MAC Board votes to shift Annual Conference to virtual sessions The 2020 MAC Annual Conference will be a virtual event stretching across several days in late August, the MAC Board of Directors decided during a meeting on Friday. “With counties and vendors alike still sorting through the budget problems caused by COVID, we had a […]
This article originally appeared in the April 2020 edition of Michigan Counties. Name: Sen. Jim Ananich District/counties: 27th/Genesee County Committees: Government Operations Term #: 2nd full term Previous public service: Michigan House of Representatives, 2011-2013; Flint City Council, 2005-2009 What is the most pressing issue facing Michigan now? COVID-19 is at the front of every […]
This article originally appeared in the April 2020 edition of Michigan Counties. Name: Sarah Lightner District/counties: 65th/Parts of Jackson, Eaton and Lenawee counties Committees: Appropriations Committee; Appropriations Subcommittees on General Government (vice chair), Judiciary (vice chair), Corrections and LARA/DIFS Term #: 1st Previous public service: Jackson County commissioner, 6 years What is the most pressing […]
By Barb Byrum/Ingham County Clerk This article originally appeared in the April 2020 edition of Michigan Counties. In March, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said her office would mail an application for an absent voter ballot to all qualified registered voters who have an election on May 5. Michigan law requires that voters submit a […]
By Christian K. Mullett/firm of Cohl, Stoker & Toskey, P.C. This article originally appeared in the April 2020 edition of Michigan Counties. Does the Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231, et seq. (“FOIA”), apply to public officials’ use of non-governmental email accounts? In FOIA, it is the stated policy that all persons are entitled to […]
By Wylie Wong In Michigan’s Muskegon County, some departments need 24/7 access to computers, applications and the IP-based phone system, including the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office, the Muskegon County Juvenile Transition Center and the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System. To improve uptime, the county recently upgraded its IT infrastructure and turned its primary and secondary […]
MAC opens ‘Camp Counties’ for summer webinars With in-person gatherings still discouraged, but the need to share information and best practices never more acute, MAC has responded with a new educational series for summer 2020: Camp Counties. Replacing our traditional in-person Regional Summits, the webinars of Camp Counties are free to all employees of MAC […]
With in-person gatherings still discouraged, but the need to share information and best practices never more acute, MAC has responded with a new educational series for summer 2020: Camp Counties. Replacing our traditional in-person Regional Summits, the webinars of Camp Counties are free to all employees of MAC member counties and designed to provide practical […]
Court sides with governor on emergency powers in 1945 law Michigan’s Court of Claims turned aside a challenge to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency powers under a 1945 state law in a ruling issued Thursday. Judge Cynthia Stephens rejected the challenge by House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Emmet) and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Jackson) that the […]
Revenue meeting paints bleak outlook for Michigan into 2022 The state has a $3.2 billion hole in its current budgets, public finance experts testified today before the state’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference. The conference is used to set revenue targets for elected officials each year. Of that gap, $2 billion is in the state’s roughly […]