@micounties.org.

MAC will be releasing information on plenary sessions, speakers and breakout descriptions in coming weeks.

 

FY23 state budget includes 6% boost for county revenue sharing

In the wee hours on Friday, the Legislature finished the FY 2023 budget, which is set to begin on Oct. 1 of this year. Below are the major highlights, including a 6 percent (5% in the base and 1% one-time) increase in County Revenue Sharing. In addition, they passed a supplemental budget for FY22, included in which are items of importance to counties. 

FY22 Supplemental

• ARP – community policing grants for Wayne ($3M), Saginaw ($1M) and Genesee ($500,000) counties
• ARP – community policing competitive grants – $11 million
• Communication Radios and Tower – $1 million for radios in Midland County, $3 million for towers in Barry County and $4.8 million for towers in Isabella County
• Requires that grants be used for the construction of new towers or the augmentation of existing towers and associated equipment to support the integration of the county into the Michigan Public Safety Communication System (MPSCS) or to expand the interoperability of all local public safety entities within the county
• EMS scholarship and grant program – $30 million
• Raise the Age Fund Increase – $4 million
• Broadband equity, access and deployment – $5 million

FY23 Budget (by state department)

Agriculture

• Local conservation districts – $3 million
• Office of Rural Development Grants – $3 million for grants to rural communities, related to economic development, workforce development, affordable housing, infrastructure, education and high-speed internet access
• County fairs – $500,000 for fair capital grant program (a reduction of almost $2 million from current year)
• Economic development for food and agriculture industries – $50 million, of which $12 million is set aside for improvements to the Eastern Market in Detroit

Corrections

• Jail reimbursement – $1 million to reimburse counties who housed felons in their jails due to the department’s closed intake of prisoners during COVID. (rate is $80 per offender per day; inmates paid for through the county jail reimbursement program are not eligible for this payment)

Energy, Great Lakes and Environment

• Contaminated site cleanups – $10 million
• Watershed Council grants – $600,000
• Environmental health – $7.9 million for water supply oversight and support for local health departments in monitoring and testing drinking water
• Municipal Assistance for FTEs to increase loan processing staff and access to federal water infrastructure loans for local communities – $5.1 million
• Water State Revolving Funds – $120 million gross to continue funding the state’s water state revolving fund program
• Private well testing – $5 million in one-time funding for grants to local health departments to provide free or low-cost water testing to private well owners

Labor and Economic Development

• Michigan Infrastructure Grants – $212,800 for grants for infrastructure
• Economic Development and Workforce Grants – $251.5 million
• Blight Elimination Program – $75 million to address blighted properties across the State
• Going Pro – $15 million
• Pure Michigan – $40 million
• Nonprofit Relief Grants to nonprofit community service organizations – $50 million

Treasury (General Government)

• Revenue Sharing to Counties – $245.8 million, which is a 6 percent increase (1% is one-time increase, while 5 percent is designated as ongoing)
• Pensions – $750 million for grants for local retirement systems that are less than 60 percent funded
• ARP relief grants – $50 million 

Health and Human Services

• Medicaid primary care rates – $56.1 million to increase them
• Behavioral health capacity and access initiatives – $47.3 million
• Medicaid reimbursement for Community Health Workers – $28.3 million
• Child and adolescent health centers – $25 million to increase funding
• Child care – $10.5 million to provide a 5 percent reimbursement increase for residential child caring institutions and a 12 percent increase to private residential juvenile justice providers
• Guardian and conservator reimbursement rates – $5 million to increase them
• Medicaid Mental Health Local Match – $5.1 million to replace a like amount of local funding used for Medicaid mental health supports and services (amount would reflect the third year of phasing out the local match portion over a 5-year period)
• Behavioral Health Inpatient Capacity and Operations – $41 million and authorizes 87 FTE positions to increase capacity at Hawthorn and to reimburse private providers of intensive psychiatric treatments
• Jail Diversion Fund – $10 million
• Student loan repayment for behavioral health professionals – $10 million
• Non-State Behavioral Health Facility Capacity – $178.6 million
• Clinical and CMHSP Integration Readiness Initiatives – $50 million for grants to facilities and providers that wish to clinically integrate physical and behavioral health services and providers and to CMHSPs for system, IT, staffing, and administrative improvements for integration readiness (funds are not available for expenditure until legislatively transferred)
• State Nursing Home Surveyors – $1.6 million and 10 FTEs for education and consultation activities to improve care at skilled nursing facilities

Judiciary

• Statewide Judicial Case Management System – $150 million for the cost of developing a single, statewide judicial case management system (Currently, there are 242 trial courts using and funding more than 16 case management systems and 150 computer systems. The Trial Court Funding Commission recommended that the state provide all court technology needs for trial courts, including case and document management services, and the Supreme Court recently ordered that local trial courts submit all case data in a uniform manner. Funding would support data management efforts and consistent implementation of newer technologies among trial courts; prohibits funds from being used to supplant the current user fee system and administrative purposes unrelated to the system; requires the system to comply with all security measures and restrictions and to be hosted in a secure cloud by an experienced vendor; requires implementation status report.)

Veterans Affairs

• Grand Rapids Home for Veterans – $6.5 million
• Veterans Suicide Prevention Outreach – $1.2 million for an outreach campaign targeting current and former servicemembers and their families on reducing suicide incidents

Natural Resources

• Off-road Vehicle Trail Improvement Grants – $6.4 million to increase funding for the off-road vehicle trail improvements initiative

State Police

• Secondary Road Patrol Grant Program – $15 million

Transportation

• County Road Commissions Restricted Fund – $56.3 million
• Airport Safety Improvement Program – $33.9 million
• Local Federal Aid Road and Bridge Construction – $15.2 million
• IIJA Airport Infrastructure Grants – $2.2 million
• Technical Assistance, Planning, and IIJA Match Grants – $25 million to help local units to plan and match resources for IIJA grants
• Electric Vehicle Study – requires the department to study the impact on revenue resulting from the integration of electric vehicles on Michigan roadways

For more information on the state budget, contact Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

 

MAC’s Annual Business Meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. in the Blue Water Convention Center during the 2022 Michigan Counties Annual Conference.

County commissioners who are registered for the conference may participate as voting members in the business meeting, which includes review and approval of MAC’s 2022-2023 policy platforms.

The platform process begins with MAC’s policy committees, which meet during the year to address key issues. Their drafts are then submitted to the MAC Board of Directors for review. The MAC Board then advances the drafts to the membership for final approval.

Those Board-vetted drafts are now available on the MAC website here. (Please note that this is a password-protected page. Each member county has a set of access credentials, which are shared each year with your county administrator. If you do not have your credentials, contact Hannah Sweeney at sweeney@micounties.org for them.)

According to MAC’s By-laws (Article III, Section 6):

“A member wishing to submit an amendment to the MAC Platform shall submit the amendment to MAC at least five (5) days prior to the opening day of the MAC Annual Conference. Such amendment will require a majority vote at the annual meeting to be adopted.

“An amendment to the MAC Platform may be presented from the floor during the annual meeting. Such amendment will require a 2/3 majority vote of the members at the meeting at which a quorum is initially established to be adopted.”

To submit a platform amendment in advance, draft your preferred language and email to sweeney@micounties.org no later than Sept. 13, 2022.