The Michigan Association of Counties (MAC)

Interested in national policy? Apply for a NACo committee seat

Blog, Legislative, MAC news, NACo

NACo members have the opportunity to serve on 31 committees, caucuses, task forces and advisory boards to inform national policy-making and help solve problems impacting counties, boroughs and parishes.

Policy Steering Committees

A meeting of one of NACo’s many policy committees.

If you want to serve as a member of one of NACo’s 10 policy steering committees, you simply need to email MAC Executive Director Stephan Currie at scurrie@micounties.org. MAC is responsible for these appointments. You do not need to complete any forms. Just list your first and second choices for committees. It is NACo practice to reappoint all members each year, so if you currently serve on a committee as a regular member, you will be renewed automatically. Please note that you can only serve on one Policy Steering Committee.

Leadership (chair/vice chair): All chairs and vice chairs of all committees and subcommittees are appointed by the NACo president each spring, with appointments announced at the NACo Annual Conference in July. Appointments are made through an application process. The Presidential application portal for incoming President Supervisor Jame Gore is currently open through April 26, 2024. You can access the site to apply here. Detailed application instructions are outlined below. Please note that you can only serve on one Policy Steering Committee, so if you are appointed to leadership for a committee, you can’t serve as a member on another Policy Steering Committee.

Large Urban County Caucus/Rural Action Caucus

NACo considers any county with a population above 500,000 as a “LUCC county,” which means that any official from that county is eligible to serve on LUCC- but they are not automatically placed on LUCC. Similarly, any county with a population under 500,000 is designated as a “RAC county,” which means that any official from that county is eligible to serve on RAC, but they are not automatically placed on RAC.

LUCC/RAC members must be appointed by the NACo President, and appointments are made through the application process outlined below. You must reapply each year. The Presidential application portal for incoming President Supervisor Jame Gore is currently open through April 26, 2024. You can access the site to apply here. Detailed application instructions are outlined below.

Alisha Bell, chair of the Wayne County Commission, addresses a NACo meeting.

Leadership (chair/vice chair: All chairs and vice chairs of LUCC/RAC are appointed by the NACo president each spring, with appointments announced at the NACo Annual Conference in July. Appointments are made through an application process. You must reapply each year. The presidential application portal for incoming President Supervisor Jame Gore is currently open through April 26, 2024. You can access the site to apply here.

Standing Committees, Task Forces, and Ad-Hoc Committees

Standing Committees, Task Forces and Ad-Hoc Committees members must be appointed by the NACo president, and appointments are made through the application process outlined below. You must reapply each year. The presidential application portal for incoming President Supervisor Jame Gore is currently open through April 26, 2024. You can access the site to apply here.

Leadership (chair/vice chair): All chairs and vice chairs of Standing Committees, Task Forces and Ad-Hoc Committees are appointed by the NACo president each spring, with appointments announced at the NACo Annual Conference in July. Appointments are made through an application process. You must reapply each year. The presidential application portal for incoming President Supervisor Jame Gore is currently open through April 26, 2024. You can access the site to apply here.

Presidential Appointment Process

NACo President Gore greets President Joe Biden during the 2024 NACo Legislative Conference in Washington, D.c.

You will find the application form here. Please note you must reapply each year for any presidential appointment.

Once you click on the link, it will take you to the “My NACO Portal” page, where you need to log in. If you haven’t set up your portal yet, you will need to create your profile and set up a password. Please note, this is the same portal you use to register for NACo events.

Once you log into “My NACo Portal” should be redirected to the Presidential Appointments page. If you aren’t, look for the option “Presidential Appointment” at the top of your page.

The Presidential Appointment page states at the top that it is only for chairs/vice-chairs of committees, but this is also where you apply to be a member of LUCC, RAC, Standing Committees, Task Forces, and Ad-Hoc Committees. Just scroll down the page to see these options.

You can apply for as many roles as you would like, all at one time.

If you have any questions about applying for leadership roles, LUCC, RAC, Standing Committees, Task Forces and Ad-Hoc Committees, you can contact nacopa@naco.org.

For additional details on NACo’s policy panels, click here.

Legislative Update 3-15-24

Blog, Blog Dynamic, Events, Legislative, MAC news, Marketing, NACo

Trial court funding reform bills pass House committee

Time-sensitive legislation to secure key trial court funding took its first step toward passage this week.

House Bill 5392, by Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Jackson), extends a quickly approaching May 1, 2024, expiration (“sunset”) of the authority of trial courts to levy fees that constitute a key part of their operational funding.

However, HB 5392 is now “tie-barred” to a separate measure through actions of the House Judiciary Committee. The companion bill, HB 5534, by Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Oakland), outlines a plan for the State Court Administrative Office to conduct data collection on certain trial court costs and revenue sources and provide a report to the Legislature with proposals to implement the Trial Court Funding Commission’s recommendations from 2019. A “tie-bar” means both bills must advance together.

MAC sees broad support for the sunset extension, but the prospects for the companion bill are much less clear. If, for political reasons, the legislation is delayed and not signed before May 1, a funding gap will result.

Courts stand to lose nearly $50 million in operational funding annually if HB 5392 does not pass. This loss of revenue, if not covered by the state, will fall on the counties to cover.

MAC supports both HB 5392 and 5534, with our first priority to move HB 5392 and extend the sunset prior to May 1, as was testified to last Wednesday.

These bills now move to the House floor.

MAC is asking members to take immediate action to urge quick legislative passage. Please visit MAC’s advocacy center to share your support for HBs 5392 and 5534 with your elected officials. The legislative window is closing, as there are limited days for the Legislature to advance the bills to the governor prior to May 1.

For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

 

MAC joins campaign to repeal state control of energy siting

The MAC Board of Directors has voted to join the Citizens for Local Choice, a coalition of groups pushing for a statewide vote to repeal sections of a state law that put an unelected state panel in final charge of siting of energy generation facilities.

“What we have heard from our own counties, and from colleagues across the state, is that this law enacted last year is a clear attack on local control, an attack Michigan’s 83 counties cannot allow to continue,” said Jim Storey, president of the MAC Board of Directors and chair of the Allegan County Board. MAC is aware of at least nine counties that already have passed resolutions in support of the ballot campaign.

MAC consistently opposed the act as it worked its way through the State Capitol last year, testifying on the consequences of usurping local control and suggesting changes that could facilitate the generation of clean energy without making the state Public Service Commission the final answer on local land use.

“It’s unfortunate we have reached this point, but this measure is so ill-conceived, so counter to the interests of communities and good governance, that MAC has to take this stand,” added Stephan Currie, executive director.

What’s next?

MAC encourages county leaders to support the coalition’s work in several ways:

  1. Pass a county resolution in support of it. The coalition has a template you can use for this purpose. Click here for it.

  2. Consider circulating petitions for it. Click here to request a petition from the coalition. (Please note there are specific rules on the collection process, so be sure to familiarize yourself with them; the coalition has text and video briefings on that process.)

The coalition now has petitions in the field to collect the 550,000 signatures the group thinks is advisable to meet state requirements for ballot proposals. Only 356,958 valid signatures are needed under state law, but the coalition has set a higher goal to ensure the legal requirement is easily met.)

Time is short, though, as the deadline to collect signatures is approaching on May 29, the deadline to reach the November 2024 ballot.

  1. Contact your county captain or volunteer to be one. The coalition has at least one county captain in 62 counties, but more are needed, particularly in Southeast Michigan. To volunteer as one, sign up on the website or send a note to citizensforlocalchoice@gmail.com.

  2. Donate to the campaign. While the coalition is having success using volunteer petition collectors and not using paid ones, unlike other ballot efforts, a full statewide campaign to convince voters this fall will not come cheap. To donate directly to the coalition, click here.

For more information on MAC’s work in defense of local control, contact Director of Governmental Affairs Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

 

‘Polluter pay’ package would bring problems for counties

Action could occur in coming weeks on a so-called “polluter pay” package that MAC opposes due to the burdens it would impose on county agencies.

Senate Bills 605-611, led by Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Washtenaw), add new regulations for businesses and local units of government to own and operate brownfield sites, making it difficult and undesirable to do so. Environmentalists are referring to the package as “polluter pay,” while industry representatives are calling it an attack on brownfield redevelopment.

The lead bill would require all owners of a contaminated property, whether they are responsible for the contamination or not, to conduct a baseline environmental assessment and submit a “due care plan” to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) every five years. A due care plan must include specific actions, plus monitoring and reporting requirements.

Contaminated sites will need to be cleaned up to residential standards, the highest level possible. Even if the site is meant to be used as a parking lot, the owner will need to follow remediation guidelines as if the site were to be a neighborhood. Financial considerations are not factored into this requirement in any way.

There is a stipulation for financial assurance on any facility that houses a pollutant. Many counties or their road agencies own salt sheds and oil brine tanks for road maintenance activities. For each of these facilities, a county would need to take out a bond for 70 percent of the cost to remediate the release of all pollutants on site. The response cost would be estimated per pound, or by a third party approved by EGLE.

Other provisions include medical monitoring, allowing EGLE to circumvent the rules-making process and changes to the statute of limitations for discovering contaminants. Aside from brownfield sites and road agencies, county airports also could be affected by this legislation.

MAC anticipates a hearing before the Senate Committee on Energy and Environment sometime in April. MAC will share updates as they become available.

For more information on this issue, contact Madeline Fata at fata@micounties.org.

 

Podcast 83 discusses court funding, energy conundrums

What should have been a simple extension on state authority for local courts to levy fees for their operations has turned into a complicated bout of legislative gamesmanship, the Podcast 83 team reported in its newest episode.

On May 1, the state law that allows trial courts to impose fees on defendants, a key part of the overall court funding system, expires. For many months, MAC has been working to, at minimum, get that authority extended to 2026, but the extension may not come until after the authority expires, Samantha Gibson explained.

“Last Wednesday, I testified in the House Judiciary Committee in support of two bills. One … extends the quickly approaching May 1 sunset date … (T)he other bill that MAC supports … that’s a plan for a plan, if you will, that requires the State Court Administrator’s Office to do data collection on court costs, revenue, judicial caseload and a few other things to then give a report to legislators in May of 2026,” Gibson said.

The plan, as of March 11, was to “tie-bar” the bills, meaning either both advance or neither. This complicates passage of the fee authority, especially in light of the Legislature’s upcoming calendar and the continued 54-54 seat deadlock in the House, Gibson said.

In the end, MAC expects fee authority to be extended, but there could be a gap in “coverage,” which would mean missing funds from courts that would have to be made up by someone. “It’s MAC’s position that if the Legislature withholds the bills, and a funding gap occurs that the state is responsible for backfilling those funding and allocating that to local courts, which we saw back in October of 2022,” Gibson added.

In other news:

Madeline Fata reported on a “town hall” held by the state Public Service Commission about the new law giving it the final say on the siting of wind and solar facilities.

“There certainly were a lot of red flags raised (on interpreting the law),” Fata said, “but they’re not done. There’s another meeting on March 19 at 1:30 p.m. There’s a virtual link available. I think it’s great for members to participate on those. They’re also accepting public comment between now and March 25.”

Deena Bosworth reviewed her testimony before the House Local Government Committee on House Bill 5353, a measure to require legislators to consider the fiscal effects of their decisions in order to deter any new unfunded mandates on local governments.

“We’ve seen iterations of this bill in the past. Is there anything different in this bill that would kind of help it or hurt it or anything? As you know, we obviously haven’t seen much action in the past,” Bosworth noted.

View the full video of the episode, recorded on March 11, by clicking here.

Previous episodes can be seen at MAC’s YouTube Channel.

And you always can find details about Podcast 83 on the MAC website.

 

Local governments explain concerns on energy siting law to state panel

Local governments voiced concerns over implementing the new renewable energy siting law in the first in a series of public meetings hosted by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) last week.

MPSC staff heard from local governments and planning professionals about their many concerns for implementing Public Act 233, which takes effect this November. Among concerns raised were the short timeline for local units to adopt compatible renewable energy ordinances; whether or not locals can include provisions for buffering or screening in their plans; and who enforces compliance after the permitting process is completed.

MAC vigorously opposed the legislation in 2023 that became PA 233.

While the MPSC did not specifically address these concerns, the session served as more of a learning opportunity for their team. MAC notes that the MPSC is an appointed body whose primary function is ratemaking; it has little experience in land use planning or zoning.

The next session is set for March 19 at 1:30 p.m. and is open to the public. We encourage members to tune in and learn more about the upcoming changes.

For more information on this issue, contact Madeline Fata at fata@micounties.org.

 

Bill to help curb sheriff staffing shortages advances to Senate

Legislation aimed at addressing staffing shortages in sheriff offices cleared the Michigan House this week in a broad, bipartisan vote.

House Bill 5203, by Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Oakland), would allow county boards of commissioners to choose if retired county employees who work at a sheriff’s office can continue to receive retirement benefits during a period of re-employment.

By 94-12, HB 5203 was passed out of the House this week. It now moves to the Senate Local Government Committee.

Currently, if a person who has retired and receives retirement benefits becomes re-employed by the same county, their retirement benefit payment is suspended for the length of their re-employment.  The bill would allow retirement benefits to continue during re-employment if a retiree becomes employed by a county sheriff’s office.

Allowing counties to re-employ sheriff’s office employees and maintain their retirement benefits will address the severe staffing shortages seen within county sheriff’s offices.

MAC supports this legislation.

For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

 

Healthy Climate Conference will focus on ‘Accelerating Action’

With unprecedented climate investments from federal and state sources, recently passed legislation, and executive actions to help meet the goals in the MI Healthy Climate Plan (Plan), Michigan is positioned better than ever to achieve the main goal in the Plan of a healthy, prosperous, carbon-neutral Michigan for all residents by 2050.

To learn more, join the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for the 2024 Michigan Healthy Climate Conference at the Lansing Center on May 16-17, 2024.

Building on these actions and the success of last year’s conference, the department is hosting this two-day conference to continue the mobilization of engaged stakeholders and review the actions being taken around the state to implement the goals in the Plan. This year’s conference is expected to draw more than 500 attendees from local, state, federal, and tribal governments, universities, nonprofits, community groups and businesses.

With the theme of this year’s conference being “Accelerating Action,” speakers will share about their success stories, challenges, funding opportunities, technical assistance, and other actions they are taking in the six priority areas of the Plan:

  • Commit to environmental justice and pursue a just transition
  • Clean the electric grid
  • Electrify vehicles and increase public transit
  • Repair and decarbonize homes and businesses
  • Drive clean innovation in industry
  • Protect Michigan’s land and water

Click here to start your registration.

 

MAC joins campaign to repeal state control of energy siting

Blog, Legislative, MAC news

The MAC Board of Directors has voted to join the Citizens for Local Choice, a coalition of groups pushing for a statewide vote to repeal sections of a state law that put an unelected state panel in final charge of siting of energy generation facilities.

“What we have heard from our own counties, and from colleagues across the state, is that this law enacted last year is a clear attack on local control, an attack Michigan’s 83 counties cannot to continue,” said Jim Storey, president of the MAC Board of Directors and chair of the Allegan County Board. MAC is aware of at least nine counties that already have passed resolutions in support of the ballot campaign.

MAC consistently opposed the act as it worked its way through the State Capitol last year, testifying on the consequences of usurping local control and suggesting changes that could facilitate the generation of clean energy without making the state Public Service Commission the final answer on local land use.

“It’s unfortunate we have reached this point, but this measure is so ill-conceived, so counter to the interests of communities and good governance, that MAC has to take this stand,” added Stephan Currie, executive director.

What’s next?

MAC encourages county leaders to support the coalition’s work in several ways:

  1. Pass a county resolution in support of it. The coalition has a template you can use for this purpose. Click here for it.

  2. Consider circulating petitions for it. Click here to request a petition from the coalition. (Please note there are specific rules on the collection process, so be sure to familiarize yourself with them; the coalition has text and video briefings on that process.)

The coalition now has petitions in the field to collect the 550,000 signatures the group thinks is advisable to meet state requirements for ballot proposals. Only 356,958 valid signatures are needed under state law, but the coalition has set a higher goal to ensure the legal requirement is easily met.)

Time is short, though, as the deadline to collect signatures is approaching on May 29, the deadline to reach the November 2024 ballot.

  1. Contact your county captain or volunteer to be one. The coalition has at least one county captain in 62 counties, but more are needed, particularly in Southeast Michigan. To volunteer as one, sign up on the website or send a note to citizensforlocalchoice@gmail.com.

  2. Donate to the campaign. While the coalition is having success using volunteer petition collectors and not using paid ones, unlike other ballot efforts, a full statewide campaign to convince voters this fall will not come cheap. To donate directly to the coalition, click here.

For more information on MAC’s work in defense of local control, contact Director of Governmental Affairs Deena Bosworth at bosworth@micounties.org.

Legislative Update 3-8-24

Blog, Events, Legislative, MAC news, MACSC, Marketing, NACo

House committee hears testimony as trial court funding deadline looms

Trial court funding sources (April 2023).

Legislative efforts ramped up this week to address funding for Michigan’s trial courts, which are now facing the legal expiration of a key funding source.

Action is now in the House Judiciary Committee and focused on two bills: House Bill 5392, by Rep. Sarah Lightner (R-Jackson), extends the current May 1, 2024, sunset date on the authority of courts to levy fees to May 1, 2026; and House Bill 5534, by Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Oakland), which outlines a plan for the State Court Administrative Office to collect data on trial court costs and revenue sources and provide a report to the Legislature with proposals to implement the Trial Court Funding Commission’s recommendations from 2019.

MAC is supporting both efforts, though its immediate focus is on HB 5392, since inaction would create an immediate funding gap.  MAC testified to this point on Wednesday.

Courts stand to lose nearly $50 million in operational funding annually if HB 5392 does not pass. This loss of revenue, if not supplemented by the state, will fall on the counties to cover.

It is expected that HB 5392 will advance out of committee in an amended form to set a Dec. 31, 2026, sunset on fee authority.

Political dynamics in the House, however, could delay passage of both bills. The bills are expected to be tie-barred, meaning one cannot move through the legislative process without the other.

The bills are likely to be voted out by the committee next week and move to the House floor.

For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

 

MAC urges passage of bill to deter unfunded mandates on locals

Deena Bosworth testifies on HB 5353 before the House Local Government Committee.

A renewed effort to require legislators to consider the fiscal implications of new mandates on local governments prior to enacting them received MAC’s support in testimony before the House Local Government Committee this week.

House Bill 5353, by Rep. John Fitzgerald (D-Kent), is a re-introduction of legislation that’s been introduced every legislative session since the Legislative Commission on Unfunded Mandates issued its report in 2009. In the last Legislature, Sen. Ed McBroom (R-Dickinson) was able to move SB 449 out of committee before it stalled on the Senate floor.

HB 5353, as with previous iterations, seeks a fiscal note process for legislation and departmental rules that increase or create new mandates on local units of government. It requires the identification of additional mandated services and a cost estimate for those services prior to the third reading of the bills in the originating legislative chamber or prior to the implementation of new departmental rules. This approach will allow legislators to have prior knowledge of the potential costs and be able to weigh their support or opposition based on complete information.

Funds required to perform the new mandates must be appropriated and sent out to local units before the locals would have to comply with the new mandates. The bill would affect new bills and rules only.

Twenty-eight states have similar reporting requirements, and many states have requirements that mandates must be funded. Michigan’s “Headlee Amendment” already requires that our mandates be funded. However, this requirement has not been routinely met.

With county-controlled resources (property taxes) already constrained by Headlee and Proposal A, additional service requirements imposed on counties by the state must come with the resources to meet them, MAC’s Deena Bosworth told committee members this week during her testimony (see 39:00 mark).

No vote was taken on the bill this week, but MAC is hopeful the bill will advance this spring.

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

 

Senate appropriations panel hears from MAC on juvenile justice reforms

Severe shortages in staffing and bed space are limiting the effects of juvenile justice reforms enacted last year, MAC told a Senate appropriations subcommittee this week.

Panel Chair Sen. Sylvia Santana (D-Wayne) convened a hearing to gauge the state of juvenile justice reform at the state and county level and determine the needs of counties and courts providing juvenile justice services.

MAC’s Samantha Gibson was among stakeholders who spoke to the struggles faced at the county level in providing care and support to youth in the justice system.

Among the reforms from enacted last year and now being implemented, the Child Care Fund reimbursement rate increase from 50 percent to 75 percent is most beneficial, Gibson told the panel, allowing courts and counties to expand on previously provided programs or possibly create new ones they could not fund prior to the increased reimbursement rate.

MAC once again called on legislators and the Department of Health and Human Services to assist in addressing the staffing shortage in juvenile detention facilities. More funding to counties is needed to boost staff wages and, in turn, promote more effective recruitment and retention efforts.

Additional hearings on this topic are expected in coming weeks.

For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

 

State gets federal grant for juvenile services

Treatment options in counties for justice-involved or high-risk youth will be expanded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) with a $825,000 grant from the federal government.

The department intends to use these federal dollars to create more beds and more appropriate placement options for high-risk youth in need of long-term residential treatment. According to MDHHS, Project activities include:

  • Starting a Juvenile Justice Planning Council that will advance efforts to reduce the number of youth placed in detention or secure residential placements through effective prevention, intervention, diversion and re-entry services.
  • Identifying evidence-based practices, and culturally appropriate strategies that advance the long-term well-being and success of youth and their families.
  • Developing strategies to evaluate the economic impact of changes that result in cost savings and identifying how those cost savings can be reinvested into the larger continuum of care.
  • Creating a sustainable framework that supports reducing incarceration of youth and their diversion into community programs through a coordinated, collaborative strategy that also promotes safe communities.

For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

 

House committee backs bill to address sheriff staffing

Legislation to allow county boards of commissioners to choose if retired county employees who work at a sheriff’s office can continue to receive retirement benefits during a period of re-employment advanced out of committee this week.

House Bill 5203, by Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Oakland), received unanimous support from the House Local Government Committee and now moves to the House floor.

At present, if a person receiving retirement benefits becomes re-employed by the same county, their retirement payments are suspended for the length of their re-employment.  The bill would allow retirement benefits to continue during re-employment if a retiree is hired by a sheriff’s office.

Allowing this practice would help address the severe staffing shortages seen within county sheriff’s offices.

MAC supports this legislation.

For more information on this issue, contact Samantha Gibson at gibson@micounties.org.

 

Podcast team discusses MAC’s behind-the-scenes efforts at Capitol

While the State Capitol might not be dominating headlines with passage of major legislation so far in 2024, the work there for MAC is as expansive as ever, members of the Podcast 83 Team note in their newest episode.

The legislative slowdown continues from the results of last November’s elections when the Democrats lost their majority in the House, leaving a 54-54 chamber that will remain tied until the end of April when new members are seated for two vacancies.

MAC, however, continues to crisscross the Capitol campus to brief legislators on county priorities and needs.

MAC, for example, testified last week before a Senate appropriations panel on the association’s opioid settlement efforts and the reaction was widely positive, Samantha Gibson reported.

“Our feeling on feedback from senators after that committee hearing was that they were really glad and impressed to hear about what was going on at MAC,” Gibson said. “It is important to note that I don’t believe anyone has started spending their settlement dollars yet and that’s because counties are really taking the time to hear from stakeholders and make sure that as many people as possible are engaged in the process, that they’re going to spend those dollars as effectively as they can.”

Director of Governmental Affairs Deena Bosworth spoke about her planned testimony on  House Bill 5353 (see item above).

“MAC has always been supportive of any kind of unfunded mandates legislation dating back to 2009, when the legislative commission on unfunded mandates issued their report,” Bosworth explained. “We have not been successful in getting this all the way through the process and enacted. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we can cross that threshold this time.

“The only teeth (in the bill) are that we don’t have to comply … if they don’t follow the fiscal note process,” Bosworth added. “

View the full video of the episode, recorded on March 4, by clicking here.

Previous episodes can be seen at MAC’s YouTube Channel.

And you always can find details about Podcast 83 on the MAC website.

 

Webinars explain how to challenge internet connection maps

The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) will soon be testing the unserved, underserved and served status of homes, businesses and community anchor institutes across the state. Individuals will be able to complete the BEAD Challenge Process to determine the status of their internet connection, verifying the accuracy of the maps determined by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The challenge process will be open March 25-April 23.

While individuals may complete the testing process, they cannot submit the data themselves. Only local units of government, tribal governments, internet service providers and nonprofit can submit this data to MIHI.

Many county buildings are considered community anchor institutes, so they are able to challenge their connection status through the process.

MAC will share reminders as the start of the challenge process nears. In the meantime, MIHI will be hosting two upcoming webinars for participants to learn more:

  • Designed for Eligible Challengers – Tuesday, March 12, 1 p.m.-2m.
    • Eligible Challengers are local units of government, tribal governments and nonprofits.This session will cover what types of challenges will be accepted, what type of evidence will be required, and how to use the State Challenge Portal to submit challenges and evidence.
  • Designed for Community Anchor Institutions – Thursday, March 14, 1:30 p.m.-2:15m.
    • CAIs are organizations that serve as hubs for digital access in their communities and, as a result, have increased connectivity. This session will cover how CAIs can verify whether they are correctly represented on the map and how they may monitor and respond to any challenge about whether they fit the definition of a CAI.

For more information on MAC’s work on broadband issues, contact Madeline Fata at fata@micounties.org.

 

EPA opens grant program on hazardous waste

Funding opportunities for household hazardous waste collections and setting up waste diversion centers will soon be available to counties. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shared the following information with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy:

“U.S. EPA Region 5 has opened the FY2024-2025 Source Reduction Assistance Notice of Funding Opportunity. This regional competitive grant program provides funding for projects that promote practical source reduction practices, tools, and training or Pollution Prevention (P2) approaches, such as reducing single-use plastics or using green cleaning or other safer chemical alternatives.

“Tribes, States, local governments and not-for-profit organizations are eligible for funding.  Region 5 anticipates awarding 1-4 projects ranging from $40,000-$240,000 up to a total of $240,000 in federal funds. The number of awards is subject to the availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations. The application deadline is April 15, 2024.”

While a variety of projects are eligible, the program’s priority areas are:

  1. Prevention of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  2. Hazardous Materials Source Reduction
  3. Innovative approaches to conservation of materials and resources
  4. Environmental Justice through P2 Actions

For additional support, contact Claudia Santiago at 312-886-0674 or Santiago.claudia@epa.gov.

 

NACo continues to accept Achievement Award applications

Since 1970, the NACo Achievement Awards have recognized outstanding county government programs and services. Through a non-competitive application process, noteworthy programs receive awards in 18 categories that cover a vast range of county responsibilities.

Applications are due March 30, 2024.

Michigan counties have won numerous awards in recent years for efforts ranging from the use of recycled materials for roads to cyber defense strategies to specialty courts.

Click here for more information or to begin your application process.

 

Opioid commission releases annual report

The Opioid Advisory Commission (OAC) is excited to share its 2024 Annual Report.

Please find the report, available here. It is also publicly accessible on the OAC’s website under “Commission Documents” > “Annual Reports.”

Also available is the 2024 supplemental brief. This document covers overarching themes, key takeaways/needs, and primary funding recommendations for appropriation from the Michigan Opioid Healing and Recovery Fund.

The OAC is also in the process of finalizing its “Action Guide”, anticipated for release later this month. The Action Guide will lay out steps that state leaders can take to support/adopt OAC recommendations.

For information about MAC’s work on opioid settlements, click the image or contact Amy Dolinky at dolinky@micounties.org.

 

Meet Peter Cressy

Blog, Events

Retired Adm. Peter Cressy, director of Executive Leadership Programs at the Washington Leadership Institute, will speak on: “Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Churchill: A Strategic Approach to Leading in Times of Crisis and Change: Washington and these other great leaders manifested eight common characteristics in leading during times of crisis and change, ranging from visibility and communication to planning and collaboration. This popular session will explore examples of these traits during the times of crisis each of these outstanding leaders faced, which remain relevant today” at the 2024 Legislative Conference.

More about Cressy

Peter Cressy, Ed.D., RADM (Ret.), has been the Director of Executive Leadership Programs at the Washington Leadership Institute for the past eight years. He served 28 years in the United States Navy in command and senior staff positions, followed by eight years in higher education as a college president and university chancellor, where he was also a tenured professor of management. He later served 16 years as the President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council trade association. Dr. Cressy has taught graduate and undergraduate classes at several universities and colleges.

To register for the conference, click here.

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