Ex-CIA spy, memory expert to keynote 2025 Annual Conference
County leaders are again invited to gather at the Grand Traverse Resort in Grand Traverse County for the 2025 Michigan Counties Annual Conference.
This three-day, two-night event will feature:
- Plenary Session keynotes from James Olson, former CIA chief of counterintelligence, and Paul Mellor, author of Finding the Keys and an expert on memory enhancement.
- The 2025 President’s Banquet, featuring the installation of Macomb County’s Antoinette Wallace as MAC’s 117th president.
- A Welcome Reception and strolling dinner in the Exhibitor Hall with more than 30 firms providing goods and services of importance to county government.
- MAC’s Annual Business Meeting, which will review and approve MAC’s policy platforms for the coming year.
- Membership elections will be held for seven seats on the MAC Board of Directors.
- Ten policy workshops ranging from the use of AI to build local economies to challenges to mental health services.
The conference also will include plenty of time for members to network and enjoy the facilities of the resort and the surrounding Grand Traverse community.
Important numbers:
- Conference registration deadline: Sept. 19, 2025
- Hotel registration deadline (for special MAC rate): Aug. 29, 2025
- Member registration full conference rate: $415
- Spouse/Guest meal package rate: $225
- Hotel room rate*: $225 (hotel guestroom) or $275 (tower guestroom)
*Rates do not include resort fee ($20.95 per room/per night) or applicable taxes
For more details, visit MAC’s digital conference site.
Registration opens for CCA webinar on Open Meetings Act and FOIA
A webinar offered on Aug. 19 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. will provide commissioners a full credit toward their 2025 certificate in MAC’s County Commissioner Academy.
Matt Nordfjord, a managing shareholder with the firm of Cohl, Stoker & Toskey, P.C. in Lansing, will present on the Michigan Open Meetings Act (OMA) and the practical interplay with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) related to commissioner communications. The topics covered will include the purpose of the OMA, rights of the public, legal requirements and best practices for public comment, notice requirements for regular and special meetings, the permitted basis to enter closed sessions (identifying their purpose) and when and how to formalize a decision after a closed session.
Other items to be discussed will be the application of FOIA, definition of “public record” and a brief overview of FOIA exemptions and the appeal process to the “head of the public body” (i.e. the county board of commissioners). Matt will also provide an update on recent case law impacting the OMA related to delegation to committees.
Bring your questions on specific issues.
For questions about County Commissioner Academy, contact Derek Melot at melot@micounties.org.
Michigan county leaders help elect Wayne’s Bell to NACo post
Wayne County’s Alisha Bell, far right, poses with her fellow NACo Board officers following her election as second vice president at the 2025 Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
MAC Board President Melissa Daub of Wayne County led a Michigan delegation of about 70 county officials to the 2025 National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, last week.
At the event, Daub’s Wayne County colleague, Alisha Bell, was easily elected to the post of NACo second vice president, putting her on track to lead the national organization starting in July 2027.
“Every NACo conference is an informational marathon,” said Stephan W. Currie, executive director of the Michigan Association of Counties. “There’s so much to learn, it can be exhausting. But the fact that so many of our county leaders take on the challenge speaks well of them and of Michigan county governance. And, of course, we could not be more excited about Alisha Bell’s victory and having one of our members serving in senior leadership of this national organization.”
Major themes of the event included cybersecurity and artificial intelligence in the workplace, disaster response and economies and the county workforce.
In other Michigan activities:
- MAC’s Deena Bosworth participated in a panel discussion of the soon-to-launch NACo Rural Energy Academy.
- Wayne Commissioner Monique Baker McCormick was elected as president of NACo’s Women’s Council.
- Members also participated in policy committee hearings and voting to hone the American County Platform, which guides NACo’s work on Capitol Hill and with executive agencies.
Legislature sets dubious 85-year record on productivity
Reprinted with permission from MIRS news service
The six public acts Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law this year as of July 15 is the fewest number of signed bills at this point in the year since 1940, the last year in which the Michigan Legislature didn’t meet at all.
A review of 85 years of Public Act tables, summaries and books put together by the Legislative Service Bureau shows that between 1941 and 2024, the Legislature and governor averaged 182 public acts by July 15, a date selected by MIRS to account for budget bills that historically are passed by the Independence Day break.
So far this year, the House has taken 170 roll call votes.
Back in the days of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and before, the Michigan Legislature met every other year. They met every odd-numbered year except in special circumstances. The tradition ended in 1952.
However, in 1942, 1944, 1946, 1948 and 1950, the Legislature met for at least a few weeks in “special session.” Even in those five abbreviated session years, lawmakers still passed ― on average ― 43 bills per year by July 15.
“This is staggering,” said Bill Ballenger, editor of The Ballenger Report and former legislator from 1969 to 1974. “It speaks to a real dysfunction that’s, quite frankly, depressing.”
The House and Senate gaveled in and out (July 15, 2025) without taking attendance. There was no further reported movement on a Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget or a long-term road funding deal.
The Democratic-led Senate is frustrated that the Republican-led House has yet to pass a General Fund budget that shows how it plans to come up with $3 billion in new road funding while cutting the income tax rate. The Dems feel Republicans should present their own balanced budget and own whatever cuts are in that spending plan.
Senate Democrats don’t want to bail out House Republicans from their own rhetoric by agreeing to a balanced road-funding plan that includes revenue increases if they’re going to be blamed solely for raising the taxes needed to balance everything out.
Meanwhile, the House Republicans want to smoke out the Senate Democrats on what type of tax increases they’d agree to on a road funding plan … that is, if the Senate Democrats see road funding as a priority, since they haven’t come out with anything resembling a plan.
The stalemate is representative of a 2025 session in which House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) rarely talked before Memorial Day in a type of Cold War that prevented House bills from advancing in the Senate and Senate bills from moving in the House. …
Nationwide discusses counties’ retirement challenges with Podcast 83
“The reality is that many pension benefits today are frozen; and to the extent pension benefits are still offered, the accrual formula may have also been reduced from what we’ve seen in the past, meaning the retirement benefit is not as generous as it used to be. That is certainly the case with many counties right here in Michigan.”
That overview was provided by Eric Glinsky of Nationwide Retirement Solutions in a special episode of MAC’s Podcast 83.
“In today’s world, it’s not unusual for participants to change jobs more frequently, especially for those younger adults, and as a result, you know, this often leads to lower pension benefits if they’re offered at all, and because younger workers do not stay long enough to accrue a significant benefit, in some cases, they don’t even stay long enough to be vested even when a pension is offered. And so really, in either case, this places an additional burden of retirement savings more directly on the participant in the form of a defined contribution plan, like a 457, and while this trend really started in the private sector, it’s certainly carrying over into the public sector as well,” Glinsky continued.
“What options are available through nationwide that can help (county employees)?” asked podcast host Stephan Currie.
“We offer a few different lifetime income solutions that can be chosen to fit the needs of the county,” Glinsky replied, noting the typical “target date funds” that are based on an employee’s planned retirement. “But like other funds, target date funds are subject to market risk and loss, and there is no guarantee that target date funds will provide enough income for retirement. So, these new lifetime income funds take the typical target date fund to the next level, as they allow participants to continue to grow their savings, and then at retirement, they offer a simple way to turn that savings into a stream of guaranteed lifetime income.
“The part that’s really cool is that income is protected from market downturns … and will last a lifetime. And this is because the lifetime income component is backed by an insurance company, which adds that layer of protection,” he added.
To learn more about retirement challenges and what Nationwide, an MAC Service Corp. sponsored program and MAC Premier Partner, can do for you, watch the full episode by clicking here or on the image above.
Previous episodes can be seen at MAC’s YouTube Channel.
Senate bill creates local road investment incentive program
Road funding continues to spark conversation in Lansing as legislators explore paths to adequately fund local road repairs and maintenance. Under Senate Bill 448, by Sen. Roger Victory (R-Ottawa), the Michigan Department of Transportation would be required to create a road investment incentive program to provide matching grants to local road agencies.
SB 448 would allow local road agencies to access state matching funds if the grant is used for construction, maintenance, or repair of highways, roads, streets, and bridges under the jurisdiction of the local road agency.
MAC supports SB 448 as it awaits action in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.
Five Michigan counties honored nationally for policy achievements
Five Michigan garnered more than 20 citations in the 2025 NACo Achievement Awards. Honorees were highlighted at the 2025 NACo Annual Conference in Philadelphia last week.
Macomb County alone collected 14 different citations in six categories. Also honored were Oakland (3), Wayne (2), Kent (1) and Saginaw (1) counties.
Examples of the outstanding and innovative work gaining these honors are:
Macomb County talent attraction campaign
Following multiple conversations with business leaders and roundtable discussions, Macomb County Planning and Economic Development (MCPED) launched a nationwide talent attraction advertising campaign in response to the increased need for a STEM workforce for the area’s growing aerospace and defense industry. The goal was to tell the story of Macomb County, while planting a seed in the minds of young and skilled workers to move to our community and work in our A&D sector. While we cannot actually measure our campaign’s success in terms of tallying recruits or relocations, we can look to our digital metrics to understand how the information resonated and possibly inspired a potential move to Michigan. The following are the results of multiple rounds of digital advertising throughout 2023/4: +112,300 clicks +12.2 million impressions +210,000 website views +86,200 website users, with 8,550 returning users. …
SW Michigan leaders invited to July 23 housing workshop
County leaders in Southwest Michigan, and beyond, are invited to attend the 2025 Local Officials Academy: Community Development & Housing Tools, powered by Southwest Michigan First — a free morning workshop for elected officials and municipal staff, focused on practical tools and programs to support local housing and redevelopment efforts.
The event will be Wednesday, July 23 and run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Dr. Robert W. Brown Recreation Center, 1776 Heritage Dr., Coldwater.
Featured presentations
- Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) on “Redevelopment Ready Communities & Community Development Tools”
- Fishbeck on “Brownfield Housing TIF”
- Great Lakes Housing Services on “MSHDA Housing Programs”
Each speaker will share relevant resources, examples, and allow time for questions and discussion.
MAC, MCMCFC applaud bill to sustain critical Medicaid reimbursements
The Michigan Association of Counties and the Michigan County Medical Care Facilities Council (MCMCFC) are voicing strong support for new legislation introduced by Rep. Matt Bierlein (R-Tuscola) that would continue long-standing protections for county-owned nursing homes providing Medicaid-funded care.
House Bill 4726 would extend the current “maintenance of effort” (MOE) payment structure used by county-owned medical care facilities to reimburse the state for Medicaid operating costs. Without legislative action, the current MOE provisions expire at the end of this year.
Since the 1980s, the MOE payment structure has helped counties maintain high-quality care in publicly owned nursing homes, especially in rural and underserved areas. Without an extension, counties would face significantly higher reimbursement costs — shifting the burden to local taxpayers and potentially jeopardizing services for seniors and vulnerable residents.
Bierlein’s legislation would move the MOE sunset from Dec. 31, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2030, or until a new reimbursement model is adopted by the state. The existing policy has been extended several times in the past and remains a commonsense approach to sustaining critical local services.
The bill has been referred to the House Insurance Committee.
For more information on this legislation, contact Jimmy Johnson at Johnson@micounties.org.
Staff picks
- Legislative exchange encourages bipartisan cooperation (The Mining Journal)
- The DNR is chipping away at its big to-do list with 122 completed projects in 3 years (MLive)
- Attorney General’s Office takes over Lake County prosecutions (Midland Daily News)
- A Denver dino museum makes a find deep under own parking lot. Like ‘a hole in one from the moon.’ (Associated Press)