Schor Report: Ingham County Commission Blog

Dental Director Position, Physician Assistant and Pay Level, Road Commission, MLK Jr Day

2012-01-19T19:35:00.001-08:00

While I will normally have two committees in the first and third weeks of the month, this week we only had County Services. Human Services was rescheduled to next Monday because of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The first big item up in County Services dealt with restoration of the Dental Director position, which was eliminated in 2005 as a cost saving measure. According to the Health Department, since 2005 the number of dental patients has grown by more than 3,000 patients as the dental health centers have expanded their service areas to include both local elementary schools and community events. The Community Health Center supervisor and Dental Health Center staff have requested the supervision of a Dental Director to direct the dental health center staff. A dental professional is needed to respond to clinical oral health concerns such as the appropriate course of treatment or proper infection control measures. The restoration of this position will result in an increase in productivity and a consistent standard of care across the health center network. The Health Director identified funding for this by converting a vacant dentist position (which has been vacant since May 28) to a Dental Director/Dentist position, and increasing it one level on the pay scale. The additional salary on the pay scale would come from the Healthy Smiles Dental Center budget, which was formerly dedicated to the University of Michigan School of Dentistry (UMSD) program. The Health Department terminated this agreement with UMSD effective August 31, 2011 due to lack of physical space for the interns to work within the dental centers. We had some good debate about this position. We had many questions about how this would work, and we were assured it would be both a dentist and administrator position. We asked if this would reduce the backlog, and why not just add a new dentist with the money. We were told that it will not greatly reduce the backlog, which is large, because we would need many new dentists to do that. We were also told that there are administrative needs so the staff is asking for the position. I was uncomfortable moving the position to the higher level, and asked for the scoring that was used by our human resources department. They didn’t have that, and other agreed with me that they would like to see that information. I also pointed out that we are only 17 days into the budget and are already being asked to add a new position and have money moved around. There was no good answer as to why this was not done during the budget process last year. As such, I moved to table this item until can have the answers to the scoring and budget questions.

The second controversial Health Department resolution was to hire a new Physicians Assistant, but to have her come in at the Step 5 (highest) pay level. In public comment, we heard from the UAW representative who said that they are being asked for pay cuts and step freezes and other concessions in negotiations, and it is not right to bring someone new in at the highest pay level. Our Health Department representative said that they are not at full capacity and that they constantly struggle to bring in P/A’s, nurse practitioners, and physicians. Our salary level is greatly below what they can make in the private sector, so positions stay open. And when people do agree to come, they want to come in at the highest level. The person being considered for this position has 11 years of experience and likes the population that we are working with, but is taking a large pay cut to come here. We were told that this person would not come for anything but the highest level available, and if we did not approve that then she would walk away and we would continue to have an open medical position. Many of us complained that we have to bring people in at Step 5 and asked, once again, for a study to be done to see if we can re-adjust the pay scales for the jobs that we have people doing. Our new Human Resources director said that this study is being done, and they would have the information for us in a few months. I offered an amendment to reduce the offer from the top of the scale to the second highest because I believe that we should at least try to offer somewhat less than the top amount. I have great concerns that we are asking our current employees to freeze step increases. As was pointed out last week, this means that those hired in at the lower end of the scale and work their way up will take a salary hit, but those that are at the top (usually administrators) will continue to get the top. A step freeze really does seem to be discriminatory against those who make less. This amendment was defeated on a 2-3 vote. With the defeat of the amendment, our choice was to approve or not approve the highest salary. As was pointed out by the Health Department, not approving this salary will leave the position vacant. Doing that would hurt the residents of the community that need the medical services. In addition, doing this would cost the county $400,000 in revenue (reimbursement from the federal government) because of a few thousand dollars in a step increase. Our medical providers are reimbursed by the federal government at a high level because they are federally qualified health department providers. Most of us were not willing to cost the county up to $400,000 in revenue or lose the potential aide to our residents, so we approved the resolution on a 4-1 vote (Vickers opposing). I am looking forward to seeing the study, and to the opportunity to re-evaluate these and other positions to make sure that they are appropriately compensated in relation to the private sector and other public sector jobs (as the budget will allow, of course!).

We took up a few other resolutions, but nothing really too controversial. We reviewed the recent road commission legislation, where there has been no change. We also talked about the road commission hiring new employees in human resources and finance, and there was discontent about this hiring with the status of the road commission in question. I pointed out that the new Chair of the Road Commission has expressed interest in coming to County Services to talk about his views on the potential future of the road commission, and said that I hope that he can be invited to the committee at the next regular meeting. I believe the Chair of the committee, Dianne Holman, is planning to have them in to discuss their plans and how they would like to move forward. So, with the Legislature not taking any action, we will continue to talk to the Road Commission members and assess our options as a County Commission to decide what further actions we intend to take.

I hope everyone had a great MLK, Jr Day and remembered the great man and his message of equality for all. My family watched the “I Have a Dream” speech and my children really enjoyed hearing it and learning more. We are proud that they are learning about his message of equality and diversity in the Lansing Public Schools.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I will report on the Human Services committee and the Board of Commissioners meeting next week!

Contracts and Negotiations with County Employees, Campaign Update

2012-01-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

This week, we only had one meeting. It was a special meeting of the Board of Commissioners, called a leadership meeting, where we meet for a special purpose. The purpose of this meeting was to hear from our employees regarding contract negotiations.

Until this year, each of our unions had different end dates for their contracts. We would have a few end each year and be negotiated. This year, though, we arranged it so all contracts would end at the same time so we could negotiate similar conditions with each union. As has happened in the recent past, we have several conditions leading to reduced revenues: lower tax collections, reduced revenue sharing from the state, lower-than-expected interest earnings on investments, foreclosures, etc. All of these have lead to the need to work with the employees for concessions in contracts. In addition, the Board and management staff are looking at long-term solutions to prevent budget deficits. The exact terms of the contract negotiations are done at the bargaining table and I won’t list the conditions here. Similarly, the Commissioners have heard from the county management staff regarding what they want to ask for in negotiations but this is confidential and done in closed session.

The unions had requested an opportunity to meet with the Commissioners to express concerns and questions about the requests from management and about the process of negotiations. We heard from the United Auto Workers (UAW), Ingham County Employees Association, Nurses Association, Michigan Association of Police, and Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU). They raised very good questions and brought up issues that we as Commissioners had not known were problems. They are concerned with the combination of the short-term and long-term objectives in the same negotiations because both involved some concessions from the unions and both have value to them. They are also concerned about the process, especially with contracts having expired already. Several unions have gone beyond negotiation and to mediation, which is unusual in Ingham County. There were also concerns about the move from defined benefit to a hybrid defined contribution plan, about health benefit changes, and step freezes, and others. Ingham County has a health benefits coalition that usually recommends changes and has saved the county millions in the past, and this process is somewhat outside of that coalition process. Step freezes are seen as inequitable because those at the top step are not losing anything when those under the top step are. And so many other good issues that were raised. They said that the hybrid defined contribution plan is unfair because it locks in the rate without the ability to negotiate.

We heard the concerns, and our staff responded to some of them. Our staff pointed out the reductions in revenues and the need to spend less. They also talked about the need to solve the problem going forward.

We had MERS speak to us as well about the hybrid defined contribution plan. They agreed that the rate cannot change in negotiation and said that it is based on actuarial estimates. I can’t speak for others, but I was uncomfortable locking something in that cannot be changed in the future or bargained, especially if times get better and we can afford to provide more for our employees. I am open to the hybrid defined contribution plan, but the details that MERS laid out made me very uncomfortable. I was also uncomfortable with several other things that the unions raised.

The County Services committee, on which I serve, has scheduled a special committee meeting on January 31st to further discuss these issues. I hope we can have more detailed information about the cuts that our management is asking for and the details regarding the concerns that the unions raised. We as Commissioners cannot spend more than we take in and we need to provide structural stability, but we also need to be fair to our employees. We have some of the best employees in the world, and we need to treat them right. People want to be public servants, and we need to reward them…especially when they can make more in the private sector but want to help others. This will be a big issue that we need to resolve quickly in 2012.

Otherwise, our normal committee schedule will resume this week. I have County Services Committee, and the Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committees will meet as well. You can see the agendas online at www.ingham.org.

The campaign continues to go very well. I will have my campaign finance report filed by the end of the month with a strong showing. This week I increased my list of endorsements, which includes several neighborhood presidents and activists, current and former State Representatives, countywide elected officials, most of the county commissioners, City Councilmembers, Township Board members, labor, and many others. The information is all on my website and we will be announcing the specifics as the campaign continues. Seven more months until Primary Election day! If you are interested in volunteering on the campaign or want to contribute, please go to www.andyschor.com.

Ringing in 2012...the Ingham County Board of Commissioners 2012 Board and Committee Makeup and Schedule

2012-01-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012!

After taking a few weeks off, I am resuming the Schor Report. This will be the last year of reporting of Ingham County business, though, as this will be my 10th and final year as an Ingham County Commissioner. As you know, I am running for the State House of Representatives and hope to continue this blog as a State Representative next year, but will no longer be a county commissioner after 2012. But more on that later in the year!

The Ingham County Board of Commissioners met on January 3rd for our organizational meeting. At that time, we elected our Board Chair and Vice Chair for the 2012 year. The main responsibility of the Board Chair is to attend all of the committee meetings and be the one person that knows what is going on regarding all of our issue areas (because he or she is a member of all the committees and has attended all of the committee meetings). He or she also chairs the full Board meeting, and works with the staff to organize leadership meetings and other venues for the Commissioners to get together and make decisions.

For 2012, we elected Commissioner Dale Copedge as the Chair of the Board. He will be attending the County Services, Human Services, Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Finance committee meetings in addition to the full Board meetings. He will also be working with the staff to facilitate and receive direction from the County Commission as they offer up recommendations for policy and operations. He has indicated a readiness and willingness to take on this responsibility, and I was happy to support him as a result. He has already scheduled a Board workgroup meeting on Tuesday (called a Board Leadership meeting) to discuss bargaining with our employees.

We also elected Commissioner Victor Celentino as Vice Chair of the Board, and Commissioner Vince Dragonetti as Vice Chair Pro Tem (this post is reserved for the minority party).

Finally, we appointed out internal committees, and selected Commissioners to serve on external and regional boards (such as the Tri-County Office on Agency board, which I will again serve on). Our internal committee roster is:

COUNTY SERVICES COMMITTEE
Chair: Commissioner Dianne Holman
Vice Chair: Commissioner Andy Schor
Members: Commissioners Grebner, Celentino, De Leon, Vickers

FINANCE COMMITTEE
Chair: Commissioner Mark Grebner
Vice Chair: Commissioner Brian McGrain
Members: Commissioners Nolan, Bahar-Cook, Tennis, Dougan

HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
Chair: Commissioner Deb Nolan
Vice Chair: Commissioner Todd Tennis
Members: Commissioners Schor, McGrain, Vickers, Dougan

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Chair: Commissioner Carol Koenig
Vice Chair: Commissioner Rebecca Bahar-Cook
Members: Commissioners Holman, Tsernoglou, Schafer, Dragonetti

LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMITTEE
Chair: Commissioner Penelope Tsernoglou
Vice Chair: Commissioner Deb De Leon
Members: Commissioners Celentino, Koenig, Schafer, Dragonetti

As I mentioned, we have a Board Leadership meeting this week, then committees will begin meeting the next week (the third week of the month). We have a two week schedule where each committee and the Board meet in a two week period, then we start all over again. So every committee and the Board meet twice each month. The full schedule can be viewed on our website at www.ingham.org.

I look forward to a busy and productive final year on the Board of Commissioners!

Road Commission, Fair Director, Tubing/Snow Board Hill, Post Office Closure, Storm Ready County, Congrats!

2011-12-14T21:45:00.000-08:00

I have finally managed to do it! Work all day, attended two events, home to get the kids to bed, and this blog done before Thursday. I am getting better at this!

This week, we had our final Board of Commissioners meeting of the year. I guess it is fitting that we spent so much time on the Road Commission, and that was the central issue of our last meeting.

The resolution of intent to disband the Ingham County Road Commission and instead create a Department of Transportation and Roads was taken up on the Board floor. I have gone through the arguments several times, so I will just go through the debate. Several Commissioners weighed in with important debate. Commissioner Todd Tennis led off, and said that he believes there are many questions still to answer. He also said he has concerns that the county will be pressured to use general fund dollars on roads if we deal absorb the road commission. He said that he is not necessarily against merging the operation, but that he has unanswered questions and is not ready to support the resolution at this time. I respect that, and appreciate his thoughts on the issue.

Commissioner Dianne Holman said that while she didn't think the language was perfect, she supports the concept and said that we are ready and willing to take action. Commissioner Celentino said basically everything I wanted to say. He said that we have a lot more to do in terms of details, and that we support the employees and will not let them be negatively effective in this whole process. Commissioners Dougan and Schafer and Vickers said that they support the resolution. Schafer said there have been problems with the road commission for years, and Vickers said that the Board doesn't work. Commissioner Rebecca Bahar Cook agreed that this is not targeted at employees, and is is targeted at a broken system. I then weighed in and said that this will be a long implementation process, but that we have done it before with the zoo which was more complex. I also pointed out that we can supplement road funding with county dollars now, so it makes no difference whether or not we have a Road Commission or internal department. Commissioner Vince Dragonetti said that this is a resolution of intent and an option, and said that we can re-establish the Board if needed. Board Chair Grebner said that this communicates to the Road Commission and their upper staff our intentions, and that they should take short term actions and avoid commitments that we will have to deal with later. After this debate, the resolution passed on a roll-call vote 15-1 with Commissioner Tennis voting no. I am sure their will be more on this early next year!

Last week, I wrote about the Fair Director position. That came up tonight. A substitute was introduced that re-inserted performance incentives for the position (reminder - the position will be staffed by a person as part of a company) in addition to the $80,000 salary. It was once again mentioned that there will be no benefits and this will be cheaper than a full time employee. Several people raised the point that we need to have an official policy on incentives. Commissioners Deb Nolan and Rebecca Bahar Cook specifically requested that the County Services committee discuss this at the first meeting next year. That being said, commissioner agreed to allow for it for this one position which is unique. The incentives were listed in the resolution, which said that the factors would be based on fair gate admissions, off-season revenues, and total revenues, benchmarked against a rolling average of the three previous fiscal years' data. I raised my concern that I had in County Services that this really didn't clarify the factors enough. Commissioner Carol Koenig, our Fair Board representative, said that they still needed to work out the details and that it would all be in the contract. I offered an amendment adding language ensuring that these three factors are not the only ones, and that there must be improvement in each of these factors. That way we are ensured that the incentives are significant and are met before incentives are granted. The amendment passed unanimously, then the resolution passed unanimously.

We also considered a resolution that will create a season rate for usage of the tubing hill and snow board hill. We already had daily pass rates, but this created season rates. We amended the resolution to reduce the seasonal rate from $150 to $99 for adults and from $75 to $59 for children. This passed unanimously.

I also sponsored a late resolution opposing the closure of the Collins Road Post Office. The postal service is consolidating nationwide and closing branch office. On their list of potential closures is the Collins Road post office, which is the processing facility for the mid-Michigan area. If this closes, the mail for our area will go through Grand Rapids. It is crazy to me that the Capitol area not have a postal facility for mail processing. The resolution passed unanimously, and we are now on record against this. We will be joining LEAP and others who will be actively fighting this closure and pushing Congressman Mike Rogers to get involved against this closure.

Finally, Ingham County was approved as a “Storm Ready County” by the National Weather Service and received a seal and commendation for this. The Local
Planning Team (LPT) has expanded outdoor warning sirens in the County using grant funds, distributed weather alert radios to residents and businesses, hosted weather spotter seminars, and expanded warning notification using the CodeRED system.

As this was the last meeting, congratulations are in order for several commissioners. Congratulations and thanks to the committee chairs - Commissioner Todd Tennis (Human Services), Rebecca Bahar Cook (Judiciary), Debbie DeLeon (County Services), and Celentino (Law Enforcement). Finally, a special congratulations to Commissioner Mark Grebner, who was Chair of the Board of Commissioners for the last time. He has served as a Commissioner for over 35 years, and this was the last time he will serve as Chair of our Board. Thanks for everything, Mark!

Happy holidays and a happy new year to all!

Beer Tent at Fair, Incentive Clause for Fair Manager, Honoring MLK and Dot Wilson and Cristo Rey

2011-12-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry to be late with this blog. As my campaign for State Representative heats up, I will be going to more and more events and have less time. But I will not neglect my county duties and will try to get this blog out as quickly as possible.

In County Services this week, we took up a resolution to permanently authorize the Fair Board to allow for an adult refreshment tent at the Ingham County Fairgrounds. A few years ago, we debated this and voted to authorize the Fair Board to allow the fair to offer alcohol in a segregated and controlled environment, but only for a two year pilot. That vote was controversial because several people gave public comment that having a beer/alcohol tent would result in all kinds of problems - drunk people letting animals out of the pens, fights, drunk driving, etc. Now that we have two years experience and have had absolutely zero problems at the fair dealing with the beer/alcohol tents, we were considering a resolution to make this permanently allowed (but still up to the discretion of the Fair Board). Commissioner Grebner commented that he wanted to be sure to alert the people who opposed this that we would be taking up this resolution before we actually vote on it. He reiterated that there have been no problems and that the concerns were unfounded, but thought we should proactively notify these residents. It was also pointed out that the fair made money on the beer/alcohol tent which kept the fair in the black. Commissioner Vickers agreed that there were no problems, but requested the financials for the last two years for the fair. Both he and Commissioner Dragonetti questioned whether the financial numbers included set-up and staffing costs for the beer tent. The resolution was tabled for a meeting in order to invite the members of the public that testified previously, and to have the financial information presented to the committee.

The second controversial resolution at County Services was the resolution to hire a new Fair Manager. The resolution was much more controversial. Instead of hiring a county employee, this would hire a gentleman who was highly qualified through a company he had formed. He wanted to forego benefits and just get paid a salary. The catch is that he also wanted incentive dollars. The resolution would have authorized a salary at $80,000, plus an additional $7,500 at the end of first year and up to $15,000 at the end of the 2nd year. It was pointed out that this is cheaper than what the county pays for a full time employee at the lowest step (because benefits are not being paid, and they could be up t0 $40,000). Incentives could include making money, increased customers at the fair, effective marketing techniques, filling the commercial sponsors by some %, filling the spaces, etc...and would be created by the Fair Board with approval from the Controller.

I had serious concerns about voting for a contract with incentive money. I was especially concerned about the idea of approving this when we don't even know what the incentives will be. Because the resolution already required the controller to approve the incentives used before incentive money is disbursed, I proposed an amendment that was passed that requires the Controller to report the conditions to the County Services Committee. This will ensure that we know what those incentives are, and that we approve. I agreed to support this resolution because Controller Lannoye and Committee Chair DeLeon said that this candidate was the best that we had and that they want to finalize this contract over the next week or two.

In Finance Committee, this resolution saw even further scrutiny. Commissioner Nolan argued that Ingham County doesn't need a full time fair director for a fair that is one week in the summer, and for other random bookings of the fair grounds. She asked about comparable fairs, and said that $80,000 is a lot of money. Honestly, she made a lot of sense. Then, Commissioner Bahar-Cook also made some great points. She asked if this is the only contract he will have. Will he be available as we need him? Is he doing other fairs? If we are contracting with him through a company, how do we know that he will be doing our work first and foremost? Other questions arose from committee members about whether he will be principally based here, and if he would be doing the day to day supervision of our county staff. It was expressed that there should be a statement of hours provided to controller, and expectation of day-to-day supervision of county staff and hours, and requirements of working on site - as would be expected of a full time county employee. Commissioner Grebner and Bahar-Cook proposed an amendment which passed requiring a statement of hours worked on a regular basis to assure that services provided are comparable to a full time employee. Additionally, an amendment was passed to eliminate the incentives. Again, several committee members mentioned that an incentive bonus is not something we do with any other employee. The parks director doesn't get this for the number of users of the parks; the health department doesn't get this for assisting clients; etc. Commissioner McGrain along with Commissioners Bahar-Cook and Nolan said that even if this way is cheaper, it is still something we don't do with our county directors. Also, it was pointed out that other employees could decide not to take benefits, and we don't offer them incentives. It was a very convincing argument and I decided to support the amendment. Commissioner McGrain pointed out that we could review the county policy and implement these countywide, but not just for the Fair Director. After these amendments were passed, the resolution was passed and will now go to the Board floor.

We also approved several resolutions, including a resolution honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a resolution honoring Dorothy (Dot) Wilson who recently passed away, and a resolution honoring Cristo Rey Church on the event of its 50th Anniversary.

I will note that these were the last committee meetings of the year. Next year I will be on the Human Services and County Services committees, so you will hear about the issues that those two committees discuss. We have one more Board meeting, on Tuesday, where we will deal with the Intent to Dissolve the Road Commission resolution in addition to the resolutions mentioned in this blog.

Road Commission Dissolution Resolution, Thanks to Supporters of My State Rep Race

2011-11-29T22:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I took last week off due to Thanksgiving, and the fact that there was nothing controversial at the Board meeting last Tuesday.

This week we only had County Services, and it was a special meeting to discuss the proposed road commission resolutions. There were four - my resolution to disband the road commission board and bring the operations in-house, the Grebner resolution to call on all five road commissioners to resign, the resolution calling on the road commission to pass ethics and other policies, and the Vickers/Dragonetti/Schafer/Dougan resolution calling for Shirley Rodgers to resign.

We started with a discussion of procedure. Committee Chair De Leon said that we have four resolutions on the table and someone needs to move one off the table and before the committee. Before that, though, Commissioner Vickers moved to have Chair De Leon replaced by the committee Vice Chair or the Board Chair. This was defeated on a 2-4 vote, and Commissioner Grebner pointed out that there is no actual motion to do this in our rules or Mason's rules (which we use as our rules when our Board rules don't govern).

After that, I moved that my resolution - intending to disband the Road Commission Board and bring the operations in-house - be taken off the table and put before the committee. Our Administrator/Controller Mary Lannoye gave a good update. She went through different potential issues. She said that the HR and Finance operations could easily be brought in to the county. She said there are differences in employee contracts (health care contributions, etc) as well as pension stuff, but these could be worked out easily. We could either maintain separate systems, create a hybrid, or merge them. These are incidental decisions that would have to be made if we determined that the direction of the County Board was to dissolve the Road Commission Board.

Both Mary and I gave an update on the legislative action. We cannot bring the Road Commission in-house under current law, but the Legislature is moving bills to allow us to do this. At the time of the committee, the House had considered the bills on second reading and only had to finalize them with a third reading vote. They changed the bills to indicate that county boards could dissolve appointed road commissions, but elected road commissions would have to be dissolved at the ballot box. So, this won't affect our situation at all. Since then, the House has passed the bills and they are now on to the Senate for consideration. We had someone indicate that they heard from senior Senate staff that the bills will be done by the end of the year. Additionally, the Governor called for these bills and wants them.

The debate was interesting after that. There were lots of comments and questions about the details of what we would do to bring them within the county structure. Mary had answers for all of these questions. We had a long conversation about including an advisory board similar to the 911 advisory board that would deide how the money is expended. The dollars come from Public Act 51 and would be dedicated to road operations as per that law, and the advisory committee would decide what roads, equipment, etc would receive funding. It would likely include members of the service area, so probably township supervisors and other township people. They would make recommendations to the County Board that we could accept or reject and send back to them (which is how it works with 911). It would not, however, deal with internal employee issues. Those would likely go through our normal HR complaint processes and end with the County Services committee (like all other employee complaints). While I did not include this in my resolution, I am wholly supportive of this being added on the Board floor or as a separate resolution. Commissioner Victor Celentino has been as tremendous advocate for the township residents and Supervisors to have inclusion in the process and I expect him to be a leader in crafting this language.

During debate, I talked about the need to do this now because of all the issues that we have had. Things have been more politicized due to the fact that the Road Commissioners are political appointees. They do not necessarily have experience with road issues. And, of course, the biggest problem is that they are appointed for 6 years and have no responsibility to listen to the elected officials or residents or anyone. They can only be removed for malfeasance. To me, it seems that roads should be done as a department of the county just like parks and the health department and animal control and other departments. The management structure will remain intact, with the Controller/Administrator as the top staff and the Board of Commissioners the final decision makers.

Board Chair Grebner said that the road commission is dysfunctional. He said that the problems are not perceived… they are real and the system has broken down. He pushed for the advisory board and said that the county commissioners are still in charge and the final decision makers. He encouraged the adoption of the resolution.

Commissioner Celentino said that passing this resolution will clearly show our intent, and our staff can start working towards getting all the details in place. He said that in his 11 years, the Road Commission has been a roller-coaster ride; and we keep appointing new people but it still doesn't seem to work so now is the time to do this.

Commissioner Copedge said that he is optimistic that the road commission board will can work better. He said that he was opposed to passing the resolution without having discussions with the road commission. He said that we need to invite them in to talk to us. He said that he wasn't necessarily against the resolution but wanted to do his due diligence. He did eventually agree to support the resolution when it was amended (see below). I pointed out that road commissioners were invited to the Tuesday meeting but were advised by local counsel not to attend. I thought that was a mistake because we had yet to hear from them as a body, except for a letter we recently received saying that they are still planning to hire new HR and Finance directors even though the Road Commission Board may be dissolved and both HR and Finance can be done by the existent county staff.

Commissioner Dragonetti said that he was wholly supportive of the resolution and needed change on the Road Commission Board. He and Commissioner Vickers indicated their displeasure with the existing road commission and said that they think we should do this now. Commissioner Vickers asked what would change tomorrow if we do this today. I responded that we cannot take a final action today, and that none of the resolutions on the docket would produce results that quickly. And, in fact, the only resolution that could produce results quick is the one that I introduced. His resolution calling on the Road Commission Chair to resign would not do anything, and removal procedures would require us to provide notification and have the road commissioner then do a resolution and would take a long time.

Commissioners Nolan, Holman, Tsernoglou, McGrain, Schafer were also in attendance. Commissioner Nolan said she is supportive of the resolution and disappointed in the letter from the road commission about hiring. Commissioner McGrain said that he originally was skeptical because this is a lot to take on, but the controller has done her work (and has more to do) but this is the right move to take. Commissioner Schafer said he supports the resolution and the advisory board, and said that commissioners get calls now from constituents and they pass those on and get issues taken care of (brush in the road, etc).

Commissioner Holman said that a department is a good idea but wants to make sure that this is well planned out like 911 and the zoo. She actually pointed out that she had concerns with the effective date in the resolution, at which point I told her that I thought that had been removed. I had several different drafts and thought I removed the effective date in the most recent draft (previous drafts said the resolution is effective 30 days after the Governor signs the bills). The language remained in, though, so Commissioner Grebner and I drafted an amendment to remove that language. Now, the resolution says that we intend to disband the road commission board and create a Department of Transportation and Roads, and once the legislation is passed into law allowing use to do this we will pass another resolution that sets a timeline for this merger and that solves the other details that are being worked on (i.e. employee benefits and pensions and other things).

Commissioner De Leon said she has concerns about additional burdens to our staff, but is more comfortable with this than when it was first brought up. Commissioner Copedge also said at the end of the debate that removal of the 30 days provides him more comfort because he can be sure that the details are taken care of before this is finalized.

So... the resolution passed unanimously (6-0)!!! And with 5 more Commissioners at the meeting saying they will vote for it and at least one or two others telling me they will vote for it, this resolution will pass the Board meeting on the 13th. So we will take the first step. We have been told that the Legislature will pass the bills and they will be signed by the Governor by the end of the year. As soon as we have all the details worked out, we will pass the final resolution and officially bring the county roads in-house.

After we finished that resolution, there was a motion to not take up the other three resolutions (as the preferred one was passed) so they remain on the table indefinitely. They can still be taken up if the Legislature doesn't act, but we are hoping that they are not needed.

It was a long meeting, but a good one. Hopefully this will start us on the path of solving the problems at the road commission. I commend the members of the road commission board who are all trying to do what they think is best, but at this point we have not heard anything in any of our meetings about why decisions have been made in the past and what the plans are for working out the problems in the future. So, we took our own action. I guess we'll see how this continues to play out.

On a personal note, thanks to all who have wished me luck in my State Rep race and to everyone who has expressed their support. The offers to knock doors and contribute and help out have been overwhelming, and I am excited for the campaign and for the opportunity to serve Lansing and Lansing Township in the State House of Representatives!

State Rep Announcement, Road Commission, Parks Hardship Passes, Parks Free Days, Contracts

2011-11-19T20:16:00.000-08:00

First, my exciting news. After looking at the possibility for a few months, I have formally announced that I will be running for the State House of Representatives next year. With Rep. Joan Bauer unable to run again due to term limits, I will be seeking to represent most of Lansing and all of Lansing Township. You can see the announcement and other information at www.andyschor.com. The campaign has already knocked hundreds of doors and raised over $45,000, and will continue pushing forward until the August Democratic primary! This also means it is now official that this will be my last term on the County Board of Commissioners. More on that in the future.

On to county business...County Services this week continued talking about the Road Commission. I was unable to be at the committee meeting due to a death in the family and funeral being held that day. My understanding is that they discussed the various options, including my proposal to disband the Road Commission when state law allows us to do so. The committee directed our Administrator/Controller to provide a document with the pros and cons of such a move. The County Services will again take up the road commission issue on November 29th in a special meeting. My hope is for some movement to me made at that point.

They also discussed a resolution that was brought to committee from the Parks Board which would restructure the County policy on hardship admissions to the parks. Currently, if someone cannot afford to pay the car entrance fee they simply state that they need a hardship waiver and are allowed admittance for free. They fill out a form and can be mailed a free parking pass. While this is done for those that cannot afford to pay, the Parks Department is seeing a lot of abuse of this system. They presented a new system where people would fill out a form and provide proof of hardship in order to receive the yearly pass. They would also have to pay a $1 fee for the processing of the free pass to offset money spent on staff time and postage to mail the free passes. Oh, and folks not from Ingham County would no longer be eligible for the waiver. The County Services committee had lots of discussion about this proposal, and tabled it because several were uncomfortable with it.

They did pass one piece of the proposal, though, which would change the weekly free park day from Monday to Wednesday. This would save about $10,000, mostly because Mondays have a lot of holidays and people take Mondays off as part of an extended weekend. The Finance committee also debated this resolution (both the table part and the passed part), and I was there for that meeting. Commissioner Nolan commented that she does not want to see fee increases outside of the normal county budget and fee process. I agreed with that and said that we should deal with all fees at the same time. She also commented that she doesn't like the vehicle adn entrance fees for the zoo because people already pay the millage. She also said that the parks will make a lot of money off of the new tubing and snowboarding hills and shouldn't need the revenue. Commissioner Bahar-Cook agreed that non-county people should not be given a waiver, but expressed problems with the $1 fee and said that seniors should receive parks discounts. Commissoner McGrain suggested that we look at driver's licenses in order to decide who gets the waiver. This is not currently done becuase some people have addresses in Lansing and East Lansing but are not in Ingham County, and it is hard for the young people at the ticket booths to differentiate.
charging for weekdays. He also pointed out that we just started charging for weekdays, so changing from Mondays to Wednesdays should not be a big problem. The resolution passed with Commissioner Nolan voting no (because she likes having the free day on Mondays, and wants to send a message to the Parks Board to do the fees on an annual basis).

We also approved contracts for the 2012 budget. Mostly they were noncontroversial, but a few questions were raised about the appraisals for equalization, tree trimming at zoo and whether or not Lansing City Forestry can do it (which is unlikely becayuse they are overworked now), why Animal Control spay/neutering is going down $8,000 (answer - because we hired a veterinarian), and questions about the Sheriff's secondary road patrol being down 40,000 (answer - the general fund picking this up to ensure the deputy will not be laid off).

That's it for this week!

Road Commission Legal Opinions Released, Locals and Civil Rights, Domestic Partner Benefits, Zoo Director, Zoo Door Safety, Political Stuff

2011-11-10T17:46:00.001-08:00

Welcome once again to the Schor blog!

This week, I only had a full County Board of Commissioners meeting. As has happened for the last few weeks, we had public comment about the road commission. After that, we considered a few controversial resolutions.

First, we considered the resolution authorizing the release of attorney/client privileged opinions. The resolution allowed for opinions regarding electing road commissioners and complaints from road commission employees to be released. After hearing from some folks about not knowing the legal definition of malfeasance and misfeasance, I offered an amendment that added the legal opinion regarding how to remove a road commissioner to the list of opinions to be released. My amendment passed unanimously, as did the final resolution releasing all three opinions.

We also considered two resolutions dealing with state legislation. I explained these last week, so I will briefly recap. The first resolution opposed legislation that would prohibit locals from passing regulations that are stronger than the state Civil Rights Act. The moist obvious example is that some local communities pass protections for sexual orientation, which is not covered in the state Civil Rights Act. Other examples include East Lansing's regulation protecting people of non-families or Lansing's housing regulations. Commissioner Grebner explained that locals protect vulnerable individuals that are not in the state act. Commissioner Vickers said that he opposes this because he thinks that all communities should be the same. I disagreed and said that this is about differences in communities and local control. The resolution passed 14-2 (Commissioners Dougan and Vickers opposed). The second resolution called for the Governor to veto the bill eliminating domestic benefits for public employees. Several entities, including Ingham County, allow for domestic partner benefits to cover roommates and others of county employees. This is the same as many private companies. Commissioner Vickers said that there is a $600,000 price tag for the state to do this. Commissioner Tennis replied that this would be far less than the amount to cover married families, yet they are covered without complaint. I also reminded everyone that this is not just about the state, but would affect Ingham County's policy. This resolution passed 13-3 with Commissioners Vickers, Schafer, and Dougan opposing them.

We also considered a resolution which authorized a contract with Sherrie Graham to be the interim zoo director until a new director is found. She would start immediately to assist Gerry Brady, but wouldn't be paid by the county until January when Brady retires officially. Negotiations are still happening regarding pay, so that will come in a separate resolution. Commissioner Dougan was the only person to oppose this.

The last controversial resolution that we considered authorized an increase in the contract to install a new feline shift door. Apparently, the bid packet was incorrect so all that bid on this project bid on something that is more expensive than expected. The resolution approves no more than $30,000 for the construction company that won the bid. While many commissioners had problems with this, we learned that the blame goes to the architect that came up with the bid specs and not the constriction company. In fact, even with the $30,000, the winning bidder is less than the second lowest bidder. There was discussion about re-bidding this, but the doors need to be installed by December 9th when the new lions and tigers arrive at the zoo. We do not want to put zookeepers at risk while we re-bid this, so most agreed that safety is more important than re-bidding this (and likely paying more anyway). This passed 15-1 with Commissioner Dragonetti being the only opposing vote (and he said he was opposing this as a philosophical objection).

Finally, in announcements I announced that I had drafted and introduced a resolution to dissolve the Road Commission Board if the Legislature passes bills to allow us to do this. My resolution would dissolve the Board and bring the operation in-house and under the control of the County Administrator and County Commissioners. The Lansing State Journal had a good article on this. The Legislature is now discussing these bills (I believe they passed the House today) and this is now potentially an option for us. I look forward to discussing this as an option when we discuss the road commission in the County Services committee either on November 15 or 29 (a special meeting).

On a political note, congratulations to all those who were victorious on Tuesday in the local elections. And thanks to all those that ran but were not successful. Running for election is hard, and I think the Cities of Lansing and East Lansing will be well served for the next four years. Additionally, the Lansing and East Lansing School Boards should see new blood that will provide great new and fresh ideas. Now that the local elections are over, my focus will be on my county duties and my race for State Representative in 2012. I should have more on that soon. Stay tuned...

Road Commission, Hawk Island Snow Boarding Hill, Zoo Director, Civil Rights, Domestic Partner Benefits

2011-11-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

Another busy week this week. The road commission debate kicked up a notch. In County Services, we considered a resolution to remove Shirley Rodgers from the road Commission Board. There was a ton of discussion by committee members, after hearing lots of testimony from the public. Commissioner Grebner proposed an alternate resolution which stated that the Road Commission Board is dysfunctional. It said that the Road Commissioners do not trust the manager, the manager doesn't respect or take direction from the Road Commission, and the employees don't seem to trust either. The resolution attempted to wipe the slate clean by calling on all five Road Commissioners to resign so we can start over. If they did not resign, the resolution said that we would not re-appoint any of them.

I have not decided yet which way I want to go. I don't know if there is enough evidence to reach malfeasance or misfeasance to remove any of the Road Commissioners. I was asked after the meeting what I thought malfeasance was and I said I wasn't sure how to explain it. I then realized that I am not allowed to explain it because it is contained in an opinion from our attorney. This Tuesday, I am planning to make a motion to release that legal opinion so I can tell people what we believe malfeasance and misfeasance is. We are releasing two other legal opinions so I will attempt to add this one to the list.

I also firmly believe that it is time to abolish the Road Commission Board and bring the road commission in-house and make it a county department. Two other counties have done this, and Ingham needs to do it as well. The Legislature is working on bills that will allow for this, and I am hopeful that they will pass soon. I plan to introduce a resolution that will accomplish this once it the legislation passed and signed into law.

The road commission resolution was tabled until the next county services meeting. While it is my preference to have a special committee set up to explore the allegations, my understanding is that County Services will continue to work on this and has scheduled a special meeting on November 29th at 6 pm for this purpose.

In other news, we passed a resolution allowing for scope changes to the Hawk Island Snow Boarding Hill project to allow for the addition of obstacles, rails and snow sculpted features and potentially a separate warming facility. These items would put the Hawk Island Boarding Hill on Michigan’s map as a destination. The Friends of Ingham County Parks, a non-profit 501c3 organization, will enter into an agreement with Urban Snowparks LLC to act as the fiduciary in regard to fundraising for any and all additions to the current project scope. Any of these additions will not cost the county a dime. They will be paid for by Urban Snowparks, who will do the fundraising and will keep a small percentage (somewhere around 17%) of the dollars as a fee. It is understood by all parties involved that no changes of a permanent nature will be undertaken until all funding is secured and notification has been provided to the Ingham County Parks and Recreation Commission. Additionally, it is understood that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners will not approve further funding for the construction of the Snow Board Hill. We also have no liability in this process. The resolution passed 5-1. Commissioner Vickers voted no because he said he doesn’t know how this fundraising group are presenting themselves to the public.

We also appointed Sherrie Graham as interim zoo director. We needed to do this to ensure we have a zoo director for re-accreditation. Potter Park Zoo society revenue stream increased 20% with Sherrie as leader, and she can do the business stuff for the zoo until a final decision has been made for a permanent zoo director. The Zoo Society is covering Sherrie’s expense until the current Zoo Director retires on Jan 18th. We talked about adding a salary figure into the resolution in both County Services and Finance committees, but are still negotiating that number.

Finally, we passed resolutions opposing two bills in the Legislature. We opposed HB 5039, which says that local units of government can't protect any citizens that aren't protected by the state Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act. One example of local protections is to prevent those discriminated against for sexual orientation. There are other examples of local protections, though...including East Lansing protecting students. I pointed out that this bill is anti-local control. The resolution passed 4-2, with Commissioners Vickers and Dragonetti voting against it.

We also voted to oppose HB 4770 and 4771. These bills prevent local units of government from providing domestic partner benefits for people that live with county employees. This passed on a 5-1 vote, with Commissioner Vickers opposing it.

This week, we will have the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. It is also Veterans Day on Friday, and I wish to thank all those that have served in the military and defended our country. You have kept us safe and free, and I thank you!

Until next week...

Andy

Road Commission Resolution Referred to Committee, Health Director Appointed, Medical Officer Re-Created, Dentists Hired

2011-10-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

To begin my blog this week, I would like to welcome a variety of new readers of my blog. We once again heard from those unhappy with the Road Commission Board, and this time my blog was read during public comment. As the only person that writes a weekly blog on the County Board, I am happy that people are reading it!

As assumed in my blog last week, we again had a personal resolution introduced calling for Road Commissioner Shirley Rodgers to resign. Before I get into that, I would like to address some confusion with what I have written in my blog.

The Road Commission and its employees are not a “Democrat or Republican” issue. I never meant to insinuate that they are. The Ingham County Road Commission employees do a great job getting the roads fixed and cleared, and I am proud of the work they do. But it is a fact that the late resolutions were introduced by the four Republicans on the County Board. In committee last week and on the Board floor, the late and personal resolutions were introduce by Commissioners Dragonetti,Vickers, Schafer, and Dougan. As far as I know, no Democrats were even talked to about these resolutions before they were introduced. So…it is true that the Republicans introducved these resolutions. As for the motivations of the public that show up, I take them at their word that they are not there because someone asked them to be. It is odd, though, that we had no public coming to committee about the Road Commission problems until the late resolution (introduced by the four Republicans) was sprung on us without any notice. But whatever.

At the Board meeting, we heard significant public testimony from several Road Commission employees and from friends and family of Mr. Jim Benjamin, who was fired from the Road Commission. We then had the resolution calling for Shirley Rodgers to resign or face removal proceedings moved for immediate consideration. Board Chair Grebner explained the Board policy that all personal and late resolutions are automatically referred to committee unless they have already been considered at committee or the Board votes to overrule the rules on a 2/3 vote. This is to ensure that the public has the appropriate notice of the resolution because it is on the official agenda, ensure that the attorney can review it and comment on the legality, and to ensure that committee work (language details) can be done in committee. The motion was made to have the resolution not be referred to committee, but it was defeated 5-11. 4 Republicans and 1 Democrat voted to keep the resolution on the Board floor. Personally, I voted against it because I think that this needs to be worked on in committee. I read the resolution. It said a lot of bad things about Shirley Rodgers, but included not one thing that she did wrong. I would like for some of those things to be included so we can at least have the allegations written down before, and any accompanying proof given to us, before considering something like this on the Board floor. I also am not comfortable calling for a resignation. That does nothing and is a waste of everyone’s time. If there is proof of malfeasance or misfeasance of any Road Commissioner, I am willing to consider that. This is the role of the County Commission. Under state law, we cannot overrule decisions made by the Road Commission nor can we reinstate any employees such as Mr. Benjamin. We can take written proof given to us and decide if a Road Commissioner has committed malfeasance or misfeasance in office as according to the conditions in the law and case law.

The resolution was referred to County Services, where it is on the agenda for Tuesday. So I will report more on this next week. Personally, I look forward to actually seeing the evidence that is out there in support of malfeasance. Instead of hearing about police reports and secret investigations, I hope that information is given to us proving these and all other accusations so we can find finality on this resolution. Again, we can’t re-hire Mr. Benjamin. He was terminated with a majority vote by the Road Commission (EDITORS'S NOTE...In the original blog posting, I said that it was ironic that Shirley Rodgers voted against it. That was incorrect and was brought to my attention by a member of the public. Milton Scales voted against it and the other 4 Commissioners voted for it. I confused this vote with another voted taken by the by the road commission. My apologies) and we have no say over their management employees. I have no opinion on whether he should or should not have been terminated. I don’t know him and have never met him. I don’t know if he is a good or bad manager . He clearly has many supporters. He also has some detractors. He has filed a complaint and we will look at it and deem if county policies were violated or not and act accordingly.

In other business, we bid farewell to our Health Director, Dean Sienko. He has been an incredible Health Director for Ingham County, and is a state and national leader. We also welcomed Dr. Renee Canady, who will be our new Health Department Director. Dr. Sienko had been serving as the Health Officer/Medical Director/Medical Examiner in his role as Director. We recently discovered that we re-created the Health Officer position, as needed, and appointed Dr. Canady to that position. We neglected, though, to re-establish an independent Medical Director position. This needs to be done immediately as we need to have one as soon as Dr. Sienko is retired. We had a late resolution to re-establish this position. Again, because it is a late resolution, we needed a 2/3 vote to consider it that night. Commissioners Vickers and Dragonetti voted against consideration and passage of this resolution because they were upset that this was considered immediately but the Road Commission resolution was not. It did pass, though, on a bi-partisan 14-2 vote (with bi-partisan support).

The only other resolution that was controversial on the agenda was a resolution to authorize dental services contracts with our licensed dentists. Ingham County’s Community Health Center Network (CHCN) operates two dental health centers and uses a mix of employed and contracted dentists to provide services. The Health Department’s 2012 Budget includes $159,120 to pay for contractual dentists. This resolution approved the contracts through the end of 2012. Commissioner Vickers opposed this as well and said that the pay for the dentists is too much compared to the amount that we pay our other employees. While I understand that we are paying our dentists higher than other employees, we also are well aware that dentists are very hard to hire. We have had dentist shortages in the recent years because we can't pay them enough. The result is reduced service to those in Ingham County that have severe dental needs. We are still paying lower than private dentists receive but are at least able to actually hire dentists and provide the service to those who desperately need it in Ingham County. The resolution passed 14-2 (again with bi-partisan support).

Well, that's about it. I hope you are having a great weekend and I will report back again at the end of the week!

Airport Update, Road Commission, Health Care Costs, Zoo Entrance Fees Increased, Health and Fair Directors selected, Office,Congrats Bob Trezise!

2011-10-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

This week was a busy week, as it always is when we have multiple committees meeting.

The most significant, and yet least contentious, thing that we did this week was to pass the 2012 Spending Resolution. This implements our budget for next year. Yay! That's just about done!

In County Services, hear an update from the Capitol Area Airport Authority Executive Director. It was a good presentation. He pointed out many things, including the fact that the airport has a return on investment of $178 for each tax dollar invested. This is a stat used to justify the millage, and is convincing. It is worth noting, though, that the Airport (located in Clinton County) is wholly supported publicly through a millage that Ingham County and City of Lansing residents pay even though it provides benefit for Ingham, Eaton, and Clinton counties. I asked what the return on investment would be if Eaton and Clinton and county resident contributed, and the answer was that there would be about $375 in return on investment per dollar invested!. Other highlights were the great work the Authority is doing attracting airlines and cargo, that we have the only Foreign Trade Zone outside of Chicago and Detroit in the midwest, and that the that Port Lansing Foreigh Trade Zone takes in 8 counties. With the approval of a tax sharing agreement (called a 425 agreement) between Lansing and DeWitt Twp, they are hoping to create a Next Michigan District that will provide incentives to businesses to locate on Airport land and create more revenues for the local units of government.

After hearing this presentation, Commissioners Vickers and Dragonetti attempted to add a resolution to the agenda to call for the resignation of Ingham County Road Commissioner Shirley Rodgers. As background, resolutions are usually presented for the agenda of a committee about a week in advance and placed on that agenda. Because the resolution was introduced at the last minute, I voted against suspending the rules to add it to the agenda. I had not even read it when it came up for a vote about adding it to the agenda. After hearing public comment for the last month, this was not something that needed to be done at the last minute. As such, I voted against this and suggested that this be done through the normal process. The resolution failed 2-4. I expect to see it again introduced as a late item on the Board floor on Tuesday and, if history repeats itself, I expect that the four Republicans will contact the media and tell residents to come because the Road Commisison will be on the agenda. Of course, that is not true and it will simply be the Republicans manipulating the public just to have them be let down...but that seems to be par for the course. They are trying to create anger instead of trying to go through the actual process and govern.

Health care costs are always a concern to any local government. In Ingham County, we receive recommendations from a coalition of employers and employees. This week in Finance and County Services, we received the Health Care recommendations for the year. We were recently notified by PHP that our 2012 health insurance premiums would need to be modified to include the 1% state claims tax that was recently passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
Half this cost was borne by the employees and half by the County. Increase in our employee’s contribution levels, though, resulted in a change to the benefits as required under the Federal Health Reform Act. The Act requires that all preventive medical services be provided with no co-pays. We believed our plan was under a grandfather provision which allowed us to delay implementation of these provisions until 2014. This is no longer true, though, because of the increase. As such, we had another small increase (.09%) in our premium rates for 2012. Since this amount is due to the employee’s contribution increase, the County is agreeing to absorb this
portion of the rate increase. Even with both of these changes, we are still in compliance with State requirement that employees must pay at least 80% of their health care costs (the so-called 80/20 law). Both the County and the unions supported this plan for health care for 2012.

Finally, we had a recommendation from the Potter Park Zoo Committee and the Parks Board to increase entrance fees for the zoo. The Potter Park Zoo staff researched zoo admission fees, using other zoos for comparison purposes, and they believe that the fee changes will continue to put the Potter Park Zoo in a favorable position relative to Detroit Zoo, Binder Park Zoo, and John Ball Zoo entry fees. They indicated that the need the additional $90,000 in funding to provide adequate funding for the Potter Park Zoo operations in order to offset rising costs and decreased millage amounts being collected, and to ensure AZA certification.

The resolution presented in County Services included a $2 proposed increase in the Resident Adult (from $4 to $6) and Non-Resident Adult (from $10 to $12) fees, and an increase in Children fees from $2 to $3 in addition to reducing the age from3-16 to 3-12 years of age. I argued against the fee increases. I said that residents are already paying $2.8 million, in additon to paying the parking fees and the entrance fees. I am opposed to increasing the fees again, especially after the millage was just renewed and the parking just went up for daily and yearly passed. In County Services, this opposition was agreed to by all (Commissioner Vickers said he agreed with me and we all had a good laugh!). The resolution failed 0-6.

When the resolution came up in Finance, Commissioner Bahar-Cook argued stongly for the fee increase. She said that the voters have passed two millages and want a strong zoo. She also said that if AZA funding is jeopardized, then the Zoo will be nothing more than a petting zoo and all will be for naught. Commissioner McGrain proposed an amendment that changed the fees around a bit. His amendment changed the Resident Adult fees to only going up $1 (from $4 to $5), had the non-Resident Adult fees going up $4 more (from $10 to $14), and left the Children where there are today with the fee and age staying at $2 for children 3-16 years of age. This amendment passed unanimously. It would generate the same amount as the originally proposed fees and, for those paying the millage, would only have Resident adults paying $1 more than now. With the new language, the fee increase resolution passed on a 4-2 vote. I continued to oppose it because I still think that we shouldn't be raising the fees again.

Finally, we accepted the Health Officer Selection Committee’s recommendation and passed a resolution appointing Renee Canady to the permanent full-time position of Ingham County Health Officer. We also made an offer to a person for the job of the Fair Manager.

And one last thing to mention...I wish to offer congratulations to Bob Trezise, new incoming President of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP). Bob has done an excellent job at the Lansing Economic Development Corporation and will be missed by Lansing residents, but he is exactly what the region needs for LEAP to succeed and bring us forward. CONGRATS, BOB! We are all counting on you! (no pressure, though)

Whew...I'm done! Till next week...

Low-Income Tax Preparation Dollars, 211 Tax Foreclosure Funds, Building 21, MPSC

2011-10-12T08:55:00.000-07:00

This week the Board of Commissioners was relatively tame.

We once again had several people speak to us about the Road Commission. This followed a small rally that was held in front of the courthouse in Mason before the meeting. Once again, many allegations were made about many people. I won’t repeat them here.

After that, we considered two resolutions that had slightly divided votes. The first resolution was to provide funding for tax preparation for low-income people. This resolution was defeated in County Services committee, so I had to move it as the Finance Committee Chair. My understanding was that in committee, the two Republicans complained that we were giving money to a tri-county effort (Ingham, Eaton, and Clinton) and that Ingham County dollars would be used for residents of other counties. I did some investigating about this and found that the other two counties had, in fact, refused to contribute. As such, when I moved this on the Board floor I also included an amendment that required Ingham County dollars to be used for Ingham County residents only. I am very much in favor of regionalism, but not when others refuse to take part as well. My hope is that all three counties will contribute to this and other efforts and the money can be pooled for the benefit of all, but the other counties don’t seem to see it that way and I refuse to subsidize them with Ingham County taxpayer dollars. The amendment passed unanimously, and was supported by the County Treasurer (who brought the resolution to us in the first place). Unfortunately, those two Republicans (Vickers and Dragonetti) still voted against the resolution without stating any reason. They were both silent in debate. The resolution passed 13-2 (12 Dems and 1 Republican in favor, 2 Republicans opposed). I honestly have no idea why either of those gentleman would vote against dollars for assistance in tax preparation for low-income individuals!

The second semi-controversial resolution we considered was to give funding to the 211 system run by the United Way for tax foreclosure prevention efforts. For background, any citizen in Ingham County (and several other counties) can dial 2-1-1 on their phone and will reach an operator who they can ask about services available. 2-1-1 is the health and human services equivalent to 9-1-1. This is a centralized way to ensure that residents know what services are available to them in the county and region. This is run by the United Way, and Ingham County has supported this for many years as a way to get information to citizens who need help with things like foreclosure, how to get flu shots and how to pay for it, evacuation routines, information for laid off workers, disease epidemic information, crime victims, travelers aid, and many other health and human service options. To pay for this, public funds match local non-profit dollars. The Ingham County Board of Commissioners was asked for $5,000 to assist inm the tax foreclosure prevention efforts. Again, this passed on a 13-2 vote, with the same two Republicans voting against it. In this case, Commissioner Vickers commented that he didn’t know if the regular funding that the county provides is creating the desired results, and did not want to give more funding. While I appreciate that he at least explained his opposition, I disagree with it. The 2-1-1 is very beneficial to residents, and we can provide services to our constituents by simply contributing to a regional fund that coordinates several counties and provides the information. Regionalism and efficiency at its best. As such, I was happy to move the resolution and vote for it.

I don't usually do this, but I wanted to alert everyone to a great project being put in place in the Lansing/Holt area. As everyone remembers, last year three teens died in a very tragic car accident after one of the teens was drinking at a party. The mother of one of the teens that died (but was not driving) is a good friend of mine, and alerted me that several influential people in the community have created a program save young lives by stopping underage drinking . The program is called "Building 21" which is a creative and positive place for teens to go instead of partying. Building 21 is having their open house to the community on Thursday Oct. 20th at 6:30pm. It is located at 2289 Cedar St. in Holt (behind the Rite Aid I believe). I encourage all that can to attend and to get the word out. This is a great resource for the community, and is something positive that has come out of such a tragedy.

Also, as a County Commissioner I was alerted that the Michigan Public Service Commission is holding a Consumer Information and Assistance Forum on October 27th at 6 pm at the Cristo Rey Community Center and will give citizens the opportunity to discuss utility-related questions and concerns with MPSC staff. Attendees will also be able to work with local utility providers as well as assistance organizations to investigate service issues and explore energy assistance programs. You can learn about electric and natural gas rates, and discuss telephone service updates. If you have any questions, contact Joel Roseberry at 517-373-1540.

Next week will be a busy one, so stay tuned!

Special Guest Blogger: Rep Barb Byrum Discussing Proposed Auto No-Fault Changes in the State House

2011-10-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I have invited another guest blogger to share information with you. State Representative Barb Byrum is in her third term in the Michigan House. She serves south Lansing, Delhi Township, and much of the rural area of Ingham County. She is a tremendous advocate for us in Ingham County, and is a good friend. I invited her to discuss whatever she wants, and she has chosen to focus on one of the biggest recent issues being considered in the State Legislature. Thanks to Rep. Byrum for contributing this to the the Schor Blog readers!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following is an editorial written by State Representative Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga), Chair of the House Committee on Insurance. If you have questions about this commentary, please contact Byrum's office by calling (517) 373-0587.

The Michigan House Committee on Insurance has begun to hear testimony on House Bill 4936, which would drastically change Michigan's nearly 40 year-old Auto No-Fault statute and will result in significant limitations on the medical expense coverages and legal rights of auto accident victims in Michigan. This legislation eliminates the current lifetime Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage for reasonably necessary products, services, and accommodations. No one will have the option to buy this coverage any longer. Rather, coverage for such expenses will only be available in incremental coverage levels. This would put Michigan consumers at the risk of exhausting their life-time limit of health care, forcing them to either sue, flooding our court systems, or turn to Medicaid, increasing taxpayer expense.

Auto insurers claim that consumers will be given more choices, resulting in lower premiums. But those against the reform, as I am, know this effort will do little to decrease insurance rates and there is no guarantee that rates will go down; only a guarantee that coverage will decrease. Persons who suffer catastrophic injury and who did not buy enough PIP coverage to cover the expense, will, in many cases, not receive the medical care, treatment, and rehabilitation they require in order to attain the highest level of recovery. The loss of no-fault auto insurance funding for these expenses will mean a massive cost shift to Medicaid and Medicare, thus increasing the State and Federal tax burden for Michigan citizens.

Not only does this legislation hurt Michigan taxpayers, it will likely cost our state jobs as well. As reported in a recent study released by the Anderson Economic Group, the proposed policy change could result in thousands of lost jobs (predominately in the medical fields) and millions in lost earnings, leaving approximately 700 people a year with severe injuries without the funds for proper treatment. This puts thousands of Michigan drivers and jobs at risk! When you stop and do the math, the proposed legislation is bad for taxpayers, bad for drivers and bad for Michigan!

Road Commission Public Comment, Ingham Maintaining Lansing Parks

2011-09-29T16:04:00.001-07:00

This the Board of Commissioners meeting was mostly about an item that was not on the agenda!

We spent an hour and a half hearing from folks about the road commission. About 70 people came to the Board meeting to complain about the Road Commission members and to support certain senior members of the staff. We clearly heard one side of the story, and the large number of people was set up by someone. At the end of the meeting, during Commissioner announcements, the issue came up again when a few Commissioners commented on their opinions.

I won’t go into the comments because there were a lot of accusations and innuendo made that don’t really need repeating. The one thing I do want to repeat are the comments that were made by Commissioner Carol Koenig. She said what I was thinking, which is that the County Board of Commissioners has ABSOLUTELY NO POWER in regards to the inner workings of the Road Commission. We appoint the Road Commissioners, and we don’t have appointments up again until the end of next year. We can also remove a road commissioner if there is malfeasance in office. If someone commits a crime or something egregious, we could take action to remove a commissioner. To date, no one has brought us any evidence of malfeasance. As such, under state law, there is nothing that we can do. Complaints can and should be made to the Road Commission members, who are the ones that govern the Road Commission operations. If people want a change in Road Commission members, they can make that request when Road Commission appointments are again considered next year. I honestly feel that all these 70 or so people were tricked a bit because they were told that they should come to the Board of Commissioners to make their comments. Unless it was a media ploy…which I guess is possible.

The actual Board meeting lasted about 20 minutes. There was one resolution that had dissenting votes – the resolution amending the agreement between Ingham County and the City of Lansing for the County to maintain certain City parks (and be compensated by the City). The vote was 12-3, with 3 of the Republicans opposing the resolution (and the 4^th being absent). There was no explanation given for the opposition votes. My only assumption, based on what was said in committee, is that the Republicans don’t want the County to assist the City of Lansing even though the County is being fully compensated for all its expenses. This was actually said in committee, when one of the Repubvlican Commissioners said that after the zoo and now this, he didn’t want to keep helping the City of Lansing. That is tremendously disappoinbting to me. This resolution is about regionalism and government efficiency, and the Republicans voted against it because they don’t want to help Lansing. They donb’t want to help the central city of the region, which is nothing but short-sighted. I would have voted for this resolution had it been for Lansing, East Lansing, Leslie or Mason. If we can help any of our local governments and get paid fully for our expenses, then that is just good government. I am disappointed that the Repiublicans didn’t explain themselves at the Board and that they have purposely voted against the resolution because it assists the City of Lansing. Very upsetting.

Well, that’s it for me. I hope everyone has a great week and weekend. And Happy New Year to those of the Jewish faith!

Housing Commission, Ingham County Takes Over Lansing Parks, CATA Special Millage, Campaign Update

2011-09-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

This week I had both County Services and Finance committees. In both committees, we spent significant time talking about the Ingham County Housing Commission. For the first time, they were short for a year and requested general fund dollars ($40,000) to backfill the deficit. I had concerns about this, especially because the Housing Commission does projects in Grand Ledge and Eaton Rapids (both outside the county). We had a good discussion. The Director of the Housing Commission explained that in other counties, the county government puts in money to their Housing Commision in addition to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money that they receive from the Michigan State Housing and Development Authority (MSHDA). Apparently, Ingham County is one of the few Housing Commissions that is able to self-fund their staff – one full-time person and a half-time person. We are able to do this because we charge an administrative fee for all projects. The Housing Commisison expected to once again make enough through administrative fees, but had a last minute bank loan fall through for a housing project that they were assisting (due to an accident that happened to the individual that applied) and we were unable to recover the administrative fee for that project. They also explained that the projects in Grand Ledge and Eaton Rapids help to ensure that county general funds are not needed. If they don’t do those projects, the county would have to put in money. That explanation satisfied us, along with the commitment from the Housing Commission that they are wodking on a plan to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. Commissioner Grebner also suggested that they build contingencies into their budget. The resolution passed County Services and Finance unanimously.

We also passed several Parks resolutions. One resolution finalizes the deal between the City of Lansing and Ingham County for the county to take over mowing and plowing a series of city parks (as previously reported). We added Reola, Kimberly and Sunset parks to the list we will maintain, and removed Wentworth Park, the Gardens at Cooley and Parcel B from the list. The final number of parks is the same, and it will still be $236,000 that the City will pay the County for the maintenance. The contract will go from October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2011 and can be renewed yearly with new compensation amounts. We also created rental fees for the disc golf at Burchfield Park ($1 rental). Now residents can play horseshoes, volleyball, pedal boats, and disc golf in the summer. We also created discounted fees (half) for service dogs at the Soldan Dog Park at Hawk Island.

Finally, we allocated the dollars to CATA from the special transportation millage. The County Board of Commissioners controls the allocation and distribution of the funds for CATA. The Ingham County Special Transportation Millage was reauthorized at 48/100 (.48) of one mill, $.48 per thousand dollars of state taxable valuation for a period of five years (2011-2015) in the August 3, 2010 election. Under the agreement, CATA will continue to utilize special transportation millage funds to operate service for persons with disabilities, known as CATA Spec-Tran. It will also provide CATA Rural Services (CRS), providing a minimum of 79 hours per day of service to the residents of Ingham County who reside outside of the boundaries of the urbanized area. A maximum of $2,590,451 will be used to pay the actual expenses of operating, administrating and marketing Spec-Tran. A maximum of $625,000 of the funds will be used to pay for the actual expenses of operating, administering and marketing CATA Rural Services. The amount of $108,436 will be retained by the County for the operation of a vehicle used to transport area veterans to VA Hospitals in the region in the County’s 2012 Fiscal Year.

On the Andy Schor for State Representative campaign trail, we are now over 600 doors knocked, several neighborhood associations attended where I have spoken with residents, and have raised over $40,000. I will be holding a fundraiser on Monday in Oak Park. If you are in the area, I hope you will be able to attend. You can see all the details, and sign up to contribute or volunteer, at www.andyschor.com!

2012 County Budget Passes Finance Committee

2011-09-16T18:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! Yes, I am writing this blog on a Friday night (which is a little sad)…but I am watching college football at the same time!

This week was a good one. We took an important step in finalizing the Ingham County budget for 2012. The Finance committee, which I Chair, received the budget recommendations from the four liaison committees (Human Services, County Services, Judiciary, Law Enforcement) and reviewed the budget in its entirety. We passed the Human Services, Judiciary, and Law Enforcement budgets on consent. Commissioner Bahar-Cook asked for the County Services budget to be reviewed separately.

Similar to what was reported last week, we had a conversation about the role of the Parks Director in relation to the zoo. Commissioner Bahar-Cook raised the issue that the zoo board was unhappy with 40% of the Director’s salary coming from the Zoo millage. The director pointed out that he has been spending more than 40% of his time on zoo things. There was a conversation about the time commitment moving forward, as we will have a new executive director and another staffer at the zoo. These two positions would do many of the things that the director is doing now during the 2012 year. The director pointed out, though, that the zoo will face AZA certification next year and that he will be doing a lot of work on that. The result was that we directed the Controller and county staff to evaluate the hours spent by the director on zoo activities throughout the year. This way, we will have a good accounting as we go into the budget next year. With that amendment, the County Services budget also passed unanimously.

After these were done, we moved on to the Strategic Planning Initiative funds (also called the z-list, which I have explained in the last two blogs). We had $255,000 in requests for $300,000, so all positions were funded. We were able to backfill a sheriff’s Metro Squad position, which currently has a grant that will end in October and will need $19,000 to get the position funded through the end of the year. We were also able to provide a detective, and a law enforcement deputy. The Sheriff indicated that these will be used for gang-related activity investigations, and to ensure that deputies doing emergency response will not have to respond alone.

The UAW again testified that they appreciated the openness of the County Controller and Budget Director, but also said they are disappointed with the 13 open positions eliminated. They said that these positions are all UAW employees and that other UAW employees will now have to do extra work. The Controller responded that over the last few years, there have been 106 positions eliminated and 46 of those are UAW. So the eliminations have been spread out over a series of employees. I can sympathize with the UAW, but it was much better to have openings eliminated than to layoff people.

At the end of the process, I thanked our staff for all their hard work, and for helping to solve a $5.5 million budget deficit without any layoffs. Commission Chairman Mark Grebner pointed out that we used funds from a few accounts which had reserves. We drew down about $1 million from various reserve accounts (capital improvements, etc) and that these reserves were there for just such a budget problem. We are all hopeful that property values will go back up and that we won’t have to do this again, but that we can take from reserves for another few years if needed.

All-in-all the process went very smoothly and just about everyone was happy. I am excited that one of the smoothest budget hearings happened under my watch, and I look forward to getting the 2012 budget passed on the Board floor!

Budget Update: Human Services, Law Enforcement, Judiciary Committees

2011-09-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day and enjoyed the longweekend.

Last week, I reported on the initial budget proposal. I alsoreported what happened in the County Services committee, on which I serve. I thought that this week, I would report onthe other three liaison committees and their budget hearings. Or, moreappropriately, I thought I would ask the Chairs of those committees to report(as I wasn’t there!).

Commissioner Todd Tennis, Chair of the Human ServicesCommittee, reports the following:

At the Human Services Budget hearing, we reviewed theController’s recommended budgets for the Health Department, Department of HumanServices, Cooperative Extension, Mid-South Substance Abuse, the Ingham MedicalCare Facility, Legal Aid, and Veteran’s Affairs. Although cuts were madeto each area, department heads hope to continue providing qualityservices. Of course, by eliminating 13 full-time positions from thesevarious agencies, maintaining good service while not overburdening county employeeswill be a tough balancing act.

The committee also discussed how best to perform theresponsibility of County Medical Examiner. Currently, autopsies are beingperformed by Sparrow Hospital with Dr. Dean Sienko filling the role of CountyMedical Examiner (a role he has filled for many years). With his imminentdeparture, the Human Services Committee will be taking another look at how bestto complete the tasks of Medical Examiner and how to full Dr. Sienko’s verylarge shoes.

Commissioner Victor Celentino, Chair of the Law EnforcementCommittee, reports the following:

The Law EnforcementCommittee met on Thursday, September 1, 2010 at 5:30pm. The followingdepartments were satisfied with the controller's recommended budget as itrelates to their respective departments: Animal Conrtrol, ProsecutingAttorney, Tri-County Metro Narcotics Squad, Office of Homeland Security &Emergency Management, Emergency Telephone-911 millage, and CommunityCorrections.

The Sheriff requested$19,210.00 be put on the Z-list (officially called the Strategic InitiativesList, which contains $300,000 for priority initiatives) to replace a Deputy positionwhich is funded through a Michigan State Police three year grant. Thegrant is set to expire on September 30, 2012, and this Z-list money willcontinue the position through the 2012 calendar year. It is the Sheriff'sintention to request this position in his 2012 budget. Commissioner Randy Schaferthen motioned (which was approved) restoration of the positions by addingthem to the Z-list: $100,000 for a Detective and $90,000 for an additionalDeputy. The committee approved the following motion when ranking theZ-list requests:

1. $19,210.00 request to restore the grant funding Deputy position.

2. $100,000.00 to restore the Detective position.

3. $90,000.00 request to restore a Deputy position.

The committee'srecommendations were forwarded to the September 14th Finance Committee meeting.

Commissioner Rebecca BaharCook, Chair of the Judiciary Committee, reports the following:

My fellow Commissioners and I have set the following priorities regarding Ingham County's Judiciary to help us guide the development of the 2012 Budget:
• Provide appropriate sanctions for adult offenders
• Provide appropriate treatment and sanctions for at risk juveniles
• Assuring Judicial Processing

Due to the loss of tax revenue cause by the housing crisis, the courts initially requested more money than was available in the county’s General Fund. Members of the courts, after reviewing the Controller’s budget agreed to most of the cuts recommended. The only additional request was from the Circuit Court asking for an additional $50,000 for image scanning of various court files. By allowing this technological update, records can be pulled quickly, allowing the court employees to acquire requested information much more quickly. Members of the Judiciary Committee agreed to put this item on the Z-list for further consideration by the Finance Committee.

Commissioners feel that we are able to maintain the priorities listed above with the approved budget, despite additional cuts to the county’s budget.

I’d like this opportunity to thank the Ingham County Controllers office, our Judges in District, Circuit and Probate Court and court administrative staff for their hard work on helping develop the newly approved 2012 Proposed Budget for Ingham County’s Judiciary Committee. Now, on to the Finance Committee . . .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These committees, alongwith the County Services committee (chaired by Commissioner Deb DeLeon), havefinalized their individual budgets. The Finance Committee will meet onWednesday and will consider these four budgets together as one and make anynecessary changes. Finance will also consider the requests on the StrategicInitiatives List (called the Z-List) and rank them in the appropriate order.The requests this year are less than the $300,000 budgeted, so it would seemthat we will be ableto fund all the necessities…but there are always somesurprises. Check in next week to see theresult!

Thanks to Commissioners Celentino, Tennis, and Bahar-Cook for pitching in to help with the blog this week and update readers on these committees!

Fundraiser Thanks, County Services Budget Meeting, 2012 Budget Overview

2011-08-31T18:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all those that contributed and/or came to my fundraiser for State Representative at Commissioner Penelope Tsernoglou and Steve Ross’ house. We had a great turnout, hit our mark for fundraising, and are close to the goal set for the year! That, combined with the growing list of endorsements and the hundreds of doors already knocked and neighborhood meetings and events attended have given the campaign great momentum!

This week, the Ingham County Commission started our budget hearings. Each liaison committee goes through the recommendations of the County Controller with the Department heads. We have four liaison committees – Human Services, County Services, Law Enforcement, and Judiciary. We also have the Finance Committee, which reviews the proposals in full when the liaison committees are through and puts the budget together before consideration on the Board floor. I serve on the County Services committee and can recount that committee. My other committee is the Finance Committee, which I Chair. Finance will consider the budget in a few weeks.

The County Services committee was relatively easy, all things considered. Not one Department head complained about their budget allotment. I think that is the first time I have seen that in my 9 years on the Board! There were also no requests for funding from our Strategic Planning Fund, also called the Z-List (about $300,000 set aside in the budget for priority cuts to be restored). We had a discussion with the Drain Commissioner about some drains in Leslie and Onondaga and their assessments as well as about rain capacity in the drains and how they were overburdened by the immense amount of rainfall a few weeks ago. In essence, there is a drain that dates back to the WPA days that is not maintained by anyone, and it flooded. That caused about $300,000 worth of damage. The Drain Commissioner is going through the motions now to take over that drain at the request of the residents and is working with them on an assessment. We also discussed the Parks budget with the Parks Director. There are some complaints about the allocation of resources in the budget towards the zoo and that will likely come out in the Finance committee. We also heard public comment from the UAW about the proposed elimination of 13 vacant positions in the county budget (see below). They correctly pointed out that these eliminations will lead to others doing that work and being overburdened. I hope that we will be able to do something about that through the process.

Here is a preview of the 2012 Ingham County Controller Recommended Budget:

The budget is focused on the 2012 budget priorities and the long-term strategic planning objectives established by the Board of Commissioners. This budget would continue to assure accessible health care, support for public safety, assure judicial processing, encourage the use of appropriate sanctions for adult offenders, provide appropriate treatment and sanctions for at-risk juveniles, promote recreational opportunities, and foster economic well being.

The total recommended budget is $193.8 million, a $1.36 million or .71% increase from the 2011 adopted budget, but is artificially inflated because 2012 represents the first year the Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund (DTRF) is included as a part of the overall budget ($4.5 million increase). But for the inclusion of the DTRF, the overall budget would have decreased by $3 million or 1.5 %. The general fund budget is recommended at $71.5 million, a $2.35 million or 3.2% reduction from the 2011 adopted budget. 2012 will represent the fourth year in a row that the general fund budget has declined. The total property tax levy supporting the recommended budget will be 9.5463 mills. The proposed levies for County operations, 911, juvenile justice, Capital Regional Airport Authority, Potter Park Zoo, indigent veterans support, and Farmland and Open Space remain unchanged. The special transportation millage is increased slightly from a total of .4768 mills to .48 mills, due to the 2010 voter approved renewal which goes into effect for the 2012 budget year.

The single largest contributor to the County’s multi-year budget shortfalls is the decline in property tax values. Property tax revenues have traditionally accounted for approximately 60% of the overall general fund revenues. Property values declined for the third year in a row, and will likely continue to decline through fiscal years 2014. The recommended budget assumes that the property tax levy for county general operations will remain at 6.3512 mills. These operating levies will generate $41.34 million, a decline of $1.5 million or 3.5 percent, from the 2011 adopted budget.

In July, the Controller’s Office estimated the general fund shortfall for 2012 at $5.3 million. The shortfall is the difference between projected revenues and what it would cost to fund services at current year levels. Overall revenues were estimated to be $2.8 million below the 2011 amended budget. This includes a decrease of $1.5 million in property tax revenues, a $1.5 million reduction in state revenue sharing, and a $100,000 decline in department generated revenues. Overall expenditures were estimated to increase by $2.3 million in order to cover the cost of current services.

The general fund budget was balanced with a mix of targeted reductions and a $1 million increase in the use of unreserved fund balance. Please note that the solutions do not include the layoff of any county employee.

The solutions include but are not limited to the following:

• Increase in the use of unreserved general fund balance from $1 to $2 million
• Continue the hiring freeze and 8 week hiring delay - $435,000
• Assume a 1% savings associated with employee bargaining concessions - $480,000 general fund and $800,000 overall savings
• Elimination of 13 Vacant FTEs - $521,000
• Re-project Employee Health Insurance Costs - $232,000
• Liability Insurance Decrease in Premiums and Rebate - $208,000
• A $1.2 million reduction in the Health Department’s general fund appropriation
- Attrition savings - $400,000
- Increase Medicaid and Health Plan Management Revenue - $450,000
- Jail medical savings - $100,000
- Other - $245,000
• A reduction in the Parks general fund appropriation - $183,000
• Child Care Fund - Juvenile Delinquency Private Placement savings - $315,000
• Child Care Fund - Foster Care Private Placement savings - $210,000
• A reduction in controllable expenditures across the departments - $460,000
• A net increase in department generated revenues - $56,000

As we look ahead, we assume that property values will continue to decline with a corresponding reduction in property tax collections. Our Controller estimates that property tax collections will decline in fiscal years 2013 through 2014 by an additional $1.5-$2.5 million per year. State and federal revenue sources are also likely to decline, putting even more pressure on the County’s future budgets. Therefore, we will continue to plan ahead and implement long term cost savings ideas in order to get through the next few budget cycles without decimating our program priorities.

Despite all this bleak news, the County’s reserves remain steady. The general fund undesignated fund balance at the end of fiscal year 2012 is projected at $13.8 million and the Public Improvement Fund at $.8 million. The budget stabilization fund should remain at $10.6 million through 2012.

I hope this provides a good picture of the Controller’s Recommended Budget and what County Commissioners will be looking at for the next two months!

Fundraiser, Budget, Ingham Health Plan, Health and Zoo Directors, DSH Payment, Veterinarian

2011-08-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to the Schor Blog. Sorry for the two week delay!

First, a political note: I invite everyone to my next fundraiser for my State Representative campaign. It is tomorrow (Thursday) from 5:30 - 7:30 at the home of Commissioner Penelope Tsernoglou and Steve Ross at 1197 Prescott in East Lansing. For more details, go to www.andyschor.com.

Now, on to the County Issues...

At the Board meeting, we were given our Controller Recommended Budget. After months of hearing budget projections, meetings with countywide elected officials and department heads at the County, and discussions of direction for staff to take in drafting a budget we now have a starting document. And because our Controller is the best in the state (nation? world?), this is likely going to be very close to the final product. We will now start on budget discussions, with each committee holding budget hearings and the Finance committee (which I chair) putting it all together and recommending a final product for the Board to consider in October. Should be an interesting few months as we solve a $5.5 million budget deficit.

At the Board meeting, we passed several important resolutions. One resolution we passed authorizes a Public Health Service Agreement for 2011-2012 with the Ingham
Health Plan Corporation (IHPC). For those that don't know, we contract with the IHPC to provide public health services to low income residents of Ingham County. The IHPC amount this year is for services up to $2,603,118. The services include:
- Public Health Nursing
- Adult Dental
- Outreach and Enrollment
- Support for the Ingham Community Health Center Network

The Ingham Health Plan is a tremendous success in providing health care to the uninsured. If you are unfamiliar, go to www.ingham.org and follow the page to the Health Department and you can get all the info. I am very proud of this program and our support for it.

We also transferred funds to the State of Michigan for the purpose of supporting
Disproportionate Share Hospital (DHS) payments to Ingham Regional Medical Center and Sparrow Health System. The federal government allows for an “Indigent Care Agreements Pool” for hospitals which qualify for Medicaid Disproportionate Share (“DSH”)payments and allows them to receive DSH payments under the Indigent Care Agreements Pool so long as: (a) the hospital had an Indigent Care Agreement with a local health care entity, such as Ingham Health Plan Corporation; and (b) the Indigent Care Agreement stipulated that direct or indirect health care services be provided to low-income patients with special needs who are not covered under other public or private health care programs. Both Ingham Regional Medical
Center and Sparrow Health are qualified to receive these special payments.
The Ingham Health Plan Corporation was created in 1998 as a non-profit corporation for the purposes of promoting, arranging, and managing an effective system of health care in a manner which decreases the cost of health care services to the community at large and persons unable to pay for such care. The Corporation also supports certain public health services which are directed at low-income, uninsured persons, including services delivered by the Ingham County Health Department. We transferred up to $3.8 million for the year from the Health Fund to support Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments to Ingham Regional Medical Center and Sparrow Health System.

The Board also passed a resolution calling on the State Legislature to oppose efforts to make Michigan a right-to-work state. After hearing that other counties were providing resolutions (both for and against), we decided Ingham County should weigh in to ensure that our legislators and our countywide association know the opinions of the elected commissioners of Ingham County. There was no discussion on the Board floor, and the resolution passed on a 13-2 vote. The resolution (and all others) can be read here.

We passed a resolution to form a special committee to look at hiring a new Health Director. Unfortunately, our Health Director - Dean Sienko - is retiring. He has been tremendous as a Health Director, and will be missed. We have a world class Health Department due to his leadership, and he will be hard to replace. The task force has a tough job ahead of them. We are also going to have to replace the director of the Potter Park Zoo. We learned that Gerry Brady is retiring and we will need to fill that post as well. Tough times, but new leadership is always an opportunity for new ideas and innovation!

The final resolution I will mention is the hiring of a part-time veterinarian. Ingham County Animal Control has historically contracted for veterinary services at the shelter to examine and treat sick and injured animals and prescribe medications. The annual renewal of the contract has always been tenuous as few, if any, applicants apply. We had persuaded a local veterinarian to apply until a more permanent vendor could be contracted; however, that permanent vendor has eluded us. Each time the position is up for renewal it struggles to attract candidates based
on the wage amount, hours and contract requirements. The current vendor (veterinarian) accepted the bid on a short term basis simply to help the shelter
out. However, due to his busy practice he has expressed his desire to opt out but will continue until a replacement is found. However, he proposed to double the current contract. We couldn't accept that, so we decided to hire a part-time veterinarian (instead of contracting) for 20 hours per week. We included in the job description spaying and neutering of animals and other medical procedures to be required as part of the service conducted at the shelter at no additional cost. Animal Control will have the equipment and facilities to conduct such treatments. In addition to creating a more stable position, it ensures better training of animal care staff by a veterinarian, increases the quality of care, provides much needed veterinary care of the high volume of sick injured and abused animals brought into the county’s animal shelter, and results in long term savings on funds and resources currently spent on injured animal care, surgical, spay/neuter and veterinary costs.

I will remind those that read this blog by getting the facebook email that facebook is eliminating the group at some point. So, if you want to continue to get notifications, please "like" my facebook fan page. You can go here to do it - http://www.facebook.com/#!/andyschor.

I hope you have a great week!

Special Blog: Tri-County Office on Aging

2011-08-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

This week, I am going to take a different approach to this blog. While I usually report what is going on at the County Commission, I would like to focus on one of the many independent boards and commissions that Commissioners serve on – the Tri-County Office on Aging.

The Tri-County Office on Aging (TCOA) runs many awesome programs to assist and protect seniors and elder residents of the Ingham, Clinton, and Eaton couhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnty area. This includes Meals on Wheels, the MIChoice Home and Community Based Waiver, long-term care programs, Medicaid and Medicare programs, etc. You can see all they do at www.tcoa.org and it is definitely an impressive list.

I am one of three Ingham County Commissioners that serve on the Tri-County Office on Aging board. We are joined by three representatives of the City of Lansing, as well as representatives of Eaton and Clinton counties. Our role is to make policy decisions for the Tri-County Office of Aging (which is one of the several Office on Aging Boards statewide).

On the Board, we set and review the budget of TCOA on a monthly basis. They have excellent staff, lead by Marion Owen (the executive director) and there are not many controversial items.

I have been greatly involved in several issues that come up frequently regarding important services provided to our seniors. One is Meals on Wheels. I don’t think I have to explain that one…it ensures that seniors receive balanced and nutritional meals regularly, and is has volunteers pick up the food at our facility and drive it to seniors in need. What a great program. The second great program the home MIChoice and community based waiver. Seniors generally want to remain in their homes as they get older. Unfortunately, there is more money available for nursing care than for at-home care. Nursing homes and care facilities are far more expensive for seniors and communities. The MIChoice program provides assistance to seniors for this home health care who want to stay in their home and just need a certain level of medical assistance. As Commissioner Rebecca Bahar-Cook pointed out in a recent Lansing State Journal op-ed (July 7, 2011), “the average home health care visit under Medicare Part A and Part B is just $137. That same service if performed in a skilled nursing facility is $325 a day. If that service is performed in a hospital the cost is almost $1,500 a day.” I am not against nursing homes - they serve an important resource for those that need that level of care. I just believe that we need to also allow people to stay in their homes as they get older, and need to provide these necessary services at less cost to the elder and the community.

At the most recent meeting, we learned several interesting things. First, we learned that our budget would not have to be amended because the state budget did not include cuts to in-home services, volunteer services or nutrition. That is good news for our seniors, and for ensuring that we can provide the best care for those older citizens in need. Now we can get started on the 2012 budget. We also learned that the state Department of Community Health is holding a series of forums around the state regarding their plan for developing a Medicare and Medicaid integrated care initiative in Michigan. Michigan is one of 15 states to win a grant from the federal government to do this. DCH will develop a plan with public and consumer input. While I am happy they are looking into this to see about efficiencies and maximizing federal dollars, they are not holding a forum in the Lansing area which is very disappointing.

In addition, we heard updates about the nutrition programs that TCOA runs, as well as the Meals on Wheels program and input regarding that program. We also worked on updating the employee handbook to ensure that all procedures are clearly spelled out to employees.

The TCOA board is just one of many boards and commissions that county commissioners serve on as representatives of our constituents and the community. There are so many others, and I will try to highlight them in this blog when possible

NOTE: As always, I will add a reminder here that I will be posting this blog through facebook on my political facebook page (www.facebook.com/andyschor) instead of my personal facebook page. Please go to www.facebook.com/andyschor and click on “like” if you want to be on the list of people to have the notice in your news feed. I will also continue to send out the blog through my facebook group, but facebook is eliminating that group shortly.

County to Maintain City of Lansing Parks, Hawk Island Tubing Hill, 911 Center, County Budget

2011-07-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

After taking a week off, the Schor County blog is back.

In County Services and Finance, we finalized the resolution to take over maintenance of many of the City of Lansing Parks. The City has not been able to afford to mow or maintain several parks. They approached the County and asked us to maintain and mow the lawn. Our Parks Director gave an estimate on the amount that it will take to do this, and a contract was negotiated. Once all the issues that were raised by the County Commissioners were resolved, this was brought back to us for our consideration. All of the changes we requested were adopted, and the resolution passed both committees. We also added a provision that the City has until November 1 to sign the contract. We do not want to have this hanging out for a while, as was done with the dog park and zoo. One commissioner opposed this in County Services (Dragonetti) and one in Finance (Dougan). Both indicated that they thought that this would lead to the City expecting us to do more things for them. After changes were made, I was happy to vote for this as a good regional effort. Ingham County is very efficient and well run, and we can ensure that these parks are mowed and maintained. As such, we are stepping up by accepting the request of the City of Lansing.

The parks included are:
5 acres or under:
Barb Dean, Bassett, Bluebell, Everett, Glen Eden, Hillsdale, Holly, Horsebrook, Jones, Lake, Kay North, Marscot H. Moore, Osborne, Regent, Reutter, Seventh, Stabler, Tammany, Walsh, Waldo, Caesar Donora, Greencroft, Parcel B, Hull Court, Wilson

Parks on the river trail:
Dietrich, Edmore, Dodge, Burchard-East, Burchard-West, Wentworth, Cherry Hill, Kalamazoo Plaza, Cooley, Scott Center, Crego, Trager, Elm, River Point, Maguire

We also passed a resolution adjusting the budget for the Hawk Island snow tubing hill. This was a project that was started about 6 years ago, and is now being finalized. Unfortunately, there were several expenses that have risen and need to be paid for. Although we got the dirt for free, we need to purchase the snow making machine and lifts. Also, the City of Lansing has a very expensive Soil Erosion Permit. Our staff had hoped that the City would reduce the price for the permit or allow us to have our own Drain Commissioner certify the soil erosion issues, but the City would not agree to that. Fortunately, our excellent Parks staff was able to find the dollars to pay for these final pieces. We unanimously approved transfers of $62,558. This will make the total budget of the project a maximum of $289,548 but could be $12,000 less if we are able to get a cheaper lift. We also expect the snow boarding portion to have equipment donated to reduce the cost. The transferred money comes from the Parks Capital Improvement fund and was previously budgeted, so there is no new general fund dollars to be used.

We once again had to consider the 911 consolidated center. If you are a faithful reader of this blog (and I know you are!), then you know that we combined the Lansing and East Lansing 911 centers and are about to break ground on a new center. Well, the bids for the new center were expected to come in a little higher than expected (about $800,000 higher). Staff went to work and revised the bid documents and we now expect the cost overrun to be about $200,000 higher. Staff asked for us to approve a $400,000, just in case the bids are higher than expected. I was not interested in approving double the amount needed, so I offered an amendment in County Services to allow a transfer of $200,000 and the ability of staff to approve up to another $200,000 if the Controller and Board Chair approve. I would have required staff to come back to the Board, but that could push back breaking ground into the winter and there are many more costs associated with building in the winter. I was comfortable with the Board chair and Controller reviewing anything over $200,000 and approving what may be necessary. My amendment passed in County Services, and was further amended in Finance to ensure that all Commissioners receive notice of anything over $200,000.

In Finance, we approved a resolution accepting a Child & Adolescent Health Center grant award from the Michigan Department of Community Health to continue funding Willow Health Center, Otto Health Center and the School Wellness Program at Gardner Middle School. The Health Department also proposed the addition of a new school-based health center at a high school in the Lansing School District, and the Michigan Department of Community Health awarded the grant for the maximum award period of five years. These awards will provide a total of $3.4 million over five years. One hundred thousand per year will support the continued operations of the School Wellness Program at Gardner Middle School; $175,000 per year will support the continued operations at Otto Community Health Center; $225,000 will support the continued operations at Willow Health Center, and $175,000 will start a new school-based health center and fund its operations at a Lansing School District High School. These awards will fund seven new positions, which are essential to the operations of these Health Centers. As a condition of these awards, the Health Department is required to establish a local community advisory committee. The advisory committee must be representative of the community and include a
broad range of stakeholders and school staff. One-third of the committee members must be parents of school-aged youth. The committee must approve certain policies related to the health center. In order to establish and maintain this required committee, the ICHD proposes to enter into an agreement with the School-Community Health Alliance of Michigan (SCHA-MI). SCHA-MI will provide support and assist in parent and youth engagement to the committee as required. The budgeted amount for this agreement will not exceed $25,000. Both County Services and Finance approved these unanimously, and in Finance we learned that if a school closes, the money can go to another school.

In Finance, we also went over our annual county audit, our general fund reserves, our Budget Stabilization Plan, and the upcoming budget deficit of $5.5 million. Our Controller will be coming up with recommended possibilities that she will present to us to consider to close the budget hole. Because this is already long enough, I will report on this in a future blog.

I hope everyone is staying cool! And don't forget to visit my Andy Schor for State Representative page at www.andyschor.com and to check out my facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/andyschor !

Andy

Foreclosed Properties and Land Bank, Animal Control Positions Filled, Youth Day Treatment, Facebook Follows

2011-07-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day, everyone! I hope you had a happy and healthy July 4th weekend.

I apologize for the lateness of this blog, but I couldn’t get it out before the holiday. And with the County Commission going into our summer schedule, I figure I can spread the blogs out a bit.

Last week, the Board of Commissioners meeting was mostly non-controversial. As I reported last time, there were some objections to the Treasurer’s office utilizing the County’s option to capture tax foreclosed properties. As I mentioned, the way it works is that the county captures the properties in tax foreclosure. Some of the properties are auctioned off for minimum bid at an auction, and some are bundled together and attempted to be sold (although most are not). In the end, the County is responsible for all of these properties. The Republicans voted against the resolution, presumably because they don’t like the Land Bank having as many properties as it does. They did not say, though, what they would like done with these properties. Sitting vacant creates blight for the community, lower property values, and crime. Auctioning them off for the lowest bid usually results in speculation and people purchasing properties that they can’t afford to clean up or don’t plan to. Rehabilitating the properties by the Land Bank or by bidders who want to pay off the tax liens is the best possible situation. I was happy to vote for the resolution, and it passed 12-4.

Otherwise, there were no controversial resolutions. We passed one resolution authorizing funding for two temporary animal control positions. We have been woefully short-staffed in animal control, and have been hearing several complaints as a result. We now have two positions that are empty as a result of staff on leave time, and it was critical for those positions to be staffed for the summer (the busiest time of the year). As such, we unanimously approved a resolution approving funding of two temporary positions including a clerk/dispatcher and an animal control licensing officer from July through October. We are expecting current revenues to pay for this - $5,477 from the Animal Care Fund Account and $15,000 in unexpected increased dog licensing revenue. This will cover the $20,477 for forty hours each week during this time span. I am sorry that we cannot do more to help animal control, but as everyone knoe we have a budget deficit and all departments are making do with smaller budgets as a result of cuts!

We also approved a resolution merging two day treatment programs at the Circuit Court. We merged the Crossroads program and the Ingham Academy. This will result in Ingham County now having a vocational piece and a high school diploma for all of the youth in day treatment. It also saves about $153,000 from the county general fund and will allow for new equipment to be provided to the merged Ingham Academy program. All in all, this is a win-win for the county budget and for the yhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifouth that are being helped by these programs!

For those that follow my by Facebook, I am attempting to only post personal stuff (family stuff, pictures, etc) on my personal page, and County Commission and State Rep campaign stuff on my fan page (www.facebook.com/andyschor). If you haven’t already done so, please “like” my fan page so you will get the Commission and campaign updates!

Well, that’s all for this week!

Land Bank properties, County Maintaining City of Lansing Parks, Juvenile Justice Agencies, Hertel Sues for Taxes, State Rep Campaign Raises 35k

2011-06-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

This week was very busy for the County Commission. As I have said before, we do much of our work in committees, and we spent considerable time on several items this week.

In County Services, we started out with about an hour discussing the Land Bank. Treasurer Schertzing presented us with about 130 tax foreclosed properties for the county to acquire. When a property goes into tax foreclosure, the county acquires it and, in our case, decides how that property is disposed of. Some are auctioned off, some are demolished, and some are purchased by the Land Bank to be redeveloped and resold. Some commissioners are concerned that our Land Bank has too many properties as it is and do not want us to take on any further burden. Schertzing explained that many of the properties are bundled and sold at auction, and only some are retained by the Land Bank. And those that are retained are redeveloped and sold to go back on the tax rolls. The Land Bank has been doing an excellent job getting properties back in shape, especially with the current state of the economy leading to so many tax foreclosed properties. This includes both residential and commercial properties. In County Services, the resolution passed 4-2, and in Finance it passed 6-0.

A resolution was put before us that would have the County maintain several City of Lansing parks. The Mayor has apparently requested that the County maintain 25 city parks of 5 acres or less, and 15 parks on the river trail. The language provided by the Mayor’s office, though, was greatly concerning to many of us. We discussed this with our Parks Director. The resolution itself listed several think that the County would do. The primary function would be mowing, with specific conditions listed. These include mowing to a certain height, pick up grass clippings, trimming all vegetation around obstacles (fences, signs, posts, curbs, sidewalks, etc), removal of branches and leaves on trails, snow removal, removal of all litter and trash debris on the lawn, and emptying trash barrels daily. Also listed was signs to be installed by County staff and graffiti removal, but we rejected those two conditions because they would take significantly more manpower and time. It requires that the county do a thorough clean up before the first mowing in the spring, compliance of the Snow Removal Ordinance regarding sidewalks, and other things. In exchange for all this and more, the City will pay the County $236,000. While many Commissioners had some initial doubts, our Parks Director assured us that we could accomplish the needs for this amount. Questions were raised, though, if our actions here would result in layoffs at the city or have other labor implications. We are looking into those questions. We also heard that the Mayor sent this to us without discussing it with Council. Many of us Commissioners are hesitant to get in the middle of another fight between the Mayor and Council (as we did with the zoo), so we wanted to be sure that all parties at the City are aware of this request from the Mayor. We have sent this to our City Attorney for review, and will start negotiations with the appropriate City entities.

In Finance, we had a very active discussion about the Juvenile Justice millage. This is the millage that was approved twice by Ingham County residents. Every year we approve a certain amount of money from the millage to go towards community agencies that assist youths that are at-risk and have not yet gone through the courts (pre-adjudicated). This amount now is $100,000, and Commissioner Nolan expressed that she would like to see more money going towards these prevention efforts when possible. Commissioner Bahar-Cook also discussed the makeup of those that have applied in the past and how they can use the money. The committee had a good discussion of the dollars available, the amount matched by the state through the Child Care fund, and the importance of prevention. We will move forward with the $100,000 amount, but several of us (including me) expressed that we would like to see more for prevention if there are enough agencies applying.

Finally, if you haven’t seen the Lansing State Journal or national news, Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel, Jr filed a personal lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for not paying taxes owed. The County Services and Finance committees passed a resolution to have the County enter into an agreement with the Home Defense League to represent the County and file suit to recapture these fees. In essence, we would replace Hertel as the plaintiff in the lawsuit. Hertel is the statewide leader in this effort (once again) and filed the suit himself because time was of the essence. With passage of this resolution, the County will officially take on the lawsuit, as is appropriate. We expect to receive tens of millions of dollars that are owed to the County by Freddie Mac and Fannie May, who chose not to pay the county and state taxes that are owed. Read here for more information!

And for those following my political State House campaign, I sent out an email this week to supporters indicating that we have raised more than $35,000 in 4 months and have received tremendous support from elected and neighborhood leaders. The momentum has been tremendous, and continues to grow. Stay tuned!

That’s it for this week. That is just a snapshot of everything that we have done, but I think it is long enough!

Foreclosure Fraud Attorney's and Symposiums,Wolverine Pipeline Right-of-Way Clearing

2011-06-14T19:02:00.001-07:00

This week the County Board of Commissioners had a relatively non-controversial agenda. We passed the resolution for the Register of Deeds and Treasurer that will allow for legal aide attorneys to be used for the foreclosure fraud cases. This will ensure that residents facing fraud will have the resources they need to stay in their home or get back into their homes. In addition, Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel announced a series of 10 symposiums throughout the county for people to attend to learn more and lodge complaints. They are listed below. He also announced a foreclosure fraud hotline for those who are going through foreclosure and suspect foreclosure fraud or property fraud. Residents can call 676-7210, and they are guaranteed to receive a call back within 24 hours.

In public testimony, the Wolverine Pipeline folks announced that they will be doing a series of Right-of-Way (ROW) clearings along the ares of the pipeline. Right-of-ways are between 50 and 100 feet. They are regulated by the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Administration of the federal government. The pipeline monitored 26 times per year in specific intervals. The company does fly-overs to accomplish this. They displayed the importance of keeping these ROW's clear. Emergency response would be limited if the properties are overgrown with weeds and vegetation. The Wolverine Pipeline was formerly owned by Total petroleum. Wolverine purchased it and slowly reclaimed the rights-of-way. The program now is maintenance only and not reclamation. They said they will contact every land owner before doing any clearing on private property. They have easement rights to do this, but want to let folks know before doing any work. They gave us a variety of materials with pictures and examples. If you are on the pipeline route, then be ready for the clearing to come soon. If you have questions, you can contact Fred Hipshear, Wolverine's Right-of-Way agent, at 269 323-2491 (office), 269 217-5158 (cell), or at rightofway@wplco.com.

That's it. A relatively light agenda. Here is the list of symposiums for foreclosure:

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Cristo Rey Community Center
1717 N. High Street
Lansing, Michigan 48906

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 5:30 p.m.
East Lansing Hannah Center Community Center
Executive Conference Room
819 Abbott Road
East Lansing, Michigan 48823

Tuesday, August 16, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Ingham County Fair Ground
Community Hall
Mason Michigan

Thursday, August 25, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Gar Hall
107 E. Bellevue
Leslie, Michigan

Wednesday, September 7, 2011 7:00 p.m.
Eastside Neighborhood
Foster Community Center
200 N. Foster
Room 213
Lansing, Michigan 48912

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Williamston Community Center

Thursday, October 13, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Webberville
Village of Weberville Cultural Center
115 S. Main

Tuesday, October 25 2011 5:30 p.m.
African American Health Institute
835 West Genesse
Lansing, Michigan 48933

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Okemos High School
Okemos, Michigan

Thursday, November 17, 2011 5:30 p.m.
Grace of Love Church Ministry
2618 S. Waverly Hwy.
Lansing, Michigan 48911

New Drain Project, Foreclosure Fraud, Efficiencies in Register of Deeds Ofc, Fundraiser Update

2011-06-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

The County Commission was back in action this week. We had committee meetings, where we do most of the details of our work (as you know if you are a weekly reader).

In County Services and Finance, we took up a resolution pledging full faith and credit of the count for the bonds for the Kalamink Consolidated Drain Drainage
District Bonds. Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann discussed the project. Webberville village and LeRoy Twp initiated this. The Drain Commissioner held meetings in the affected communities (2 townships and the village). This is a consolidation of two older drains into one. There are 933 parcels in the district and it is 12 ½ miles long. Drain Commissioner Lindemann told us that with 10,250 acres in the drainage district, individual assessments won’t be that large. The Drain Commissioner will replace a culvert, and will also take out 2 old pipes and put in a spanned bridge for 5 homes (that they will pay for) to relieve water backs up and very flooded driveways. There were over 25 potential bidders at a pre-bid meeting (which tool 2 ½ hours to show what needs to be done and bid on). The project will follow prevailing wage and will have a Project Labor Agreement. They are expecting at least 12 bids. After the County Commission approves this resolution, bids will come in (the bid process opens on Wednesday) then there will be a meeting with residents to talk about cost. The drain will be maintenance free for 20 years or more. The County pledges full faith and credit so that the Drain Commissioner can get a lower credit rating and save money.

A second resolution that passed was to contract with Legal Aide of Central Michigan to take Referrals from the Ingham County Register of Deeds and the Ingham County treasurer for foreclosure fraud cases. As reported in previous County Updates, hundreds of fraudulent foreclosure cases have been discovered by Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel, Jr. He is a statewide leader in rooting out these fraudulent foreclosures. He said that there are over 400 MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems) problematic foreclosures. In fact, all assignments my MERS were recently declared illegal. Hertel is working with County Treasurer Eric Schertzing and they have been doing great work, but there is too much for any one person to do. Legal Aide will be very helpful because they have foreclosure experts and counselors that can supplement what the County is doing. The Register of Deeds and Treasurer are mailing to those individuals that can be found and offering help from legal aide and other resources. We are trying to get these people back into their houses. Not only is this the right thing to do, it will also bring in more money to the county because it keeps people in their homes and keeps the tax base up. Even banks are coming to table to keep people in their homes, and this will help that effort. The only thing that residents can do now is to hire their own attorney. The Register of Deeds is trying to create a 3rd party tribunal in state law, but that hasn't happened yet. The Register of Deeds will also be conducting symposiums across the county soon to address foreclosure, foreclosure fraud, and property fraud. While anyone can get advice from Legal Aide and their are no income restrictions, they are not taking people as clients who can afford their own attorney. If you are in need of advice or assistance, you can contact the Register of Deeds or Legal Aide.

Finally, we considered a resolution to authorize the purchase of a new record management system for the Register of Deeds Office. The current system is not working and we had real problems with the current vendor which just couldn't be bridged. An evaluation committee comprised of staff from the Register of Deeds Office, Purchasing and MIS recommended awarding a contract to Fidlar Acquisition for $555,000 for a new land records management system (which includes five years of support and maintenance). Fidlar has a high degree of knowledge of the various aspects of recording land and vital documents in the State of Michigan – currently 15 other County Register of Deeds clients in Michigan are using Fidlar. In total, Fidlar has 218 county clients throughout 14 states and has been providing technology solutions to Recorder’s offices since 1987. Fidlar has a well-qualified staff consisting of 52 people, 7 of which were added in the past 18 months. Fidlar has agreed to meet all the County’s contractual terms and conditions and procurement policies. Also, MIS will purchase the required computer hardware for the new system from registered County vendors at a not to exceed cost of $25,189. This new contract is expected to bring in about $400,000 additional revenues in next 4 years
to the general fund. The contract will be paid for by the Register of Deeds Automation Fund, and not the General Fund. The contract will be a 4 year contract, and anything new that the company creates we get for free. Register of Deeds Hertel told us that this will improve accuracy and speed of work flow in his office. It will also ensure that the County is complying with state law in dealing with the order in which documents are put on record. It will capture more data on each document to help protect citizens from fraud, and will insure the protection of our online data. Finally, it will allow us to market ourselves against overseas title mills. I commend the Register of Deeds for his proactive work on this to make systems better and more efficient!

For all those following my political campaign, I hope you will join me at my next fundraiser on Monday. You can see the details on my webpage at www.andyschor.com. The campaign has been going really well and the support has been tremendous. I look to keep the momentum going for the next 15 months! Thanks everyone!!!

Snowboarding Hill, Point-of-Sale Fees, New Commissioner Maps and Districts

2011-05-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

At the County Board meeting this week, we went through the same issues that I reported on last week. We had two resolutions pulled from the consent agenda and debated.

The first issue was the snowboarding hill. As a refresher, we considered a resolution returning money from the Parks Department to the county general fund. In that resolution, we allowed for $35,000 to be spent on a snowboarding hill. We are already building a sledding hill, and had a bunch of dirt donated. We were approached by a conglomerate that wanted Ingham County to create the second public snowboarding hill in the nation. We will have user fees that will generate significant revenue and expect to recoup the dollars in two years or so. We also will have much of the equipment donated. There will be a snow making machine so that there will always be snow, and security and parks staff to assist users. Because of the concern that we were putting money into this instead of police or health department or employees, we added language to the resolution that require the Controller to ensure that the county is repaid this money. That amendment, offered by Commissioner DeLeon, was passed unanimously as was the final resolution.

We also considered the point-of-sale portion of the fees resolution. We created a program a few years ago that requires septic fields to be inspected when a house on a septic field (mostly in the out-county) is sold. I voted for that at the time because the fee is way less than what we in Lansing pay for municipal sewer and water. The folks on private septic systems should also be paying to ensure that those fields are not leaking (which many were) and contaminating the county water supply. Because we keep most fees at 100% of the cost of that fee (to ensure that county taxpayers are not paying for these things), this fee was raised. The fee resolution passed on a 10-5 vote. Commissioner Dianne Holman spoke against it saying that it was still a relatively new fee and should not go up.

Finally, we learned what the new county commission districts would look like. The Ingham County Apportionment Committee considers maps submitted to them and votes on those maps. The Committee is made up of the County Prosecutor, County Clerk, County Treasurer, and Democratic and Republican Party Chairs. Prosecutor Dunnings submitted a map that follows election law. It was one of three maps submitted and received enough votes to pass. The map creates 14 County Commission districts (reduced from the current 16). If you want to see the new maps, click here.

Due to the the fact that there is a fifth week in May, we do not have any meetings next week. So, I will probably skip next week for the blog (unless I find a guest blogger).

I hope everyone has a happy and health Memorial Day weekend, and spends some time remembering all of those who sacrificed so that we can all live free lives in our Democracy!

Andy

Parks Money to GF, Snowboard Hill, CATA Stop, 457 Plans, Masonic Lodge

2011-05-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

So sorry that this is so late! This is the blog from last week. Technical problems stopped this from going out last week...

Last week, we considered two resolutions returning money to the general fund. Imagine that...money being returned for not being used by one of our departments! The first resolution returned $62,500 that had been approved for the Heart of Michigan trail funding in the 2008 Capital Improvement Budget. Delhi Township opted to become the project leader on the Jolly Road to Hope Soccer Complex trail segment and an alternative route was plotted for this segment which did not include the use of Ingham County funds as a part of the alternate route project budget.

Also as part of this resolution, we approved an expenditure for a snowboarding hill (mentioned previously). In March a representative of Landscape Architects and Planners, a member of the community, and a representative of Modern Skate & Surf approached the Parks & Recreation Commission with a proposal to incorporate a snowboard hill that would meet the current trends associated with this winter sport in conjunction with the current snow tubing hill being constructed. It has been determined a beginner, intermediate, and advanced snow board run with a tow rope system could be incorporated into the snow tubing hill for approximately $35,000. It is anticipated donations for such “tricks” as such as grind rails, fun boxes, flat rails, round rails, and hips would be sought and not included in the cos0t of construction. This proposal was approved by the Parks & Recreation Commission. It is expected the costs of construction will be recouped as this would be a revenue generating activity. Both the snowboard hill and snow tubing hill could be open most of the winter season as snowmaking equipment will be used to manufacture snow.

In the County Services committee, this resolution passed 5-1. One Commissioner, Don Vickers, expressed that he wants the Parks Department to repay the county dollars that are expended in order to support this. He put up an amendment in committee to require repayment over 7 years, and it failed 2-4. I expect that his amendment will be offered again on the Board floor. During debate, I pointed out that 3 years is a very conservative estimate for total return of the dollars as this only takes into account user fees and doesn't count parking fees. I also argued that this is a quality of life resource that will be invaluable for Ingham County, and will be a revenue generator quickly. Our Parks Director, Willis Bennett, ensured us that there will be full time staff on site (and seasonal staff) at all times for safety and for maintenance of the equipment (tow ropes, snow machines, etc). Commissioner Grebner argued that the goal of having Hawk Island is to provide recreation for the center of population of the county by being in the heart of the county in Lansing. He also said that, despite objections from the Republicans, this has been highly successful. The intention is not to be a revenue generator, but to be a recreational facility and payback should not be a prime consideration.

In Finance, the resolution passed unanimously. Commissioner Tsernoglou pointed out that she hopes that MSU (snowboarding clubs) will collaborate with us on this. Deb Nolan also said that she hopes it will draw MSU students to Lansing and maybe to the zoo.

Oh, and during the discussion it was pointed out that CATA will be adding a bus stop within Hawk Island this year. That will ensure the snow tubing and snow board hills will be very accessible to the residents of Lansing and Ingham County. It also will be welcome to the young campers of EC3, who take the bus to Hawk Island and use to have to walk to the park and back to the bus stop (my son would be exhausted on Fridays!).

We also had a good discusision in Finance about the county 457 plan (deferred compensation plan) offered for employees. Although we approved three plan, only two are actually providing plans. There was discussion about the possibility of Jackson National providing insurance. We also said we would review any RFP's that precluded Jackson National or anyone else.

Finally, we considered a resolution to update the county fees. I went through this last week in detail. Commissioner Dougan opposed the point of sale fees in Finance. Other than that, this was fairly non-controversial.

In other news, I have a constituent who is very involved with trying to save the Lansing Masonic Temple. I am not a Mason myself, but I wanted to help him spread the word. Anyone interested in supporting this effort can send donations anywhere from $100 - $1000 (which is the max for the donation to remain tax deductible). Checks would need to be made out to Lansing Masonic Temple Association, and sent to 1125 Weber Dr, Lansing Michigan 48912.

Sorry again for the delay. You will hear from me again later this week after our Board meeting!

Free Zoo Days Compromise, Snowboard Hill, Awesome County Credit Rating, Land Bank Update

2011-05-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

This week was relatively calm, We had our Board meeting this week, and the only contentious item was the one I mentioned last week regarding the Zoo.. There was disagreement about who should be allowed to waive fees for the zoo for special days. Some wanted the Parks Commission and Zoo Board to be able to do it. Others (including me) thought that only the Board of Commissioners should have the power to reduce revenues and waive fees. Last year, the county offered free zoo entrance for moms on Mothers Day, dads on Fathers Day, and grandparents on Grandparents day. The Parks department want to continue that. The resolution in committee, though, was amended to allow the Zoo Board and Parks Commission to have general powers to waive the fee whenever they want for special days. I was ready to offer an amendment that would have changed the resolution back to only allowing for these three specific days to be free for the people celebrated (i.e. moms on Mothers Day).

Fortunately, Commissioner Debbie DeLeon came up with an excellent compromise. She crafted an amendment saying that any days designated as special free days would have to receive sign-off by the Board Chair, County Services Chair, and County Administrator. This amendment passed 11-5, then the resolution passed 15-1. I commend Commissioner for coming up with this compromise language that will ensure flexibility for the Parks Commission and Zoo Board, while at the same time ensure that elected officials and the County Administrator can monitor the purse strings effectively.

Also, in public testimony, we heard from folks who are looking to have the first urban snowboarding hill in the United States created in Ingham County at Hawk Island. We are building a sledding hill, and the snowboard hill can be built into it for low-cost. This item is expected to come up next week for discussion in committee and the week after on the Board floor. It is very exciting and will bring people and revenues to Ingham County through tourism and having this unique attraction. I expect that it will cost $35,000, but those dollars will be recaptured almost immediately as their will be used fees for the hill and rental fees for the equipment. It will be a revenue generator, attract people from all over the state, and will be something fun for the whole family for Inhgam County residents.

In other news, we received good news from Eric Schertzing, the County Treasurer, that Ingham County has mainteined the highest possible credit rating from Standard and Poor’s. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'SP-1+' short-term rating to Ingham County's general obligation limited tax notes series 2011. They said the rating reflects the county's:
• History of strong property tax collections;
• Very strong general creditworthiness;
• Limited-tax GO pledge; and
• Strong liquidity, including unreserved assets held in its delinquent tax revolving fund and budget stabilization fund.

They said that Despite the pressure of a contracting tax base on Ingham County's primary revenue source--property taxes--its finances remain strong and stable due to sound management practices.

We also received a Land Bank Update from Treasurer Schertzing. He reports the following exciting news about redevelopment in Ingham County through the Land Bank:

1 - Fab Acres south of REO Town. Participating in clean-up with LNC and a large group of students on May 25th-27th. The Land Bank is hosting a dumpster and cost up to $750 from our Community Development dollars with HUD homes.
2 - Eden Glen Condos. All 8 Phase I condos closed. 3 Phase II condos have purchase agreements.
3 - NSP1 - 65 houses demolished. 1 more to go and NSP1 demo is done.
4 - Sold one renovated house on Laurie Lane and bought one mortgage foreclosed house on Center Street in Old Town last week.
5 - Meetings last week about Shopping Guide Building in Mason, Lone Pine Parcel at 496 and Washington, and two commercial adjacent lots in Lansing Township.

That's all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Andy

Parks Incentive Programs, Medical Director, Fees, Fundraiser Thank-you

2011-05-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great week. I apologize for this blog being so late. The week just got ahead of me!

Usually the Board of Commissioners committee process has liaison committees working on resolutions then the Finance committee changing them. In this case, it worked almost in reverse. The County Services committee this week considered a resolution dealing with approvals for discount incentive programs at the zoo. Last year, the county offered free zoo entrance for moms on Mothers Day, dads on Fathers Day, and grandparents on Grandparents day. The Parks department brought us a resolution that would extend that to every year. The resolution, though, did not specify that it was only for these days and that it was only for Ingham County residents. I raised concerns in committee that the resolution would allow the appointed Parks Commission to waive entrance fees at the zoo whenever they wanted, and that would be an inappropriate power. Only the elected Commissioners should have that power in my opinion. The Parks Director testified that the intention was only for the resolution affect those three days, so we unanimously amended it to reflect that.

In Finance, though, the resolution was amended back to the original language. First, Commissioner Bahar-Cook argued that the resolution shouldn't just be for Ingham County residents. She argued that if moms came on Mothers Day and got in free, even from other counties, the moms would also come with children and other adults who would still pay the entrance fee. It would attract more money to the zoo, while also bringing more people to the zoo on these three days. Her amendment passed unanimously. Commissioner Nolan then said that the zoo board and Parks Commission should have the power to waive fees whenever they want and that she believed that the resolution should be expansive. I argued that I thought it was too much power in non-elected hands and that the elected Commissioners should be the ones to approve waivers of fees. I lost. The amendment passed 4-2. The final resolution also passed committee 4-2. I opposed the resolution because I remember previous years when the Parks Commission waived fees for parks that we didn't agree with, and we had to go back and amend their authority so that the Commission had the final say. I am afraid this will be the same situation. We will see what happens on Tuesday.

We also considered another resolution that would hire a medical director needed for our Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC's). The Health Director requested that the new medical director be hired in at Step 5 (the highest pay step) and several Commissioners took issue with the continual practice of hiring people in at the highest pay level. The Health Director, Dr. Sienko, explained that this position was needed as a result of an audit of the FQHC program. The federal government highly recommended that we have a medical director with clinical and administrative experience. The individual that the Health Director has recommended has over 20 years experience in pediatrics and was the best candidate in terms of administrative and clinical experience. The position will be ½ time in administrative and ½ time in patient care at St Lawrence or Sparrow (helping citizens and generating county revenues). We now only have an internist in that position, but that doctor does clinical rather than administrative work. While I understand the concern about hiring in at the top level, it seems that the real issue is that it is very difficult to get quality doctors in at our pay levels. The doctor we are hiring is taking a pay cut, and we need to be competitive...especially to ensure that we receive the millions of federal dollars associate with our FQHC's. The few thousand dollars that we are going to spend to bring someone in at Step 5 instead of a lower step will be leveraged by about $900,000 that we are getting from the federal government which could be at risk. After a lot of discussion, the resolution passed.

Finally, we began our discussion of fees. Both the County Services and Finance Committees focused on the Parks Department fees. The shelters at the parks are each going up about 50%. They haven't gone up in 10 or 15 years, so this is catching it up with where it should be. I pointed out that there is always significant demand for these shelters and, while people won't love the increase, this is probably warranted. I argued strongly, though, against increasing the entrance fees for the parks. These fees just went up last year, and I have heard from my constituents the unhappiness about the fees at Hawk Island going up two years in a row. While the Budget Department requested an entrance fee increase, the Controller did not recommend it and I argued against an entrance fee at Hawk Island and Lake Lansing and Burchfield. So far, those fees are not being raised. The Human Services committee had several questions about the Pollution Prevention resolution fees, and other fees were discussed in other committees. We did not vote on this resolution, and will discuss it again at the next round of committee meetings.

On a personal note, thank you so much for everyone who contributed to my first fundraiser for State Representative. Thanks also for those who attended. We had over 60 people there, and raised more than $10,000. Checks are still coming in, we are finalizing the next fundraiser in a month or so. I am excited and humbled by the tremendous support I am receiving and look forward to the campaign next year.

Have a great Mothers Day to all the moms out there...

Andy

Foreclosures and the Register of Deeds - Special Guest: Curtis Hertel, Jr.

2011-04-29T10:05:00.001-07:00

With the crazy news about foreclosures, I thought it would be a good idea this week to invite Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel, Jr. to this week's Ingham County Blog. Curtis has been on the forefront of weeding out foreclosure fraud and has been the subject of several media reports lately. Thanks for everything, Curtis. Great job!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello!

On the heels of some fairly big news here in the Ingham County Register of Deeds office recently, Andy asked me to stop by the blog and share some information about what we’ve been up to. My name is Curtis Hertel Jr., and I am the elected Register of Deeds for the county.

I wanted to talk briefly about foreclosure fraud, in which certain steps in the process to foreclose on a home are either skipped or mishandled by the bank that is trying to foreclose.

Foreclosure fraud is something that we’ve always suspected was taking place, in county offices across America. Until recently, we never had any hard information that would allow us to pursue it and actually be able to hold the responsible parties accountable.

That all changed with an excellent piece of investigative journalism on the national news program “60 Minutes”, which aired on April 3rd. The segment gave us some very certain information that we could use to begin searching our records and try to identify those who had been frauded.

The specific fraud, at least in this case, goes something like this: You probably are aware that many mortgages, if not your own, have been transferred between many different banks, throughout the last decade. Every time a mortgage is transferred to a new bank in this way, the bank is supposed to file a document called an “Assignment of Mortgage” in my office. This establishes which bank is the new servicer of that mortgage.

Many of these banks, instead of immediately filing the proper assignments when they take place, will actually wait to file that paperwork until they need to take some other action with the mortgage, such as a foreclosure or a modification. This saves them from paying money into our local economy in the form of filing fees. In Michigan, they are actually legally allowed to do this.

So when it came time for many of these banks to foreclose on a given mortgage, they began the process of filing the assignments… and found that they had lost the original paperwork.

The solution? Many banks contracted with a small company called DocX, whose primary business was to employ low-paid hourly workers to sit at a desk and forge signatures. One day an employee could be Linda Green, a vice-president for Bank A. The next day they could be Korell Harp, the assistant vice-president at Bank B. And then the next day they might find themselves as Linda Green again, except this time they were the assistant secretary at Bank C.

It’s almost laughable that some of this forgery was so obvious, but now that my office has some names to look for, like Linda Green and Korell Harp, we can begin searching our own records and looking for forgery. And we have – so far we’ve found over 80 mortgage assignments that were signed by the names in question.

I am currently working with the FBI, and the Attorney General’s office, to see what sort of larger legal action can be taken against the banks, on behalf of all the register’s offices across the state. I have also filed a criminal complaint with the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office and a complaint in Fulton County, Georgia, where most of these fraudulent documents were notarized.

I truly believe that these names – Linda Green and others – are just the tip of the iceberg. As we continue to investigate fraudulent documents in our records, and compare notes with other offices, it becomes more and more evident that this is not a problem that was isolated to the small DocX sweatshop in Georgia.

So what can you do? Well, if you are going through foreclosure, I would definitely recommend that you give us a call, or stop into the office to examine the records associated with your property. Take note of anyone who signed an assignment or other action on your mortgage, and check the name to see if they are a known or suspected forger. You should also ask your lender to show proof that they actually own your mortgage, in the form of a recorded assignment from my office, before they foreclose.

If you find that there ARE fraudulent documents associated with your foreclosure, or that paperwork is missing, it may not save you from your situation, but it can certainly buy you some time while the banks get their act together. Hopefully a little extra time could be exactly what you need to get through a crisis.

Curtis Hertel Jr.
5176767245
Rd_hertel@ingham.org
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CurtisHertelJr

2011 Budget starts, Taxable Values Plummet, 911 Center Takes Final Steps, Hertel Catches Fraud, and Fundraiser Reminder

2011-04-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

This week, we took the first steps to starting our budget. Every year, the first step in the budget process it to pass a resolution establishing the priorities to guide the development of the 2012 budget and activities of county staff. In the two committees that I serve on - County Services and Finance - there was little controversy. I understand that there was controversy in the Law Enforcement committee, and I assume we will hear more about that next week at the full Board meeting. We scaled back the resolution from previous years and didn't have to make big priority cuts. Our recent past years have seen us having to make big structural changes like closing a jail post, closing a park, eliminating road patrol, and other things. These changes have lead to the deficit this year being lower than it could have been. While a $5.5 million budget deficit is not easy to solve, it could have been much worse.

In conjunction with this, in Finance we received the annual Equalization report. we found out that 8 of the 13 townships and 4 of the 5 cities had negative taxable values compared to the year before. Of those that did not go down, it was because of agricultural property (Williamstown), new development panning out (Aurelius) and an industrial park coming back online for taxes (Mason). Otherwise, property values continue to fall and so do taxable values and tax revenues to communities. Not a good sign. Overall, taxable values in 2011 are a negative 244,061,553 (a 3.22% decline). Next year, in 2012, original estimations are that taxable values will go down another $300 million. This could be reduced to a negative $200 million, though, and our equalization director will keep us updated. These numbers will be used as we look at the status of our 2011 budget and as we start looking at preparing a 2012 budget. Total general fund revenues so far for 2011 are a negative $1,550,084. The estimated general fund revenues are expected to decline $1,905,360. Again, not a good
sign for keeping necessary services being provided. But we have great staff and great leadership, and we will make this work, as we have for the last few years. I am proud to be part of this process as the Finance Chair this year.

In addition to the budget, we took our next (and close to final) steps regarding the new 911 center. We passed a resolution to approve the final design plans and authorizing the Ingham County Building Authority to proceed with bid documents for the Ingham County consolidated 911 Dispatch Center project. This center will soon be built, and we will have finished a major consolidation that will centralize 911 dispatch resources and save dollars for the county moving forward.

I want to give a great bog shout-out and thank-you to Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel, Jr. He recently rooted out numerous cases of fraud after seeing a report on 60 minutes about a certain scam. Hertel found over 60 examples of the same exact pattern and the same fraud committed in Ingham County by checking signatures on the mortgage assignment documents. Check out the news story here - http://www.wilx.com/localnews/headlines/Ingham_Co_Investigating_Fraudulent_Foreclosures_120330264.html.

Thanks Curtis! We will hear more from him soon on this blog.

Finally, a reminder - I will be having my first Andy Schor for State Representative fundraiser next week on Wednesday. For more information, you can go to www.andyschor.com. I have received amazing support so far and I expect this to be a great event. Thanks to everyone who has already contributed, and I look forward to a seeing everyone there!

That's it. Have a great week, everyone...and thanks for reading and caring about important issues in Ingham County.

PLA's, farmland preservation, WIC, elder abuse, foreclosure and Land Bank forums

2011-04-11T11:56:00.001-07:00

This week was a less contentious week for the Ingham County Board of Commissioners. We had only one controversial resolution.

As you probably remember, if you are a faithful reader of my blog, that a few years ago the Ingham County Commission passed a new policy that would require county staff to utilize Project Labor Agreements. These are certain agreements that require a general contractor or manager to negotiate with the bidders to ensure certain conditions are met when county facilities of $100,000 or more are under construction. To date, we have only had three of these. The County Board this week passed a resolution in opposition to HB 4287 and SB 165, which are state laws that would prohibit local units of government from entering into PLA's. Ironically, though, private entities would still be free to use them (such as Sparrow hospital, who has used these for years).

Commissioner Deb Nolan spoke in support of the resolution, saying that the locals should be allowed to govern how they choose. She said that the Legislature was not respecting local control and that we should be able to create our own contracting policies how we want. Commissioner Vickers disagreed, saying that the local control shouldn't infringe on personal rights. Honestly, I have no idea what he is talking about. PLA's don't infringe on personal rights. But oh well. The resolution passed 10-4-1 (one commissioner abstained due to being an advocate against the bill in the Legislature for a client).

Otherwise, we passed several non-controversial resolutions. One would approve selection criteria for ranking landowner applications to the Ingham County Farmland and Open Space Preservation Board. This would be a scoring system. We will be looking at another resolution this week on the same concept, but that will ensure that taxpayer dollars are considered first and foremost in negotiations. We also passed a resolution to create a Women, Infant, Children (WIC) satellite office at the Grand River head start site of the Capital Area Community Services. Another resolution we passed would authorize a grant subcontract between the City of Lansing and Ingham County Prescuting Attorney's Office for the training and prosecution of elder abuse.

In other news, the Ingham County Treasurer has announced a series of Community Forums designed to provide information on the tax foreclosure process, the Ingham County Land Bank and property taxes. A short program on the work of the Treasurer’s office and the Ingham County Land Bank will feature City of Lansing Maps showing foreclosure activity and Land Bank projects as well as discussion of the current status and future of Community Gardening. The goal of the forum is to provide information and solicit public feedback. Light refreshments are provided.

Forums will be held from 7-9 p.m. on the following dates:
Wednesday, April 13th at Gone Wired 2021 East Michigan Avenue, Lansing 48912
(yes, we are a bit late for this one!)
Wednesday, April 27th at the Human Services Building “B” 5303 S. Cedar, Lansing
Wednesday, May 11th at South Side Community Center 5815 Wise Road, Lansing 48911

Have a great week!

Guest Blogger: Commissioner Todd Tennis (Health Dep't Review, FQHC Funding, and Road Patrol)

2011-04-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

This week, I have once again asked a fellow County Commissioner to "guest blog" for me. This week, you get to hear from Commissioner Todd Tennis. Todd is the Chair of the county Human Services committee and has been an excellent representative of his constituents on the south part of Lansing. He is one of the people that I use as a sounding board on issues, and I trust and value his opinions greatly. Thanks, Todd, for providing your views this week!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings readers! Andy has asked me to step in and write a guest blog this week, so please pardon the interruption from your normal dose of Schor goodness. As chair of the Ingham County Human Services Committee, this week’s blog will be more health department-based than normal. Please bear with me.

First some good news. Every three years, the Michigan Department of Community Health reviews our Ingham County Health Department’s organizational plan to ensure that we possess the administrative capacity to perform our required duties. In March we received word that, once again, our Ingham County Health Department has been approved for another three years by the state. Our Ingham County Health Department is run so well that this comes as no surprise to me and my fellow Commissioners. Nonetheless, I want to give credit to Health Department Director Dean Sienko and his outstanding staff for making this process smooth and uneventful.

Now for some bad news. The budget wrangling in Washington could have a huge negative impact on the Ingham County Health Department’s status as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). The county health department was granted this status in 2009, which allows us to receive a greater share of federal dollars to provide primary care services to Ingham County Residents who are on Medicaid. These extra dollars help us provide increased capacity for Ingham County residents who do not have access to health insurance.

Some of the massive federal spending cuts being considered could wipe out our FQHC status, potentially causing the Ingham County Health Department to lose out on millions in grants and reimbursement for the provision of primary health care. I encourage everyone who wants our county health department to continue to be a national leader in the provision of services to contact Congressman Mike Rogers, Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Carl Levin and urge them to ensure that funding will continue to support our FQHC status.

And what would good and bad be without ugly? Many of you may have seen our favorite onlooker John Schneider’s column recently about the lack of police protection in rural townships after the county cut funding to the Sheriff’s Office for rural road patrol. It told of the experience of an Alaiedon Township business owner who, after a burglary, received less response from the Sheriff than he expected. Sheriff Wriggelsworth suggested that he contact the County Commission, since we were the ones who cut his funding.

I do not blame the business owner or the Sheriff for being upset that funding for road patrol was cut. However, the vast majority of county residents pay taxes for police services over and above their county tax rate. As Mr. Schneider pointed out, Alaiedon Township residents narrowly defeated a millage question last year for police services. Also, as the article stated, the Sheriff would have investigated the incident, just not as rapidly as the business owner would have liked. With reduced capacity, the Sheriff must reserve his officers for immediate response to the most serious calls, and burglaries are not going to rise to that level. When my house was burglarized several years ago in Lansing, an officer was dispatched to take a report that same day. However, in hindsight, I would have gotten the same result if I was asked to file the complaint online (as the business owner in the Schneider article was asked to do).

The bottom line is that the county budget is not improving as fast as our economy. Until housing prices start to rise again, the County Commission will have to make more and more difficult and often unpopular decisions on county services. Some of these will include shifting costs (like we did by implementing a fee for hazardous material storage inspections), raising fees, or reducing or eliminating county programs. Our fiscal situation is further complicated by potential reductions in funding from the federal government (see above) and the state government (e.g. the Governor’s proposal to cut our Revenue Sharing funding by $2 million). There may be light at the end of the tunnel, but it is still a ways off for Ingham County.

Census Numbers, Redistricting, Gun-Free Libraries, Police Negotiations

2011-03-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Due to a very crazy week, I skipped the blog last week. Sorry!

Before the County Commission today, we learned that the Census was released. Ingham County Clerk Mike Bryanton alerted us that Ingham County actually increase population over the last 10 years by about 1500 people. We went from a 2000 census of 279,409 to a 2010 census of 280,895. That's good. The City of Lansing dropped 4% from about 119,000 to about 114,000. I am not sure of any of the other numbers, but you can see them at www.michigan.gov/census. In terms of the county political scene, Clerk Bryanton said there was a tentative decision to reduce the County Commission seats from 16 to 14. They still have to receive the track information for the county, which is expected this week. Once that happens, the Reapportionment Committee has 60 days to meet and make a final decision. The LSJ has opined on this recently and there have been some editorials, so it will be interesting to watch. Contrary to popular opinion, the County Commission has no say in this decision at all.

Today, at the County Commission meeting, we only debated one resolution. We considered a resolution to encourage the Legisalture to add libraries to the gun-free zone list and prohibit open-carry and concealed-carry of guns. We passed an amendment to remove some potentially inflammatory language in the resolution (which passed overwhelmingly). We then considered an amendment that would strip out the concealed language and only make our resolution deal with open carry. This amendment failed on an 8-8 vote. The resolution then passed on a 11-5 vote, along party lines but with one Republican voting yes, and two Democrats voting no. Personally, I voted to support the resolution. In debate, I commented that I am a supporter of guns. I shoot guns (target shooting) and have since I was young. I have also shot guns with my son and teach him to respect guns. I am very concerned, though, about having guns in a library. I am afraid that in such a small space with so many children, something could go wrong. A child could see the gun and try to play with it, or another accident could happen in the confined space. I think about the South Lansing library and wonder what could happen. I agree that people have the right to have weapons in their car or in their homes or even concealed (with a permit) as they go about their day. But I think that places like schools and libraries should not have guns.

We also passed a resolution continuing the existing contract with the Michigan Association of Police. It passed unanimously on the Board floor, but we discussed this last week in the County Services committee. The county staff and labor bargaining team agreed on new language, but the membership rejected it because of the new language on part-time employees. The county committed to not using part-timers to supplant full time deputies, but the deputies want the part time folks to also have fringe benefits. The issue is now going to mediation, and we passed the resolution to keep the old contract in place while negotiations are ongoing.

That's what I have this week. Starting soon, I will also be blogging about campaign events so people can be up to date on those activities as well. I have been attending lots of things as part of the campaign, and it is very exciting. Fundraising is also going very well, as is the incredible level of support that I am receiving from community leaders. Life is busy, but very exciting!

Andy

Economic Development Task Force, EITC, Pollution Prevention, Budget 2011, House Race

2011-03-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

This week was exciting, as we had a some controversial resolutions at our Board meeting.

First, we considered a resolution that I authored with Commissioner Brian McGrain that would create a Task Force to study the idea of an economic development millage. The idea of the resolution is to look at the positives and negatives of PA 88. The task force will be made up of commissioners, business groups, taxpayer groups, and anyone else who is interested. I hope we can discuss the pro's and con's of having a fund specifically targeted to assisting in small business and entrepreneurial job creation. I look forward to hearing what the businesses of the county have to say, and to hearing what people are willing to pay (if anything). There are no predetermined outcomes of this task force, and we will see what the parties recommend. All Commissioners supported this except Commissioners Schafer, Dragonetti, and Vickers. They indicated that all task forces result in something so they are opposed to discussing it. I, of course, disagree with that and think discussion of issues like this are vital to assist the county in things helping entrepreneurs to create jobs...but we can agree to disagree and still stay civil.

The second controversial resolution was calling on the Legislature to oppose cutting the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Several Commissioners indicated that cutting the EITC would be a tax on low-income workers who can now receive the benefit of this credit. The Republicans indicated that they didn't think it is appropriate for the County to weigh in on state issues. I pointed out that eliminating the EITC could result in low-income residents of Ingham County in needing more services from our Health Department. That, combined with the revenue sharing cuts we are expecting and the declining tax collections, will cause big problems for the County so we have every reason to weigh in. The resolution passed 12-4 on party lines.

Finally, we again considered the Pollution Prevention (P2) resolution. This resolution, as lyoal readers of the Schor Blog found out last week, would require that businesses in possession of certain amounts of dangerous chemicals on site have to create certain plans and provide them to the county. This would, in essence, codify current county policy and would add a fee to it. We don't charge a fee now, and the taxpayers pick up the entire cost of the program. In public testimony, we had several first responderd (police and fire) testify in support of the resolution. They said that they need these plans for if there is a fire and they have to run into a building. They need to know where the chemicals are and what the dangers are of exploding. Other groups, like the Michigan Environmental Council, also weighed in as supportive. The business community opposed the resolution. Demmer Corporation and Granger and the Michigan Manufacturers and others testified that there are problems with the regulation and that they didn't want to pay the fees.

As you may recall, I voted against this in the Finance Committee. Regarding the fee, I have indicated that I believe that the taxpayers should not have to foot the whole bill for this program, especially with a $5.3 million deficit coming to the county for 2011. But, I thought that 75% in the first year was just too much at one time. On the Board floor, Commissioner Victor Celentino proposed and I supported an amendment that would reduce the fees from 75% to 50% to the businesses (and 50% to the taxpayers). When that passed, several of us were more comfortable with the fee and it passed 13-3. We then considered the regulation. Commissioner Todd Tennis, the Human Services Chair, offered several amendments to satisfy the concerns of the business community that were raised in public comment. Commissioner Tennis also indicated that he would review the regulation in a few months. I offered up an amendment to require the affected businesses be notified electronically in advance when that hearing happens. When that passed, I expressed that I would support the regulation. I am not sure it is perfect, but it is a lot better than it was last year and we will have a required review to ensure we can work out any problems that are raised. After having this come up twice and having new issues brought up at the last minute each time, I decided that it is now time to start this program in order to collect the 50% fees for the 2010 budget (which is less than budgeted).

Oh, and as an aside, I was on the radio talking about this regulation yesterday and one of the Republican Commissioners indicated that it is a tax. I am not sure why they are saying that, as it is false. This is clearly a fee, as it is only assessed on those that use the program (those that have the chemicals) and the money collected is not being used for anything other than this program (which only covers 50% of the cost). I understand that the businesses don't want to pay this fee, but I honestly believe that the taxpayers can no longer afford to subsidize this 100%. And I am disappointed that this is resolution is being mis-characterized as a tax when that is clearly not true. The final resolution passed with 12 of the 13 Democrats supporting it (the 13th abstained because her business is affected by the regulation) and one of the three Republicans supporting it. I would like to thank Commissioner Todd Tennis for all the work he did on this with the outstanding Health Department staff this year, and Commissioner Brian McGrain for all the time and hard work he put into this last year. I also would like to thank Commissioner Randy Schafer for going against his political party and staying consistent in his continual support of first responders and voting in support of this regulation.

This week, the County Commissioners also heard from our staff about some of the budget challenges coming for the 2011 budget. This blog is long enough already, though, so I will report on that another week.

And don't forget, my exploratory committee for the State House of Representatives! Please go to facebook and click on “like” for the page at www.facebook.com/andyschor, and go to the website to read my letter and provide information if you want to volunteer. Soon, the webpage will be updated and there will be fundraiser information and information about supporters. The effort is going really well!

Reorganizations,Zoo Renovation, Pollution Prevention, 2012 campaign

2011-03-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

After taking a week off, the County Blog is back! Last week, the Board had nothing controversial and all of the committee work led to unanimous resolutions on the Board floor. It was nice.

This week, we had lots of things in County Services and Finance committees. The Prosecutor presented us with the second part of his reorganization. Prosecutor Dunnings is shifting resources and saving the county money by streamlining services. This reorganization was unanimous in both committees. The Treasurer also presented the committees with a reorganization. Treasurer Schertzing identified a need to reorganize. His reorganization will streamline processes and allow the office to better manage the Land Bank’s increased volume and inventory. It will have zero impact on General Fund money, as the positions are funded by the Land Bank Authority, Brownfield Authority and the Tax Revolving Fund. The Land Bank Coordinator position will, among other things, coordinate all post-foreclosure aspects of the law, including vacating occupied structures, local government action, public auctions and property title transfers, and ensuring statutory compliance at all times. This position also maintains the financial records for the Land Bank, and facilitates termination of legal property rights for delinquent land contract purchasers and renters. The Brownfield Coordinator maintains financial and development records for all Brownfield Plans, Land Bank projects and assists in planning and renovation of development sites. This resolution passed with all Commissioners supporting except Commissioner Dragonetti.

In an interesting resolution on the Zoo, we approved funding from the zoo millage for a renovation. Currently, the Potter Park Zookeeper staff must shift the big cats from one area to another to perform general cleaning, care, and training. To complete these tasks staff uses an outdated, manual, cable and pulley shift door system from the 1980s. The existing doors frequently require costly repairs due to failure and are a safety issue for the keeper staff and the animals. The resolution authorized funding the Feline House Shift Door Replacement in the amount of $65,000 from the Zoo millage. This resolution provides a level of safety needed for employees and animals. All Commissioners except Commissioner Vickers voted for the resolution.

Finally, the most controversial resolution. Late last year, I reported that the County Commission was considering a pollution prevention resolution. The Health Department requested consideration of this resolution to create regulations for toxic and hazardous substances used in Ingham County, help to assure that chemicals are stored appropriately, and ensure that proper pollution mitigation strategies are being implemented. The information collected from this regulation would be used for for emergency and disaster response, and for pollution prevention and groundwater protection. Finally, it would move pollution prevention efforts from a voluntary system supported through County general funds to a regulation that would be cost-shared by the County and the businesses being regulated. Currently, the Health Department employs three environmental health professionals who deliver the services needed to implement the field compliance portion of this proposed regulation. The business community expressed opposition to this regulation. They said that they are already regulated, that this is an expansion of the program, and that the high costs are unnecessary.

The resolution passed 4-2. I voted against this regulation because I believe that it does, in fact, create a new regulatory burden and I am not convinced this is the right time. I am very supportive of our existing efforts and support continuing those efforts, but don't support going from voluntary to mandatory for certain businesses who don't currently have to follow these regulations. I believe that it is an increased burden. I also opposed the fee resolution (which also passed 4-2), which sets the fees at 75% for the business and 25% for the county. Personally, I think that the fees should be phased in over a series of years and should start at 50/50. I will continue to talk to both experts on environmental pollution mitigation and to the business community before the full Board vote on Tuesday, but will remain an opposition vote until I believe that my concerns are addressed. I have great respect and thanks for all the hard work of the members of the county Human Services committee...I just happen to disagree on this one. It happens.

In personal news, you may have heard that I have formed an exploratory committee to run for the State House of Representatives. It has been a whirlwind few months of talking to community leaders and constituents, and I am ready to test the waters. You can read my note to supporters and friends at www.andyschor.com for my reasoning behind taking my first steps into this exciting new adventure. Thanks to everyone who I have talked to, and to everyone who who has met with me and been open and honest with their advice and intentions! Please feel free to contact me at andy.schor@gmail.com or at (517) 618-1666 if you wish to discuss the campaign.

Have a great week!

Park Fee Approvals, Snowboarding Hill, Deputies Back to Work, Money Paid to Williamstown, Revenue Sharing

2011-02-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

This week, I am happy to report that one of my concerns on the Board was addressed. Last year, a fee increase for the parks went through without a vote of the Commissioners. When I asked how that is possible, I was told that the resolution creating the Ingham County Parks and Recreation includes language that says that the Parks Commission can create fees that go into effect if the Board of Commissioners don't strike them down within 60 days. That greatly upset me because I believe that the Board of Commissioners are the elected officials, and should set those fees. So, I authored a resolution that requires any fee increases to be approved by the Board first. That resolution came before the County Services and Finance Committees this week. In County Services, we amended it to allow for concessions fees to be changed by the Parks staff because those prices can fluctuate and we don't want to micromanage too much, but the rest of the fees are now subject to Board approval and will be on the annual fee schedule. I always believe that fees and taxes should be in the hands of the elected officials or the people, and not the staff. I am proud that this passed the committees unanimously.

In Finance, we also learned of an exciting proposal. If you remember last week, the Parks Department had an offer of cheap fill dirt and we are now putting that on the Tubing Hill at Hawk Island. Well, the Parks Commission was approached by a group of people who want to create the first ever public snowboard park at Hawk Island. Because the tubing hill is a curve, the snowboard hill would be on an adjacent part of the hill and used for snowboarders. They are asking for a loan of $30,000 to properly create the hill and for equipment and other things, which will be paid back in fees that are collected to use the hill. The snowboard community will also be donating thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The business is working with the Parks Department to craft a proposal that we will see in two weeks or a month, and this will attract numerous snowboarders to Hawk Island and to the Lansing area.

Also in the good news column, we learned this week that as of March, all 8 deputies that were laid off as a result of the defeat of the 12 township votes on road patrol now have jobs. So we will have no laid off out of work deputies. I am disappointed that those people had to go 3 months laid off, but am happy that they are now all taken care of. This was announced after we passed the resolution approving the contract with Williamstown for the dollars that we promised them because they passed the assessment for police. I am still hopeful that the other 12 townships will take us up on the money that we set aside for them, and we will hold that money for them until December 31st.

Finally, as you most definitely know by now, the Governor released his budget plan. In it, he cut revenue sharing from the state to the counties by 1/3. Ingham County was looking at the potential of a big deficit (anywhere from $5 million to $8 million), and the cuts the Governor has announced will definitely substantially increase that deficit if approved by the Governor. We will be looking at those numbers at the next Finance committee. This will not be pretty for Ingham County or for local governments anywhere, and either services will be slashed or local taxes will have to be raised. Budgeting will not be fun for the next year. But stay tuned!

Andy

Fill Dirt, Condolences

2011-02-12T11:24:00.001-08:00

So sorry for the really late post!

This week, we had our full Board of Commissioners meeting. There was not much controversial on the agenda, and most of the things I reported on last week passed on our consent agenda.

We did have one late item added to our agenda. As you may remember, the county is creating a snow tubing hill at Hawk Island (funded years ago). We had a request from our parks department to allow for the purchase of some extra fill dirt for the hill construction. A company was doing another digging project and had excess fill dirt. They basically charged us the price to move the dirt from the project in Delta Twp to Hawk Island. The construction of the snow tubing hill requires a large amount of fill dirt - essentially doubling the size of the hill. The company will deliver between 15,000 and 20,000 cubic yards of fill dirt at a total cost not to exceed $30,000. The current going rate for fill dirt in the area is around $8 per cubic yard, undelivered. The $30,000 will basically cover the cost of transporting the dirt and comes to about $2 per cubic yard delivered. This money will come from the Parks budget. This was a great opportunity to save some money in the long term.

Otherwise, the Board meeting was non-controversial. Several people passed away recently, and they were recognized. In my district, Ann Spencer passed away. She was the Treasurer for the Old Everett Neighborhood Association and was a tremendous woman. She will be greatly missed in our community. I also indicated my condolences to Dalia Harris, who was the teacher of both my children at their day care. She lost her son, Anthony, in the tragic car crash involving the Holt students. Also lost in the car crash was Holly Bossenberry, niece of constituent and friend and CADL Board Member Marge Bossenberry. My heart goes out to all of these families.

Until next week...

condolensces, lawsuit policy, dog park

2011-02-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

This week has been a very tough week for many friends. The accident in Holt has had a tremendous affect on our family. Our friend lost her son in that tragic accident, and another friend lost her niece. Our hearts go out to them. In addition, the Mayor of the City of Leslie passed away after being sick for many years and I send my condolences to his family and the community of Leslie. Finally, my constituent and friend Ann Spencer, the Treasurer of the Old Everett Neighborhood Network, passed away this week and it is a tremendous loss for our community.

On to county business. If you read my blog regularly (which of course you do!), you know that there recently have been several occasions of county entities suing the county (road commission, judge). As a result, multiple legal fees and other expenses were incurred at the expense of the Ingham County taxpayers without the county Board being consulted first.

I announced last year that I would be proposing a policy that requires that the County Board be notified before anyone takes legal action against the county. That resolution went before County Service and Finance this week. The resolution adopts the following procedures to be used in the event it is inevitable for one Ingham County entity to sue another:

1) An Ingham County entity must exhaust all efforts to resolve an issue with another Ingham County entity prior to initiating any formal legal proceedings or lawsuits.
2) Funds for outside Counsel shall not be incurred or expended without prior approval of the Board of Commissioners.
3) In emergency situations, Board Leadership and the Controller/Administrator are authorized to approve legal expenditures as long as the Liaison Committee, County Services and Finance Committees are notified immediately.
4) In the event the County incurs a financial obligation, the Board of Commissioners will determine the appropriate funding source, including but not limited to either parties’ existing County budget or the Contingency Fund.
5)Entities must first consider the possibility of utilizing counsel from an adjacent governmental unit.

In Finance, we added language recognizing that elected county officers in conflict must receive representation from the county (according to state law) if they have civil suits and the county attorney or prosecutor can't represent them. We added language that I wanted, though, that specified that these county elected officers must first consult with the Board of Commissioners to determine the amount of compensation for any outside counsel and to ensure that all other avenues have been exhausted. This policy passed both committees unanimously.

We also finalized how the Soldan Dog Park will be policed, and how the people and dogs will be protected. The Soldan Dog Park, a City of Lansing Dog Park, is located within the City of Lansing’s Scott Woods Park, with entrances through both Scott Woods Park and Hawk Island County Park.

The City of Lansing and the County and the Friends of the Dog Park will all have signed an agreement (if the County Board passes this on Tuesday) offered by the Soldan Dog Park Task Force requiring the installation of an electronic entry gate system at the dog park with an associated user fee to cover costs. Implementation of an electronic entry gate system will help regulate the safety of dog park users through the verification of licensure and vaccinations of dogs and reduce the need to staff volunteers to “police” the dog park.

The Ingham County Parks and Recreation Commission supported this project with the passage of Resolution #32-10 at their August 23, 2010 meeting. This resolution authorizes the acceptance by the county Parks Department of a $2,300 donation from the Friends of Greater Lansing Dog Parks Friends and a $2,300 contribution from the City of Lansing to be used for the purchase and installation of an electronic gate system at the Soldan Dog Park. The County will also add $2,630 from the Parks budget for the Soldan Dog Park Electronic Gate System project. Previously, the proposal was for a $40 annual fee. I successfully had an amendment passed that would reduce these fees to $30 annually, and this language remained in the proopsal. In addition, the annual fee will be $15 for Students, Seniors, and Veterans. It will be $5 for a One Day Pass, and $5 for FOB Replacement.

Finally, the resolution cements the agreement between the County and the City for the operation of portions of Scott Woods Park and the River Trail. The county will maintain the non-motorized pathway through Scott Woods Park, Soldan Dog Park, and the Lansing River Trail from Potter Park to Maguire Park. Security will be provided by Lansing via 911 calls for emergencies. These complaints will then be relayed to the county who will shut off the key fobs of the offenders. In addition, there will be a phone number on the key fob that will go directly to the county.

This resolution passed unanimously.

Because the Finance Committee was snowed out and was rescheduled for today (Thursday), I am going to quit now as it is 11 pm.

Goodnight, all!

Road Commission, Drain Assessor, Parks Vending Machines, Zoo, Land Bank

2011-01-22T08:04:00.001-08:00

This week we had a meeting of the full Board of Commissioners. We once again had issues with the road commission come up. Several employees attended the meeting to protest the allegations that have been made at the road commission. Commissioner Deb DeLeon informed them that the County Services will take up the issues at the road commission and listen to all points of view as we try to determine what is happening. As expected, the Board appointed Marc Thomas and Milton Scales to the two road commission spots.

We also hear from a gentleman who represented Michigan Open Carry, Incorporated. He indicated that he is against the library policy of prohibiting open carry and that it is against the law, and indicated a possibility of pending litigation. I assume he brought this to us because the Ingham County Commission appoints people to the Capital Area District Library Board.

For the items on the agenda, we once again considered the resolution to create a position in the Drain Commissioner’s office to do assessments for the drainage districts. I again mentioned that this was a matter of efficiency. We eliminated a 1/2 time position from the general fund, and the Drain Commissioner is funding a full-time position through the drainage districts which he says is a cast savings to taxpayers. The Republicans argued that this is reckless spending at the Drain office. The resolution passed 12-4.

We also unanimously passed a resolution authorizing a contract with the Dr. Pepper/Snapple group for vending machine service at all Ingham County parks. This project involved soliciting proposals from qualified and experienced vendors interested in entering into a contract with the County to provide beverage vending machines and product at the three county parks: Burchfield Park, Lake Lansing Park, and Hawk Island Park. The request for proposals included evaluations of many different options with respect to the placement of the vending machines, sponsoring options (e.g. banners, field signage, etc.), promotional incentives, advertisements, and commission/rebate options. The final contract includes a 40% commission on all product priced at $1.25, and no extra delivery fees for concession sales. The Dr.
Pepper proposal was the most financially advantageous proposal to the County. Dr. Pepper will also provide and place all equipment and vending machines, and repair and maintain the equipment and machines based on need or predetermined service intervals during the term of the 3-year agreement.

Yet another resolution that we passed unamimously amended the Potter Park Zoo Master plan by removing the Meerkat Exhibit due to a lack of available funding. The 20010 master plan is laid out by world regions with a new area focused on North American.
The master plan lists current projects as; the Rhinoceros exhibit, Meerkat exhibit and Eagle owl exhibit. The Eagle owl exhibit was completed in 2010 and the Rhinoceros exhibit will be completed in 2011. In 2010, $58,000 of the $100,000 of funding planned for the Meerkat exhibit renovation was transferred to the Rhinoceros exhibit. This leaves a balance of $42,000 in the Meerkat exhibit which is
insufficient to complete a renovation, without a significant fund raising campaign. In the new master plan the Meerkat exhibit is located in a new location. During the course of implementing the zoo master plan, constructing a new Meerkat exhibit which will be located in the Lake Tanganyika region, should be done when that region of the zoo is embarked upon. In 2011 the Potter Park Zoological Society will start a capital campaign that will concurrently seek financial support for phase one, Michigan Great Lakes, as well as phase two, the Animal Health Care and Teaching Facility. The Zoo Board and Parks & Recreation Commission supported the amendment
of the Potter Park Zoo Master Plan at their December 2010 meetings.

Finally, I would like to add in a report on economic development in Ingham County. The Land Bank reports that 2010 was another great year of growth for the Land Bank. We had 22 home sales and moved forward on a number of commercial redevelopments. At year end we owned 657 parcels, including 201 structures with demolition slated for 60. More renovation, new homes and demolition to follow! 2011 will be another big year as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding kicks into high gear. We have a dozen homes wrapping up renovation in the next 6 weeks. Please visit www.inghamlandbank.org for updates and homes for sale. Also, the Ingham County Brownfield Authority Land Bank/Brownfield Plans are one special funding source we bring to the table. We had a great bond sale this week for $2,685,000 at just under 4.65% interest cost on a 15 year issue.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Drain Assessment Position, Housing Dollars, Road Commission Changes

2011-01-21T23:01:00.000-08:00

First, I need to apologize for this blog being so late. We had a long meeting Thursday night (keep reading!) and I had a birthday party last night. This was the best time to get the blog done!

This week, County Services and Finance met and had lots of items on their agendas. In both committees, we considered a new position in the Drain Commissioner's office. Apparently, drain assessments have been done in the past by four different part time people. Drain Commissioner Lindemann wants to make this more efficient by making this one position specifically. His proposal is to remove a 1/2 time position from the general fund and have a full time position be funded from the drainage districts. He told us that there would not be an increase to the drainage districts because the assessments would cover it. And it will save money from the general fund. It passed both committees, but the Republicans voted against it. I supported it because it is a savings to the county and creates an efficiency. The Republicans said that they are concerned with the timing. There were also lots of discussions with the drain commissioner regarding other major drain projects and assessments, which really were not relevant to the resolution.

We also passed resolutions for Mason and Williamston for housing. We passed a resolution accepting $283,300 in Community Development Block Grant Funding from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority for rehabbing rental properties in Mason and Williamston. This funding was requested by the Ingham County Housing Commission. We also accepted $319,999 in Home Grant Funding from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to provide homeowner rehabilitation assistance in targeted downtown area neighborhoods in Williamston and Mason.

In addition to committee work, we also spent several hours Thursday dealing with Road Commissioners. We interviewed five candidates for two positions on the road commission. For those not familiar with the Road Commission, they are the board that oversee the roads for all the municipalities that are not cities in the county. The five candidates included two incumbents on the road commission. There were lots of issues that we had to review as we interviewed.

On the positive side, it seems that the communication between the road commission and the township boards has much improved. Communication has been a major problem in the past. We heard from just about all the township supervisors in the county in support of reappointment of the incumbent road commissioners because of their work and communication. Also, communication with the Board of Commissioners has greatly improved from years ago.

On the negative side, though, we heard several instances of discrimination of the staff at the road commission. We heard several stories of minority employees having racist comments being used towards them and several stories of supervisors discriminating against people because of skin color or ethnicity. Both minority and caucasian employees came to the meeting to complain. The allegations were very serious. In addition, there have been several civil rights complaints.

We posed many questions about management, roads and other issues to the candidates. Some answers were satisfactory and others were not. At the end, though, most of the Commissioners were convinced that there is a morale problem at the road commission that must be addressed. The County Services committee of the Board will be taking this up soon. These problems also resulted in the two incumbent commissioners being not reappointed. While they seem to do a good job in terms of roads and communication, they could not overcome the internal problems that have arisen at the road commission and with the staff.

I congratulate Marc Thomas and Milton Scales for receiving the 6 year appointment, and hope they can join the incumbent road commissioners (Shirley Rogers, Norman Gear, and Jim Dravenstatt-Moceri) in continuing the good service to the residents while also fixing the many issues that have arisen at the road commission. I also thank Joe Guenther for the 6 years he put in to help the residents of Ingham County, as well as Tom Mitchell for the 2 years he served on the road commission on behalf of Ingham County residents. Finally, thanks to Luke Canfora who applied and has a sincere interest in serving the residents of Ingham County. I am hopeful that the road commission management will get the message that discrimination is simply not accepted, and policies can be put in place to ensure training and repercussions for these issues.

Committees Begin Meeting, River Trail Dollars, Curbing Teen Smoking

2011-01-13T18:30:00.000-08:00

Committees for the Ingham County Commission start meeting tonight, with the Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committees meeting. My committees start next week (County Services and Finance) and we already have a bunch on the agenda. If you want to see the agendas, you can go to www.ingham.org. In the meantime, I have a few other exciting things to report this week.

Over the last week, the Lansing State Journal has reported on Ingham County's youth smoking prevention policy. This was created before I was on the Board, but we have made improvements and updates. We have been criticized in the past for being one of the few counties to have such a policy, but these articles show that we are making great strides in curbing teen smoking. I am proud that we have taken this initiative, and it is working out! Check out the article here, and check out the LSJ op-ed discussing how good this policy is here.

And now, a shameless plug for Lansing and the River Trail...

Keep Learning, a local coalition of schools, universities, and businesses, is in the running to win $50K to create more learning opportunities along mid-Michigan's awesome River Trail. It's a competition in which you can vote DAILY in multiple fashions. Please vote as well as help spread the word to your friends!

There are three ways TO VOTE:
1. Go to http://www.refresheverything.com/keeplearning and login.
2. TEXT 105421 to the word Pepsi (73774).
3. Use the Pepsi Refresh Voting App on Facebook to search "Keep Learning" and vote.

Thanks, Jen, for sending this my way and for advocating on behalf of Lansing. Winning this grant will be one more way to show that Lansing is awesome and that we Love Lansing!

I know this blog is short, but I am at gymnastics with my daughter and am enjoying watching her! Next week, I will have lots to report on. This is just the beginning of a very busy year!

Andy

Reminder: if you receive notification of my blog through my facebook group "Andy Schor, Ingham County Commissioner," you should sign up for my facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/andyschor.

Facebook Fan Page, County Commission leadership and committees, Boards and Commissions

2011-01-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011. I hope everyone had a great holiday and New Year season.

First, a note - many of you receive the notification of my blog through my facebook group "Andy Schor, Ingham County Commissioner." It has been pointed out to me that the better way to provide information to constituents, people interested in county activities, and those following Andy Schor in general is to have a facebook fan page instead. So...I introduce my 2011 update - my facebook fan page (click here). (thanks, Mitchell!)

The 2011 Ingham County Commission started our year on Monday with our swearing in. It was fairly standard, with all 16 Commissioners sworn in (12 Democrats and 4 Republicans). We elected our Board leadership – Mark Grebner as Chairperson, Deb Nolan as Vice Chairperson, and Don Vickers as Vice Chairperson Pro-Tem. We also approved committee lineups. The committees for next year are:

COUNTY SERVICES: De Leon (chair), Copedge (vice-chair), Celentino, Schor, Vickers, Dragonetti

FINANCE: Schor (chair), Tsernoglou (vice-chair), Nolan, Bahar-Cook, McGrain, Dougan

HUMAN SERVICES: Tennis (chair), McGrain (vice-chair), Koenig, Nolan, Vickers, Dougan

JUDICIARY: Bahar-Cook (chair), Koenig (vice-chair), Holman, Tennis, Tsernoglou, Schafer

LAW ENFORCEMENT: Celentino (chair), Holman (vice-chair), De Leon, Copedge, Schafer, Dragonetti

In addition, we approved members of the many Boards and Commissions that we serve on. In addition to our official duties serving on committees and attending the Board meetings, we also serve on a variety of boards and commissions for other regional organizations. Adding these to the many neighborhood associations that we visit and other community responsibilities results in very busy schedules for county commissioners!

Here is the list of the many boards and commissions that had commissioners appointed (and in some unique circumstances, county staff in place of commissioners):

Agriculture Preservation Board - Don Vickers
Animal Control Shelter Advisory Board - Todd Tennis
Capital Area Michigan (WORKS) Board - Dale Copedge, Debbie De Leon, Victor Celentino
CARTS Committee - Jared Cypher, Dianne Holman (alternate)
CATA Board - Mark Grebner
Capital Region Airport Authority - Victor Celentino
Capital Region Airport Authority Liaison - Debbie De Leon
Community Coalition for Youth - Deb Nolan
Community Corrections Advisory Board - Carol Koenig
Community Health Center Board - Todd Tennis
Community Mental Health Authority - Dale Copedge
Community Services Administration - Eric Schertzing, Carol Koenig
Convention Visitors Bureau - Debbie De Leon
Drainage Board - Mark Grebner, Bd Chair, Andy Schor, Fin. Chair
Economic Development Corporation - Brian McGrain
Equal Opportunity Committee - Carol Koenig, Dale Copedge (alt)
Fair Board - Carol Koenig
Ingham County Chapter, Michigan Townships Association - Don Vickers, Randy Schafer
Ingham Family Center Adv. Bd. Judiciary Rep. - Carol Koenig
Ingham Regional Medical Center Bd. Of Dir. - Charles Steinberg
Land Bank Deb Nolan (local unit of govt. rep), Rebecca Bahar-Cook, Debbie De Leon (City of Lansing rep), Brian McGrain
Lansing Area Safety Council - Don Vickers
Local Emergency Planning Committee - Randy Schafer
LEAP - Mary Lannoye
MALPH Board - Todd Tennis, Dean Sienko
Mason Local Development Finance Authority - Don Vickers
Mid South Substance Abuse Commission - Debbie DeLeon, Dale Copedge
Parks Board - Penelope Tsernoglou
Potter Park Zoo Board - Rebecca Bahar-Cook, Deb Nolan
Power of We Consortium - Todd Tennis
Tri-County Aging Consortium - Andy Schor, Rebecca Bahar-Cook, Steve Dougan
Tri-County Regional Planning Commission - Dianne Holman, Brian McGrain
Tri-Co. Reg. Planning Growth Study Committee - Brian McGrain
Womens Commission - Penelope Tsernoglou
Youth Commission - Todd Tennis

Now that we are appointed to our committees and commissions, let the business of government begin for 2011!

Final 2010 Blog - Chair DeLeon's 2010 Summary

2010-12-23T18:00:00.000-08:00

Well, this will most definitely be my final blog post of the year. Well, sort of. It isn’t my blog post…it is a blog post from Debbie DeLeon, the outgoing Chair of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners. A little background – Commissioner DeLeon (serving North Lansing) first became Board chair in 2009. She faced probably the most serious budget deficits as Board chair that anyone had faced in many, many years (Commissioner Grebner will probably know the last time it was this bad!). She did a great job steering the direction of the County and the Board of Commissioners in 2009. As a reward for her hard work and stress, we elected her Chair once again (note that it is rare for a Board Chair to receive back-to-back terms). Again 2010 was a very tough year. We had many reforms and big budget problems. And again, Chair DeLeon was great. She pushed the Commissioners and staff into facing and making tough decisions. The final blog of the year goes to Commissioner DeLeon. Below is her final statement that she gave to the Board in 2010. Thanks, Deb, for all your hard work for Ingham County.

The Board of Commissioners will have our first meeting of 2011 on January 3rd for swearing in and leadership elections. For now, I wish everyone happy holidays! Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Merry Festivus (sorry if I missed anyone)…and have a great New Year!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, this is the final meeting of the year and my final meeting as board chair. It has been a distinct honor and a privilege for me to serve my colleagues and this county as chair for the last two years.

Personally, it is also a special mark of distinction being the first American Indian not only to serve as a Commissioner, but the first native to serve as the Board Chair.

It is my hope that my time as chair has served my colleagues, my constituents, county residents and my community well and with honor.

I sincerely appreciate the confidence, support, assistance, collaboration, and quite an education in the process that I have received from everyone…my colleagues, our staff, especially Becky Bennett our board coordinator—and just in case anyone didn’t know…she is the one who keeps us all inline!—our controller Mary Lannoye, our deputy controller John Neilson, and our county attorney Peter Cohl, just to name a few, but not to minimize anyone else’s importance on this very long list such as my vice chair Victor Celentino and committee chairs, Dale Copedge, Mark Grebner, Brian McGrain, Deb Nolan and Dianne Holman. And, of course the list was different for the previous year---my 2009 leadership team included vice-chair Dale Copedge with committee chairs Victor Celentino, Mark Grebner, Todd Tennis, Rebecca Bahar-Cook and Andy Schor.

Ingham County has certainly seen some unprecedented times in recent years with all the budget shortfalls growing with each passing year making it harder and harder to balance a budget without enduring a painful process.

We have seen the general fund—that’s our discretionary dollars—shrink by more than $20m in the last 4 years due to revenue losses and declining property taxes. We know these cuts are being felt across the board to one degree or another. However, even in light of $5.7m reduction in the 2010 budget, we have all worked very hard to find ways to minimize the impact on direct services and to void layoffs by eliminating vacant positions first wherever possible…and that is something we should all be proud of in these difficult times.

One of the reasons for Ingham County’s accomplishments in this area is because of the great working relationship we have between our board, our management and our unions. This year, employees are taking 3 furlough days which will be taken during the Christmas holiday closing non-mandated county offices December 27, 28 & 29th. We are, indeed, all in this together and the only way to survive it, is together! A special thank you to all for your good work and sharing in the pain.

We have also seen the transition of three controllers in the past 4 years or so. And i worked through each of them in one capacity or another, but the last one as chair. Today, in case you didn’t know it—for the first time in the history of this county, we have sort of a dream team having an all female county leadership team which includes:

• Controller Mary Lannoye
• Budget director Teri Morton
• Finance director Jill Rhode
• Board coordinator Becky Bennett
• And of course myself as chair

Sorry guys, i just had to point this history in the making event out! Who knows, with this is an absolute first for the county, it may never happen again!!

Anyway, one of the things that i have tried to push as chair has been to get departments heads as well as elected countywides and judges to understand the depth of the budget shortfalls and how we were not seeing any improvement indicators for the near future…urging them to look at restructuring their management teams to eliminate management positions. If I count correctly, only 3 have done this to date and I want to give them special recognition for stepping up and taking a leadership role. Clerk Mike Bryanton was the first to take this initiative. Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings and health administrator Dr. Dean Sienko have also accomplished this for a combined total budget savings of nearly $300k! It all adds up…a special thank you to them for their courage and leadership.

Some of the more significant or notable issues that came before the board in 2010 were not only controversial but also ground breaking kind of issues:

County services highlights
• Authorized a reorganization within the Ingham county clerk’s office—eliminated 1 deputy and converted 1 chief deputy to a supervisor level—increasing efficiencies and an annual savings of more than $70k.
• Approved the first beer tent at the fair—which worked out as expected without any problems;
• Approved the first project labor agreement – the rhino project at the zoo
• Amended the local purchasing preference policy to provide an opportunity to increase more local vendor participation
• Transferred Rayner Park to the city of mason in an effort to keep the park open

Law enforcement highlights
• Eliminated primary law enforcement services for rural townships ultimately transferring responsibility to each of those jurisdictions
• Authorized the closing of a post at the jail
• Authorized the building authority to proceed with the Ingham county consolidated 911 dispatch center and as a project labor agreement. This particular issue gives me some personal pride in that as chair of the law enforcement committee in 2005, i pushed to initiate the first meeting between the county and the cities of Lansing and East Lansing that started us down this road. And here were are 5 years later finally authorizing the construction of the $6.4m (building and equipment costs combined) facility. We hit some bumpy roads along the way, but thanks to the voters of ingham county for their ongoing support of the 911 millage, this consolidation will ultimately provide a cost savings and be a more efficient operation.
• Authorized entering into an intergovernmental cost sharing agreement with Eaton, Clinton and Livingston counties for a new 911 phone system that would develop virtual backup capabilities for the 911 system – another cost saving measure
• Authorized an imaging project resulting in a reorganization within the prosecutor’s office that eliminated vacant positions no longer needed when the office went paperless. Resulting in a savings of $190k. Because of the success in the prosecutor’s office, more county offices are looking at going paperless.

Human services highlights
• Authorized a realignment of the health department programs and administrative structure—eliminated a deputy position going from 3 divisions to 2 divisions for a total cost reduction of $88k.
• Expansion of the health clinics continues due to the fqhc—federally qualified health care center—status thanks to our health department staff who works so diligently to apply for any and all federal dollars available.
• Authorized an agreement, tonight actually, with sparrow hospital for medical examiner services that will keep all autopsies in Ingham county.

Judiciary highlights
• Authorized expansion of an additional class (10 more students) to the very successful Ingham academy high school program. Graduation of our first class took place this year, which was quite moving and impressive. Programs like this happen because of the juvenile justice millage and the ability to match those funds with state dollars.
• Authorized a contract with luminosity solutions to review certain aspects of the Ingham county criminal justice system & provide recommendations to responsibly manage the reduced jail population while maintaining public safety and the integrity of the judicial process in preparation for the closing of post 3 (64 bed reduction).
• Requested the JUCC—jail utilization coordinating committee—to review the luminosity report entitled “jail & justice system assessment” & forward their recommended strategies to adopt to the board.
• Adopted JUCC recommendations for implementation, which were
1. Add 1 FTE pre-trial investigator position;
2. Increase electronic monitoring—a grant was also obtained to offset costs for the indigent, as the cost is paid by the person monitored.

Finance highlights
• Of course, we all know that all resolutions dealing with money go through the finance committee, as well...and, sometimes they actually get to tweak a resolution or two before it goes to the full board.
• This committee’s most difficult issue comes with the passing of a balanced budget -- deciding which priorities on the z-list from all the other committees survive the process or face getting cut.

Most of the work throughout the year has focused around the budget in one way or another...this speaks volumes in regards to the size of the budget problems this county has been and will continue to face…at least until 2014 is what is currently being projected. 2012 is anticipated to be worse than anything we have seen to date—especially if the legislature does anything negative to revenue sharing. Given the “fun” we have had with the budget the last two years, I am more than happy to take a break and looking forward to it!!

In closing, thank you, again, to everyone and anyone who helped me in any way during my tenure as board chair. It has really been very much appreciated. It has indeed been an honor and i have enjoyed this awesome opportunity.

And, thank you for your indulgence in allowing me this moment to share some of the highlights of this past year only…and now for the highlights of 2009!!!

Just kidding…one last word—best wishes to the incoming 2011 chair. And best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy holiday season.

Chi megwetch!!

LEAP, Outside Counsel for Judge, Police Services Money

2010-12-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

This week, the Board of Commissioner had our final meeting of the year…and it was a long one!

First, we dealt with our membership to the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP). You may recall that the resolution to pay our $35,000 LEAP membership for 2010 failed at out Board meeting 2 weeks ago. We had two people testify in public comment that LEAP was necessary and very important for the region – Steve Alexander from PNC Bank and Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing. When the resolution came up, Commissioner Holman offered an amendment to reduce the amount paid to LEAP from $35,000 to $15,000. I was among the people voting against this. I believe that we sat at the table and made decisions with the rest of the LEAP membership (public and private) and we should pay the same as the others. That amount is $35,000. Next year the cost is reduced to $15,000, and LEAP recognizes that governments are short in funding and having a hard time. Commissioner Holman’s amendment failed, and the resolution passed this time.

We also dealt with a resolution requested by Judge Giddings to pay off legal bills that he faces. Because of a certain situation where he was being sued by another county entity, he was forced to retain outside counsel. According to state law, the County is responsible for paying that. In short, he has a disagreement over whether he can sit as judge in a case involving a former judge. He thinks he can but the Chief Judge thinks he can’t. The Prosecutor has filed a motion to change the venue of the case with the Appeals Court, and Judge Giddings is fighting it. Because the Prosecutor is using the County Attorney, Judge Giddings needs an outside counsel. The one catch is that Judge Giddings is no longer a judge as of the end of December. So, the County Board agreed to pay the costs already occurred (no more than $7,000), but indicated we will not pay anything further and would like to see the case dropped. This was a tough one. Personally, I don’t like it when one agency of the county sues another and doesn’t consult with the Board of Commissioners, then expects us to pay. I will be drafting a policy to require prior approval of the Board before one entity sues another. But, because we have to follow state law and this expense is necessary for the Judge in his official capacity, I voted to pay this but specify that we won’t pay anything further because the case should be over.

The final controversial resolution that we considered, which took a long time, was the resolution to give money to Williamstown for their police services (using assessment money) and to give money to Alaiedon Twp if they decide to contract with the county for police services (using general fund dollars). A resolution we passed last month specified that we would only give money to Williamstown if they contracted with the county. They decided, though, to contract with Meridian Twp for police services. While many of think this is unfortunate, it seems that Meridian gave a lower bid for the services. I am not sure how this is possible and it has been suggested to me that Meridian is paying less that it will actually cost (which means the Meridian taxpayers are actually subsidizing the service), but the fact remains that Williamstown went with the lowest bidder.

According to what we passed last month, this would mean that we will not give Williamstown any county money for transition. Commissioner Randy Schafer proposed a resolution that would change our past resolution and grant Williamstown $122,000 for any purpose. This is something that Commissioner Grebner has been proposing and he incorporated this into a resolution that we already had on the Board floor. This was a very tough decision for everyone. The Board committed to give money to any township that passed a millage or assessment, but it was unclear if we had actually stated in any of our policies earlier in the year that the community had to contract with the county. I expressed that I would not support changing direction unless the county dollars are specifically used to re-hire deputies that are laid-off. In the end, in my mind, I had to balance the need to have the township use our money to contract with the Sheriff versus the need to have the township use our money to hire the deputies that we have to lay off as a result of the townships voting down the assessments for road patrol and the county eliminating road patrol.

After great discussion, Commissioner Grebner proposed language requiring Williamstown to use the county money to hire deputies that were laid off from the county. He also said that the deputies have to be “qualified” so that there aren’t people doing other jobs that are demanding the money. This word, though, is now causing some problems as there could be some shenanigans occurring in saying that the deputies laid off from the county may not be qualified because of minor details. I am going to keep a close eye on this, and have made my opinions clear that we should not approve moving the money if the township is not hiring our deputies. I also am willing to come back and re-define the work “qualified” in our resolution if necessary.

There were also concerns that the resolution allows Williamstown to use the money for contracting outside or with the county, while Alaiedon has to contract with the county (which they have said they would do). Some are concerned that there will not be a unified police force throughout the county. My response to that was that the voters decided on November 2nd that they do not want a unified police force when they turned down the assessments and millages. At this point, the Board will deal with each interested township individually and according to the situation that they are in when they talk to us about county money for their police force (until the end of 2011).

So that’s it for this week. I am not sure if I will blog next week…depends on what is going on and if there is enough to talk about. If I don’t blog, I hope everyone has a happy holiday and great New Year!

Last Round of Committees, Road Patrol, Autopsies,

2010-12-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

This week we had our final round of committee meetings for the year. I had County Services and Finance. First, let me thank the Chairs of those committees. Dale Copedge did a great job running the County Services in an expedient and effective manner, and Mark Grebner was a fair and effective Finance Committee Chair. We had a busy yet great year.

In Finance, we dealt with the ongoing road patrol and police services issue. We passed a resolution allowing for a contract with Williamstown and/or Alaedon Township to retain 5 deputies and provide the townships money for police services (up to $220,571) if they contract with the Sheriff (County). Ironically, we also found out that Williamstown Twp passed a resolution to contract with Meridian Township for police, which means that they are turning down the county dollars. We were told that the Township Board said they didn't want to contract with the county because they don't like the Board of Commissioners. In doing so, they rejected $124,000 offered by the county. Meridian's offer was less expensive than the County's (not including the $124,000) and the Sheriff’s staff are checking to see how that is possible because Meridian police officers make more in salary than the county deputies make. The Williamstown-Meridian contract apparently contracted for 80-100 hours of service per week, and a pro-rated rate after that.

Also, as you may recall, a few weeks ago the County heard from several parties about the dollars that we were being expected to pay for autopsies. To briefly summarize, Sparrow planned to charge us a lot more than they are currently charging. The Health Department found another person to do the autopsies in Genesee county who would charge a lot less. As a result, though, the Prosecutor and City of Lansing said that using Genesee county would increase their costs because they would have to travel to Genesee county with the bodies. After that, our staff went into negotiations.

Well, I am happy to report that there is a resolution to this issue. Our Health Director and Controller met with the various parties involved. The result is a resolution that passed Human Services and Finance which will approve a contract with Sparrow Hospital for services to support the Medical Examiner’s office for the next 4 years (starting in March). Under the current system, the Medical Examiner utilizes Health Department staff and contracted physicians, through appointments as Deputy Medical Examiners, to perform many of these functions, and contracts with local pathologists for autopsy services. The proposed agreement with Sparrow, though, is all inclusive and eliminates the need for the current arrangement. The services to be performed by Sparrow include all postmortem examinations, records management, death certificates, cremation permit authorizations, and death investigations.

Under the current arrangement, the actual expenditures for Medical Examiner services are approximately $350,000 per year. The cost to the County under the negotiated terms will be up to $320,000 per year and will not change during the next four years. This price includes 160 autopsies. If Sparrow performs more than 160 autopsies in a given year, there will be an additional charge of $1,200 per autopsy for the first ten cases, the next ten would be $1,400, and all autopsies over a caseload of 180 will be $1,600. If Sparrow performs less then 160 autopsies in a given year, the County would be similarly credited. We have been told by our staff that they do not expect more than 160 autopsies to happen in any given year. So, this will very likely be a savings to the county, will ensure that we are using a local hospital for these services, and will prevent the Lansing Police and the Prosecutor from having to expend additional dollars. Overall, this is a win-win-win for all parties!

That’s it for now!

CATA Elderly and Disabled Service, SeeClickFix

2010-12-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

This week is an unusual week in that there were no Ingham County meetings. Because we meet twice a month, and because there were five weeks in November this year, the last week (Nov 30 - Dec 2nd) didn't have any meetings. As such, I am going to take this opportunity to report on one of the important services that Ingham County residents pay for and that we provide to our residents - the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) special services serving elderly and disabled residents of Ingham County.

In November, voters renewed the millage for this special service. About a month ago, the Board finalized our contract with CATA to fund and provide this service. This is in addition to the line-haul service provided with CATA (which is the dedicated bus lines that the citizens of Lansing, East Lansing, Delhi, Meridian and Lansing Township pay).

From January1, 2011 through December 31, 2015, CATA will carry out the following activities with respect to small bus transportation primarily serving elderly and disabled residents of Ingham County:

1. Take all reasonable steps to improve the quality of small bus service primarily
serving the elderly and residents with disabilities of Ingham County. CATA shall
constantly strive to develop methods to provide such services in more cost efficient
ways.

2. Continue to operate service for persons with disabilities, known as CATA Spec-
Tran, providing at a minimum the level of service in effect on October 1, 1988, to
residents of Ingham County who reside within the boundaries of the urbanized area
and who further qualify for this specialized service by nature of their mobilityrelated
disabilities. Services shall be provided in conformity with state and federal
requirements and grants received for the operation of the service. A maximum of
$1,942,212 of the funds received under this Agreement shall be used to pay the
actual expenses of operating, administrating and marketing Spec-Tran.

3. The amount of $105,873.00 shall be retained by the County for the operation of a
vehicle used to transport area veterans to VA Hospitals in the region in the
County’s 2011 Fiscal Year. CATA has no responsibility for this service and does
not participate in its operation or funding.

Also, dollars from this millage will be used to manage and operate the small bus system commonly known as CATA Rural Services (CRS), providing a minimum of 79 hours per day of service to the residents of Ingham County who reside outside of the boundaries of the urbanized area. Service shall be provided in conformity with the requirements of the state and federal grants received for the operation of the service. A maximum of $468,750 of the funds received under this agreement shall be used to pay for the actual expenses of operating, administering and marketing CATA Rural Services. While I am not thrilled that dollars from this millage will be used for rural services instead of just elderly and disabled service, I have been told that the percentage of dollars going to rural service matches the percentage of dollars being supplied by the rural areas. I guess that makes me feel a little better. And for all the attorney's, this is legal because the ballot language said the millage is "primarily" for elderly and disabled, so less than 50% can be used for rural services. Again, I am not happy that it seems that the voters were not wholly informed on this, but it has passed twice and the voters have not complained.

In addition to CATA, I wanted to share one other thing for Lansing area residents. I am on the Active Neighboring News email list from Joan Nelson of the Allen Street community and love it. Here is one tip she points out in this week’s email…

SeeClickFix is a wonderful new tool that enables neighbors to report non-emergency problems to the City of Lansing and the Board of Water and Light, e.g., traffic light or street light outage, stretch of sidewalk that is in such poor condition that it is downright dangerous, a ‘permanent’ dumpster in front of a home on your block, etc. Go to the website, www.seeclickfix.com. The “prompts” allow you to create an account. Then, when you observe the problem, go into the website, type in your remarks in the “Report an issue!” box. Good luck.

I am also on the South Lansing email list from Kathie Dunbar and have learned lots of good information from that. I will pass that on as well when I receive it.

Next week should be another busy week, and I will have a report for you on Thursday!

Guest Blogger: Commissioner Penelope Tsernoglou

2010-11-25T05:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! This week, I will once again turn to a guest blogger to report on county adtivities. So...today I introduce you to Commissioner Penelope Tsernoglou of East Lansing, our newest Commissioner who won election last year in a special election. Thanks for blogging this week, Penelope!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First, I’d like to congratulate our new Board Chair, Mark Grebner, and Vice-Chair, Deb Nolan. Brian McGrain and Carol Koenig will continue as caucus chair and treasurer. Congrats to our new committee chairs Andy Schor (Finance), Todd Tennis (Human Services), Vic Celentino (Law Enforcement), Deb DeLeon (County Services) and Rebecca Bahar-Cook (Judiciary), as well as our appointees to the Women’s Commission, Economic Development Corporation (Congrats Chong-Anna Canfora and Kristin Bellar!!), and various other Board’s and Commissions.

I’d like to take a minute to introduce myself. I am the newest County Commissioner to the Board. I was elected in May of this year in a special election after long-time Commissioner Marc Thomas resigned his post. I represent the part of East Lansing between Coolidge Road and Abbot Road, which includes part of MSU’s campus. The committees I serve on this year are Law Enforcement and Judiciary, both of which are perfect for me considering my background as a public defense attorney for Ingham County, as well as a domestic violence victim’s advocate working out of the Sheriff’s Office, and a long time animal control volunteer. I was also appointed to serve on the Ingham County Women’s Commission and Tri-County Aging Consortium. In 2011, I look forward to serving as the vice-chair of Finance, continuing to serve on Judiciary and the Women’s Commission, as well as becoming acquainted with the Park’s Board.

While we had several important issues come before the Board this week, including allocation of transition money to the townships (we agreed on an amount and will be making it available for transition provided that Williamston contracts with the Sheriff’s Office), a pollution control ordinance (sent back to committee), and our continued participation and membership dues to LEAP (also tabled), the issue I have been contacted about the most recently is actually a City of East Lansing zoning issue, but can certainly have an impact on the County as well. A few weeks ago our Health Department Director expressed an interest to us in the vacant Blue Cross/Blue Shield building and property located at the corner of Lake Lansing and Coolidge Road. Our interest is in establishing a federally qualified health center with a priority focus on geriatric services. The establishment of such a facility would likely increase our competitiveness for additional dollars in the form of access point grants from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. We would expect to make use of the existing structures, which appear to be suitable. The site is extremely well served by public transit, with five regular routes converging nearby. With medical buildings just to the South of the location, we believe this would be a positive addition to our East Lansing community and a perfect fit for the property. It is also consistent with current zoning and East Lansing’s master plan. While this is still in the idea phase, and not a formal proposal, I believe it is certainly worth consideration as a viable option. On December 7th, the City Council will consider a proposal for re-zoning from a developer who would like to purchase the property, tear down the existing structures, and build a CVS pharmacy. A majority of my constituents are strongly opposed to this plan as they believe it is inconsistent with our master plan, and will increase traffic accidents and backups. I am inclined to agree with their position and will continue to follow the issue until a final decision is made.

Thanks to Commissioner Schor for providing me the opportunity to guest blog this week and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Penelope Ann Tsernoglou
Ingham County Commissioner- District 8 (East Lansing)

LEAP, Police Services for Williamstown, Hawk Island Tubing Hill

2010-11-16T21:21:00.000-08:00

In County Services and Finance, we considered funding for LEAP, Inc. (Lansing Economic Area Partnership), the regional private-public economic development organization for the greater Lansing area (Eaton, Clinton, Ingham counties). We considered a resolution for funding of $35,000 for the 2010 year. We have already approved funding of $15,000 for 2011 (the dues were reduced starting in 2011). Denyse Ferguson and Ray DeWinkle provided us with a presentation and wealth of information. LEAP has focus areas of business growth & development, strategic regional collaboration and place marketing for growth. They coordinate strategic regional growth efforts, conduct proactive business attractions, manage regionally coordinated and nationally connected entrepreneurial efforts, and proactively market the Greater Lansing Region as a destination for businesses and talent. We asked several questions, including asking for specifics on results and actual numbers to go with the concepts. The LEAP folks provided excellent information in the packets and in their responses. I was a little skeptical at first because I had not seen any specifics...but was much happier after hearing the presentation. They also talked about how they work with local municipalities and the State (MEDC) to use all available tools to attract the businesses to the region, and they assess the needs of the companies such as resources, grants, labor force, building and so on. This is in addition to their marketing and sales of the greater Lansing area. The resolution to pay the $35,000 for 2010 passed in County Services on a 4-2 vote and in Finance on a 3-2 vote.

In Finance, we spent significant time working out the details of how to give Williamstown Township money to assist them in transitioning to road patrol funded by their new assessment. As you may recall, the county ended funding for road patrol unless the rural townships agreed to pay into this service. All 13 put assessments or millages on their ballots, and the County Board reserved money in our budget to assist any township that passed the assessment/millage. Williamstown Township was the only township to do so, and we now have limited time to work out with them how to get them the transition money (until January 1st).

Commissioner Mark Grebner drafted a resolution which would give Williamstown $100,000 in 2011 for them to contract with the county, form their own township police department, contract with another township, or however they want to create police services. It also said that any new deputies hired have to be county deputies or former county deputies if available. We had lengthy discussion and passed several amendments to this resolution. First, we changed the amount to be allocated. We created a formula that allocates money based half on taxable value using 2010 numbers and half on the estimated 2009 population. Both of these are the most recent numbers that we have to use. I assume this will increase the allocation to about $130,000, but I don’t know the exact number. We next amended the resolution to require that the township has to contract with the Sheriff to get the incentive dollars. Four of us on the committee agreed with the Sheriff that the township should have to contract with the county for service rather than being able to contract with another municipality or create their own police force when using the dollars given to them by the county. Of couse, they can do whatever they want with the dollars that they collect from their own assessment. Our resolution is only for the transition/incentive dollars that we committed. We added to the resolution that the township must provide an adequate level of police service in order to receive the dollars (as determined by the sheriff). This will provide any attempt to only collect a small portion of the assessment, then use county dollars for police. Finally, we allowed the township to utilize the total allotment over two years if they want.

This resolution will be a model for other townships that may want to contract with the county for police services. Others townships could do so from their general fund balances (Commissioner Grebner says that they have healthy fund balances to do this), or other townships could go back to the ballot with a new assessment/millage proposal for their voters. We have $800,000 in total reserved for 2011, and are open to allocating that to any township that wants police services and is willing to put up the funds and request incentive/transition dollars from the County. We have heard that there is one other township interested at this point, but I won’t speculate until we receive an actual request.

In County Services, we also had a short discussion and vote on a resolution regarding the tubing hill at Hawk Island. As you may recall (as I have reported in the past), in 2007 the County was awarded a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (MDNRE) for the construction of a snow tubing hill at Hawk Island County Park. One of the requirements of the grant is that the County utilizes a Prime Professional to complete various aspects of the project. As such, the Purchasing Department solicited proposals from professional firms qualified and experienced in engineering, architectural and/or surveying for the purpose of entering into a contract to provide surveying, permitting, and site design services for the construction of the hill in compliance with the grant. We had taken bids previously, but re-bid this year and received a bid from excellent Lansing company for a maximum disbursement of $6,650. This was a savings of about $3,000 after it was. County funds will be expended from the matching amount that was put aside for this grant and project.

As always, please feel free to email or call with questions! I have heard from several people, which tells me that my blog is being read. Yay!

Andy

EDC Interviews, Road Commission, Dog Park, Pollution Prevention, Other Items

2010-11-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

Another busy week for the county commission. Due to the election, the County Services committee was canceled last week and rescheduled for Monday. Mondays are the days that I do karate with Ryan or gymnastics with Hannah, so on Monday I went to County Services directly from Ryan’s karate class and he came with me (in full karate gear!). We had interviews for the county Economic Development Committee. Five very impressive individuals interviewed for two open spots (and we have five more to interview). Tough decision. Then, after that, we met with the Road Commission for about an hour. They updated us on what is going on at the Road Commission, and our committee members asked several questions. It was heated at times, but it is always important for the elected Commissioners to keep up with the folks we appoint to the Road Commission.

On Tuesday, we had our Board meeting. We had two controversial resolutions that were on the agenda, but both were delayed. I have reported on the resolution to establish a gate at the dog park. That was on the agenda for a second time, but we tabled it indefinitely. We are awaiting a decision by the city of Lansing regarding the Dog Park. At this time, there is no contract between the County and the City for the Soldan Dog Park. It is City land, but the County is maintaining it. Before we can establish a gate at the Dog Park, we need to hear from the City on a contract for the park. So, until that happens we have tabled the resolution.

The second resolution that was controversial is the Pollution Prevention resolution. As I reported last week, the Commission is considering passing a fee for businesses that deal with pollutants. This has been regulated due to federal and state law, but until now the county has been paying to regulate this service. The Health Department has requested that the Commission establish a fee so that the taxpayers are not on the hook for this, and so that we can move this from an administrative program to an actual ordinance. The Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce requested that we delay consideration of the ordinance for two weeks while they review it and talk to their members. As such, we decided to delay Board action for two weeks and Commissioner McGrain plans to discuss it once again at the Human Services committee on Monday to ensure that we are giving this regulation a thorough review.

Other important resolutions that we did pass on Tuesday which I have already reported on are: the 2011 community agency funding, increasing the local purchasing preference policy from 5% to 10%, and adopting a policy on cost increases that will inform vendors that any cost increase more than 1% will receive more intense scrutiny.

At the next County Services committee on Monday, we are expecting to discuss the Lansing Area Economic Partnership (LEAP). The County owes dues for the year, but there are some who are uncomfortable with what benefits we are receiving from LEAP. Should be an interesting discussion! I know you are eagerly awaiting my report for next week…

Election Over!, Pollution Prevention Regulation, Community Agency Funding, Police Funding

2010-11-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late posting of the blog this week. As you know, though, there was an election on Tuesday and life has been very busy. I am happy to announce that I won another term! Thanks to my wife and family, my honorable opponent Chris Christensen, and all of my supporters for all the help and support! All commissioners were re-elected, and the Democrats were able to hold a 12-4 majority. The one empty seat went from a Democrat to a Republican. While I was happy to win, several of my friends will be out of a job due to the Republican victories and they will be in my thoughts. If you know of any jobs, please let me know and I will pass them on to those who are looking!

Now on to the County News for the week…

The Finance Committee this week passed a new Pollution Prevention Regulation. The Ingham County Health Department currently does a variety of inspection and reporting on businesses that store, process, use, and manufacture polluting materials. We do this both as a requirement of federal law, and also as an issue of public safety.

Up until now, this has been done administratively and using general fund dollars (taxpayer dollars). The Health Department and the Human Services Committee have spend the last few months crafting an ordinance to officially address this, and to have the businesses who handle these materials pay the fees for pollution prevention instead of the taxpayers. They crafted language on what will be required by the businesses, and they settled on a fee of 75% to start (so that businesses are not hit with 100% of the fee in the first year). The Health Department is working through what businesses will need to pay the fee, and will be notifying businesses after the ordinance passes. Those who believe they should not be responsible for the fee can work with the Health Department. Commissioner Don Vickers has already worked with the Health Department to eliminate some who should not be on the list.

In addition to committee meetings on the ordinance, the Human Services committee conducted a public hearing and heard no opposition to the proposed ordinance. I am not on the committee so I learned much of this at the Finance Committee. When this was considered in Finance, I raised questions about having appeals go to the Board of Health instead of the elected Board of Commissioners. I was told that all health ordinance appeals go to the Board of Health, and I was satisfied with this answer after the Health Department accepted that they need to report the number and status of appeals to the Board of Commissioners. The resolution passed Finance 4-1 and will be considered by the full Board on Tuesday.

The Finance committee this week also took up the resolution to fund community agencies, as passed by the Human Services committee. For 2011, 35 agencies submitted applications totaling $248,084.50. The 2011 budget contains $187,261 available for community agencies. The Human Services committee funded the requests of the 19 agencies that “meet basic needs.” The remaining agencies were funded at 50% of their 2010 allocation or 50% of their 2011 request, whichever was lower. This resulted in 33 total agencies receiving funding. The Finance Committee did not change this allocation.

After a lengthy discussion last meeting, the Finance Committee passed a resolution amending the County Local Preference policy regarding contracts. We increased the preference threshold from the current 5% to a 10% local purchasing preference. As such, local registered vendors will have a greater opportunity to be awarded County contracts by being able to match other non-local bidders if within 10% of the lowest bid. Hopefully, this will help to keep county tax dollars in the county and help our local unemployment rates.

Finally, the committee began discussions of providing transition dollars for the one township that passed the police assessment. As you recall, the County Board of Commissioners eliminated funding for Road Patrol in the townships. I won’t go into the reasoning…you can look up previous versions of this blog for that! But we committed that any township that passed the special millage would receive dollars from us as they transition into their own funded police. Williamstown Township was the only township of the 13 to pass this millage (although several townships that defeated the millage actually voted for the zoo, which was a surprise to me). Commissioner Grebner introduced a resolution to give them $100,000 for any purpose (create their own police department, contract with another municipality, contract with the county) as long as any laid off sheriff deputies are hired first. The resolution was then referred to the Law Enforcement Committee to discuss. We also encouraged the Law Enforcement Committee to hold a committee meeting earlier than it is currently scheduled, but that will be up to the Chair of that committee. Time is definitely of the essence, and there are many things to do (contracts, details, etc) before January 1.

So, that’s it for this week. I hope everyone is over the election and glad that all the commercials are done!

2010 General Election Blog Post

2010-10-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is my elections blog. This is for Ingham County. I will do my best to provide information about the races that you may not know about. This blog is really long...sorry about that! If you want to see the official candidate and proposal list, you can click here.

The top of the ticket is Mayor Virg Bernero (D) vs. businessman Rick Snyder (R). I assume you know all you want to know about this race, so I will move on.

For Attorney General, the race is between Prosecutor David Leyton (D) and Bill Schuette (R). Layton is the Prosecutor in Genesee County and is a former county commissioner. Mr. Schuette is a former Appeals Court Judge, former State Senator, former Department of Agriculture Director, former Congressman. I believe he is in private practice now, because he had to be off the bench for a year before he could run for office. This race has gotten nasty, as Schuette has attacked Layton for not prosecuting a murderer and using the victim’s mother in ads. The victims’ mother has accused the coverage of being slanted because the Jewish owner of the Flint Journal wants to help a fellow Jew (Leyton). Leyton refutes this and points out his over-90% prosecution record. He says that Schuette is abusing a disgruntled victim in order to politicize a complicated situation. I have endorsed Leyton, as he contacted me a while ago and I have been very impressed with his time as a prosecutor. I believe we need a prosecutor as Attorney General.

In the Secretary of State race, Jocelyn Benson (D) is facing off against Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson (R). Benson is a professor at Wayne State, and Johnson is a former State Representative and the former Lieutenant Governor candidate for Dick DeVos. This race is also getting nasty, as the Democrats really want to turn the tide of Republican control of this office while the Republicans are sinking a lot of money into keeping it. Johnson has accused Benson of being run by out-of-state interests and of carpetbagging to Michigan. Benson countered saying she has contributions from a majority of the counties in Michigan as well as from friends out-of-state, and said that she chose to live in Michigan because she lived in other states and Michigan is the best place to settle. Benson has said Johnson of putting millions of her own money into the race, and has accused Johnson of disenfranchising voters by saying that those with foreclosures can’t vote. Johnson refutes that by saying she was part of the group alerting people with foreclosures that they can vote. Benson is married to a friend from college and I have met her many times. I am very impressed with her dedication and drive, and I support Benson.

For Congress, there are two races. Republican Congressman Mike Rogers is being challenged by Democrat Lance Enderle. This race has flown under the radar. Rogers has millions in the bank, and is campaigning on lessening the debt. Enderle has vowed not to take PAC money and has much less in the bank. He is campaigning on the fact that Rogers is much too conservative for the district, that Rogers was part of creating the debt when he was in the majority, and is campaigning on eliminating unfair trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA.

On the west side of the county, Democratic Congressman Mark Schauer is being challenged by Republican former Congressman Tim Walberg. Anyone watching TV knows that this race is very nasty. I can’t even go into the myriad of claims that each is making against the other. Suffice it to say…if you live in this district, you have received mail, calls, tv, knocks on your door, etc.

For the State Senate, Democratic Senator Gretchen Whitmer is being challenged by Republican Kyle Haubrich. Sen. Whitmer is expected to win this race, and I don’t know much about Haubrich. Whitmer is also one of two front-runners for Democratic leader for the next session.

In the biggest chunk of Lansing, Democrat Joan Bauer is the State Representative. She is challenged by former firefighter Tim Moede. Again, I don’t know much about his campaign and it is expected that Bauer will be returned to the House. If you don’t know, Joan has been doing a great job and works often with local officials. She has met with county commissioners several times, and reached out to us on several appropriations bills that could negatively affect services that the county can provide.

In East Lansing and Meridian and Williamston, Democrat Mark Meadows is being challenged by Republican Susan McGillicuddy. McGillicuddy is getting more attention that normal challengers to this seat because the year is expected to be more Republican, and because she is the township Supervisor in Meridian Township. There is an outside chance of an upset here, but capitol insiders seem to think that Meadows (who is assistant leader of the House) will prevail.

The real heated State House race in our areas is democratic Rep. Barb Byrum who is being challenged by Republican Jeff Oesterle. Byrum has been a moderate Democrat and is running for her third and final term. Oesterle is a farmer and seems to be running on smaller government. The Republican party is running the most ridiculous commercials against Byrum, blaming her for just about all the ills of state government. Byrum has chaired the Insurance Committee for the last two years and has tried to hold their feet to the fire, so the insurance industry is also coming after her with intense TV and radio ads. I have not seen anything from Oesterle at this point, and expect that he is trying to ride the tide of voter discontent through the GOP and insurance ads.

All 16 county commission seats are up for grabs. Two of them are unopposed – Commissioner Randy Schafer (R-Williamston) and Commissioner Don Vickers (R-Mason). The rest of us face competition. Here is a quick glimpse from my perspective, in district order from 1-16:

Lansing Twp, West Lasing – Vic Celentino (D) has done a great job on the Board and is very popular. I don’t know anything about his opponent.

North Lansing – Deb De Leon has been Board Chair for 2 years and has led us through tough times. I don’t know anything about her opponent.

Groesbeck and eastside Lansing – Brian McGrain really distinguished himself in his first term as a leader in the caucus and on the Board. I don’t know anything about his opponent.

Westside and mid-town Lansing – Rebecca Bahar-Cook has become a Board expert on zoo and judiciary issues that the rest of us count on. I don’t know anything about her opponent.

Southeast Lansing – this is my district. I am opposed by a gentleman named Chris Christensen. I have met him and he is very nice. We are both running respectful campaigns, and I am hoping to be returned to the Board by my constituents.

Southwest Lansing – Dale Copedge is very active in the community and has asked the questions that really need to be asked as a member of the Board. His opponent seems to be active with some signs, but that is all I know.

South Lansing – Todd Tennis has been an expert on Human Services issues and really understands how to balance the needs of the workers with the budget realities of the county. His opponent is someone who has challenged him before and has some signs up, but I don’t know much else about him.

East Lansing – Penelope Tsernoglou is serving the balance of a vacated seat and is running for her first full term. She has hit the ground running and has a good mix of experience and questions. I don’t know anything about her opponent.

East Lansing – Carol Koenig has been a real leader on the Board. She has been very active with Law Enforcement and Human Services issues, and has tremendous experience. I don’t know anything about her opponent.

East Lansing - Mark Grebner is, well, Mark Grebner. He has served for 30 years and is truly the voice of experience on our Board. I don't know anything about his opponent.

Meridian Twp - Dianne Holman is one of our leaders in terms of law enforcement issues and has a good understanding of economic development. I don’t know anything about her opponent.

Meridian Twp – Deb Nolan has lead efforts on juvenile justice issues, and in dealing with the Road Commission and roads. Her opponent seems to be active and the Republicans are trying to win back a seat that was once theirs. Deb is a tremendous commissioner, though, and I believe that her constituents appreciate her hard work on their behalf.

Holt and several out-county townships – Steve Dougan has represented this area for 6 years. We don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot because he opposes things on the Board floor without commenting or trying to work on them and make them better (usually for political reasons). He also has done things like assisting my opponent in the Democratic primary, which I find simply wrong (I have never gotten involved in a Republican primary). His opponent is Liz Kranz, who is campaigning on supporting the out-county as a leader on the Board instead of just voting no on everything. This should be an interesting race as both candidates are working hard.

Holt and several out-county townships – Commissioner Laura Davis is not seeking re-election due to health reasons. Republican Vince Dragonetti is facing off against Democrat Karen Dravenstatt-Moceri. I have seen lawn signs for both of them, but don’t really know the issues that they are campaigning on. This seat has flipped back and forth from Republican to Demcoratic hands, and this should be an interesting race.

There are several judge races on the ballot in the non-partisan races. PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE IN THESE ALSO!

For Michigan Supreme Court, there are two incumbents running who will run with the designation “Justice of the Supreme Court” on the ballot. The first is long-time Justice Robert Young. He is one of the so-called “Gang of Four” Republican-nominated justices who have very conservative philosophies and tend to rule in favor of business and insurance companies instead of citizens. When he was elected the first time, the Supreme Court took an arch-conservative philosophy and really started changing case-law in Michigan by overturning several long-established decisions. This ended two years ago when Justice Taylor was defeated, but Young is still very conservative. The other incumbent justice is newly-appointed Justice Alton Thomas Davis. From what I know, he has been a very reasonable judge on the Appeals Court (neither liberal nor conservative), and was appointed to the Supreme Court when Justice Elizabeth Weaver retired. I am hopeful that he will be retained and will provide a voice of reason on the Supreme Court, which has been very politically charged recently.

The other two Supreme Court candidates are Republican-nominated Wayne Circuit Judge Mary Beth Kelly and Democrat-nominated Oakland Circuit Judge Denise Langford Morris. I really don’t know much about either of them.

Locally, we have a circuit court judge race that is being contested. Lansing assistant attorney Billie Jo O’Berry is facing attorney Clinton Canady. I have seen them both at several candidate forums and they are both working very hard. There is also a District judgeship that is contested. Judge Donald Allen is being opposed by attorney Paul Joseph. They have also both been at candidate forums and knocking on doors. I have worked with Judge Allen, and I am very impressed with all that he has done in the courtroom.

There are also several judges that are on the ballot unopposed - District Judges Amy Krause, Louise Alderson and Richard Ball; Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk; and Court of Appeals Judges Owens and Whitbeck.

The education boards are all up, but I don’t know much about any of the candidates so I can’t help there. But you will be voting for State School Board candidates, University of Michigan Regents, MSU Trustees, and Wayne State Governors.

Finally, there are several ballot initiatives on the ballot. On statewide ballot measures, you will decide if you want a constitutional convention or not, and if felons should be able to hold elected office.

Countywide, voters will decide if they want to continue to support the Potter Park Zoo. The economic benefits to Ingham County have been huge and I hope that county voters will continue to support the zoo. If this fails, the zoo will go back to being funded at a much lower level by the City of Lansing.

City of Lansing voters will decide if they want to support a Sinking Fund for infrastructure improvements for the schools. As a parent with a child in Lansing Schools, I know first hand of the unbelievable need of the schools. I think it is time for Lansing residents to adopt this so we can fix boilers and roofs and update to energy efficient power and solve other pressing needs. That is needed to keep kids in the district.

Voters in the general law townships and villages you will decide if they want to pay to support Road Patrols from the Sheriff through either assessments or millages (depending on the jurisdiction). If these do not pass, then these residents will no longer receive road patrol services from the county and will only receive emergency response from the county as well as whatever is provided by State Police.

There are also several other local council races, millage requests and other things on the ballot. Click here to see the entire candidate and proposal list.

Brownfield Properties, Farmland Preservation, Zoo Millage, Contract % Increases, and Local Purchasing

2010-10-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

This was another week of committees for me - County Services and Finance. We passed a limited tax pledge for Brownfield Redevelopment Authority Bonds. These are bonds for our Brownfield plan that our Land Bank uses, and is the second time we are passing one of these. In 2007, we passed a pledge of $1.975 million for the countywide plan. At that time, as you know, the world was a vastly different place. It was before the economy really tanked with the bankruptcies of the auto companies, and before foreclosures really started to increase. The development from the first tax pledge has not come about as quickly as hoped. As such, we could be short on the debt service for next year, which will be covered by this resolution. This situation is not unique to the Land Bank Brownfield plan, though, as many tax increment finance (TIF) districts throughout the state are facing this. Treasurer Schertzing tells us, though, that many things are looking up on development front. This second bond will also cover additional parcels which are better and more likely to bring in dollars to the county. They are more conservative projections. Commissioner Brian McGrain, who sits on the County Economic Development Board, said that they spent a lot of time on this and that it is a well thought-out and conservative plan. The plan also includes more commercial properties, which usually bring in more revenue.

The committees also passed a resolution allowing three farms to use money from our Farmland Preservation millage in order to have development rights purchased. We will be receiving about $600,000 in matching dollars, so 50% of the total are ingham dollars and 50% is match money. The three farms are next to protected state farmland (protected in 2000), so about 900 acres total will be preserved.

In County Services, we had before us a resolution supporting the zoo millage. While I do support the zoo millage, I questioned whether a public body such as the Board of Commissioners could pass a resolution in support of a millage quesiton. Commissioner Vic Celentino agreed with my concern and pointed out that we have been told we could not do this in the past. Commissioner Grebner said that this is unnecessary because just putting it on the ballot means we are asking voters to vote for it (which I don't know if I wholly agree with). Commissioner Copedge said that he was uncomfortable with the resolution and that each commissioner should be able to support or oppose the measure on their own. Commissioner Vickers said that he supports the zoo, but not at .41 mills and he thought the resolution was not a good idea. The resolution was not taken up for a vote.

The Finance Committee passed a resolution on cost increases for services related to contracts in Ingham County. This year, we have seen several vendors come to us and ask for large yearly percentage increases for their services. You may recall, this boiled over a few weeks ago when Harris (our 911 vendor) asked for 5% increases each year for several years. We decided to draft a policy that will be provided to vendors saying that increases should be limited 1% (which is the amount that county employees have received for raises). Should vendors want higher increases, they will face increased scrutiny and could potentially be dropped for other vendors. The CPI this year was -.07%, which shows that costs are not going up and we believe that this policy is a good one to direct staff as they negotiate contact renewals.

Finally, County Services had a good discussion about our "local purchasing preference" policy. This was the second discussion about this topic. There are concerns that the current policy - allowing county vendors to match any bids that are within 5% of their bid - isn't really working in terms of keeping county dollars in the county. Apparently, there were only two vendors who used the policy in 2009. Controller Lannoye put several potential options before us:

• Keep existing policy.
• Increase the 5% threshold to 7% or 10%.
• Expand the definition of a RLV beyond the county border to contiguous counties.
• Allow a preference for RLVs which are within 5% of the lowest responsive bid without having to match the lowest responsive bid.
• Develop local preference tiers. Example might include the following: within 2% of low bid they do not have to match low bid, between 2-5% they are given opportunity to reduce their price to no more than 2% of low bid, and between 5-7% they are given the opportunity to match low bid.
• Allow existing contracts with RLVs to be renewed without bidding, provided the renewal increase is equal to or lower than the current CPI.
• Require that any bid process that does not include at least three (3) local vendors be rebid.

The committee came to a consensus that the 5% range should be increased to 10%. That was the only item we could agree on. I am uncomfortable with giving preference to out-of-county businesses because those businesses do not pay Ingham County property taxes and this would be an unfair advantage to those companies over Ingham companies. Others were uncomfortable with many of the other options. So we agreed that the 5% should go to 10%. That, at least, would have qualified 4 more businesses in 2009 and is a step in the right direction.

I still hope to put out an elections blog with the candidates...maybe next week!

Travel Policy, Dog Park Delayed Again, Zoo Millage

2010-10-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late blog posting this week. It has been a VERY busy week for me. So here we go…

This week was a week when the full Board of Commissioners met. The only resolution that proved controversial was a resolution amending the travel policy. The current travel policy requires Commissioners to sign off on any out-of-state travel before it can happen. This has caused a problem because it can take from 2-4 weeks, and it is costing the county more money to delay travel purchases until the last minute. Staff came to the Commissioners and asked if sign-off can be given by the Controller and the Board Chair, instead of having to wait until the appreciate committee meets and can take action. The resolution also prohibited people from changing hotel or airfare without the approval of a Department head. Finally, it required people to use the Capital Region airport unless a ticket can be found for a materially lower rate at a neighboring airport (including parking and mileage).

In County Services committee, I had several questions about the approval process. I believe that the elected officials need to review these travel requests to ensure that staff are not taking unnecessary trips. I asked several questions that staff could not adequately answer. As such, I voted against this in County Services (it passed 4-2). In Finance, though, staff were able to adequately answer the questions. They proposed adding a quarterly report of staff travel so that Commissioners can see what the travel was for (the same way we see them now). It was also pointed out that Commissioners have not yet denied a travel request because these requests are vetted through the Department Director and the County Controller before going before the Commissioners. I was satisfied with these answers and voted in support in Finance, and the resolution passed unanimously.

When this was considered on the Board floor, the three Republicans voted against it. To be honest, I am not sure why. Commissioner Don Vickers remained consistent because he opposed it in County Services. I can only assume that he didn’t hear the clarifications that I heard in Finance. Commissioner Steve Dougan voted against the resolution on the Board floor after flip-flopping from his supportive vote of the resolution in Finance committee. None of the Republicans debated this or explained why they don’t want to save the county money…they just voted against it. I kind of wish they would explain why they opposed it. But it was not to be.

The often-discussed gate for the Soldan Dog Park was again put on hold. As I reported last week, the yearly fee was reduced to $30 and I was able to support this because residents can pay the same amount that they are paying now if they park in the northern Ingham Regional lot. Apparently, the City of Lansing wanted the resolution pulled because they did not have a chance to review the request. We agreed to table it for two weeks while the City reviews the resolution. Hopefully, we can be done with this in two weeks and it can move forward when the City signs the agreement.

Otherwise, the Board meeting was fairly subdued. We used the consent agenda to pass updates to our Brownfield plan to cleanup more properties, we approved the annual Health Department health services resolution, we reauthorized a position in the Clerk’s office, and a variety of other things. You can review the agenda from the meeting here.
http://www.ingham.org/BC/BC/101012Board.pdf

Finally, for anyone interested, the Yes to the Potter Park Zoo millage campaign has a new website - http://www.yestopotterparkzoo.com/.

I hope to put together another election preview before the general election and will get that out if possible.

Have a great weekend!

Dog Park Fees, Clerk Reorganization, Health Department Services

2010-10-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Another busy week at the county. Long meetings Tuesday and Wednesday night for me.

First, an update on an old issue…the Soldan Dog Park. As you may recall, the Friends of the Dog Park came to the county and the city and asked for a gate to be installed. People would have to pay yearly fees for fobs or cards to get into the gate. This would ensure that (1) there is better security, (2) dogs are licensed, (3) attacks by dogs on other dogs or on people can be investigated, and has a variety of other benefits. Currently, there is no way to police these things because nether the county or the city (which owns the park) provides security, and there is no way to determine who is there and when.

The original proposal would have set the yearly pass rate at $40. After talking to several dog park users, I realized a few things – this fee is supported by people but is too high, and people do not know that the dog park can be accessed on the north side without having to pay for the Hawk Island parking. In County Services committee, I supported an amendment preventing Ingham County from contributing to the Dog Park gate unless the fee is set at $30 instead of $40. This would match the fee of the dog park to the fee of Hawk Island (both are $30). The amendment passed and was retained in the Finance Committee. I also asked the Parks Director to have the signage announcing the new fee to also include language alerting people that they can park in the Ingham Regional Medical lot for free and not have to pay the Hawk Island charge just to use the dog park. So, anyone using only the dog park will not have to may a new fee next year. Instead of paying the $30 for the Hawk Island yearly pass, they can pay $30 for the Soldan Dog Park yearly pass and park at Ingham Regional. Of course, anyone who wants to use Hawk Island Park as well as the Soldan Dog Park will have to pay for both. Users of the dog park can expect the gate to be up in January, assuming the full Board passes the resolution on Tuesday, and the City of Lansing and the Friends of the Dog Park agree with the reduced rate.

We also approved a reorganization of the County Clerk’s office this week. This resolution, submitted to us by Clerk Bryanton, reclassifies a Chief Deputy /Interdepartmental Relations position to a Clerical Services Supervisor position. It also eliminates a Deputy Clerk position. The move would increase office efficiency and saves the county approximately $75,000 per year through decreased salaries and fringe benefits. This will not result in a layoff because it will become effective on the date of retirement of the current Chief Deputy /Interdepartmental Relations.

Finally, I will report on a resolution that we passed dealing with health services for county residents. It is very common for people to ask me what a County Commissioner does. One of things I tell people is that we set policy for various departments, including the Health Department. Our Health Department is one of the best in the country. The resolution that we passed this week outlines many of the activities of the Health Department.

Under the Public Health Code, the State of Michigan and the 83 counties share responsibility for the protection of the public health of the citizens of Michigan. Ingham County has a Comprehensive Planning, Budgeting and Contracting (CPBC) process, and every year we authorize the Health Department to enter into an agreement with the Michigan Department of Community Health for the delivery of public health services under this process. The agreement serves as the vehicle for the county accepting almost $5 million in state and federal grant and formula funding to support a number of public
health services.

This year, the agreement includes the following local public health operations, community health assessment activities and categorical programs:
- AIDS/HIV Prevention and Care
- Lead Safe Homes
- Bioterrorism Emergency Preparedness
- Breast and Cervical Cancer Control
- Building Healthy Communities
- Children’s Special Health Care Services
- Family Planning Vision and Hearing Screening
- Food Vendor and Restaurant Inspection
- Immunizations
- Local Tobacco Reduction
- Maternal and Child Health Programs
- Tuberculosis Control
- Sexually Transmitted Disease Control
- Well and Septic Inspection
- The Women, Infant, Children (WIC) Program

The resolution also authorizes subcontracts in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program. Additionally, it creates a new full-time Breast Feeding Consultant in the Health Department. These all consist of state and federal funds.

Service contracts are also authorized in the resolution, with the following list of providers to support outreach activities to potential and current Medicaid beneficiaries in the following categories:
- Medicaid Outreach and Public Awareness
- Facilitating Medicaid Eligibility Determination
- Program Planning, Policy Development and Interagency Coordination Related to Medicaid Services
- Referral, Coordination and Monitoring of Medicaid Services
- Medicaid-Specific Training on Outreach Eligibility and Services
- Arranging for Medicaid-related Transportation and Provision of Medicaid-related Translation

These service contracts braid together requirements and funds from multiple sources including the County, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Medicaid Administration (Federal Share). The braided service contracts are authorized for the next year up to the amounts listed:
• Allen Neighborhood Center $115,487 ($102,987 for outreach; $12,500 for Planning/Coordination to strengthen social safety net in the community)
• NorthWest Initiative $115,487 ($102,987 for outreach; $12,500 for Planning/Coordination to strengthen social safety net in the community)
• Carefree Medical Clinic $10,800
• South Lansing Community Development Association $24,952
• South Side Community Coalition $103,086
• Capital Area Community Services $4,000
• Child Abuse Prevention Services $52,250
• Catholic Charities St. Vincent Home $128,250
• Cristo Rey $61,750
• Family and Community Development Services $105,000
• Greater Lansing African American Health Institute $77,904
• School Community Health Alliance of Michigan $539,006

911 Dispatch System Costs, Hiring Freeze, 911 Dispatch Center Ready for Construction

2010-09-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

The County Board of Commissioners met last night. While there were several significant issues on the agenda, only one turned out to be controversial.

We considered a resolution that would extend the contract with the company that maintains the county emergency 911 dispatch system. As faithful readers of this blog may recall, several years ago the county approved a new emergency dispatch 911 system that was paid for with 911 millage dollars. The system went from an inefficient analog system to what was supposed to be a much better digital system. We looked at various proposals and, in the end, chose M/A Com to install and maintain the system. Over the course of that contract, many problems arose. There were significant problems with 911 dispatch calls dropped in the southwest part of Lansing, resulting in police officers having to use cell phones instead of radios and in increased staffing needed. The company technically met the qualifications of the contract, and the Board of Commissioners was very upset that M/A Com would not fix the problem without a significant purchase from the county. In the end, the county paid but also received discounted maintenance.

Fast forward to last night. The Board considered a resolution that would extend the maintenance contract with Harris (which was formerly M/A Com). The contract originally proposed by Harris called for a 7% increase in the first year and 3% increases in years two through five. The company’s argument was that they had more equipment to maintain because of the problems that we needed to fix in southwest Lansing. County staff told the company that this amount was too high, and Harris agreed to lower this to 5% then 3% for the balance (for a total of about $1.5 million over 5 years). When this came before the Board in Finance last week, the committee still thought that was too high but the company was only willing to discount this another $15,000.

When it came before the Board last night, I strenuously objected to this amount. The County has had $7-8 million dollar deficits and our tax collections have been going down. We have questioned every vendor about why we should be paying 3% or more when inflation is not at that amount and County revenues are not going up at that rate. I reminded commissioners that Harris received increases of 5.5% over the last two years as part of the current contract, and expressed opposition to the resolution before us. Several Commissioners agreed and we had a good discussion and debate about what we could do to reduce this amount.

During debate staff alerted us that the contract ends on Friday, and if we don’t extend it we would have no one to service the contract for 911 dispatch. That made many of us very mad because it seemed as if we were being backed into a corner and would have to approve this contract. I proposed a shorter renewal time so we could work out a new rate with the company, but logistically that was not possible. I then worked with Commissioner Grebner to craft language that creates a 90-day termination clause, and language that instructs staff to get a better rate from the company. If the company refuses to provide a better rate, we have instructed staff to start a bid process to ask other companies for competitive prices to maintain the system. This passed unanimously. So the county agreed to the contact for now, but will look at others who can provide this service and will change systems if Harris doesn’t come down with the rates. Even though the system now seems to be working, I am again very disappointed in this company and expect that we will revisit this again soon.

In other action, the Board took steps to close our budget gap for next year (2011 calendar year) by passing a hiring freeze. The county currently has a hiring freeze for all positions supported by the general fund. The resolution passed last night will extend that through December 2011, and will include all county positions. Department Heads will be able to request waivers to the hiring freeze when necessary from the County Services Committee. The Controller/Administrator will also have authority to exempt positions from the hiring freeze in cases where positions are funded primarily from non-general fund sources. This resolution will minimize the affect of anticipated position reductions in 2011 and years after, and will free up more county positions for employees that could be laid off. It would also provide more vacant positions to be evaluated for additional permanent position reductions.

The Board also last night passed the final resolution needed to get the new 911 dispatch started for construction by authorizing the Building Authority to contract with the Architect/Engineering (A/E) and Construction Management (CM) Firms to begin the design process for the Ingham County Consolidated 911 Dispatch Center. We also approved $500,000 from 911 Funds for preliminary costs associated with this project. As previously reported, the Ingham County Consolidated 911 Dispatch Center site has been approved to be located on County owned land just west of the CMH property on Jolly Road in Lansing. We expect the project to cost about $5.2 million ($4,000,000 for the building and $1.2 Million to equip the facility and establish a contingency fund). We have also worked out all the legacy cost agreements with Lansing and East Lansing, so it seems that we are now ready to finalize constructions costs through our PLA policy and begin construction. Yay!

Tonight the Finance Committee meets and will finalize the budget to be presented to the Board of Commissioners. I will report on in a future blog when the budget is considered by the full Board. I also have two other committees meeting next week. October is shaping up to be a busy month (and that doesn’t include the election coming up!).

Special Guest Blogger: Commissioner Bahar-Cook on Judicial and Juvenile Justice Issues

2010-09-23T13:29:00.000-07:00

This week, I have as a special guest blogger Commissioner Rebecca Bahar-Cook. I have known her for many years and treasure her as a colleague and as a friend. She is one of the brightest people I know, especially in the areas of the judiciary and juvenile justice needs in Ingham County, and her constituents in downtown and NW Lansing are lucky to have her service. So without further ado, I give you Ingham County Commissioner Rebecca Baher-Cook!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello all! My name is Rebecca Bahar-Cook and I have the pleasure of being the second guest blogger for Commissioner Schor. I too, serve on the County Commission and have the privilege of representing the 4^th District, which covers NW Lansing including our downtown.

Commissioner McGrain filled you in what is going on in the County’s Human Services Department. I’d like to let you know a little bit more about our Judiciary and some amazing programs Ingham County has developed to better handle our at-risk and adjudicated juvenile population.

When I was 15-years-old my father was shot and killed by two youth under the age of 18 – the only things they took were his watch and his wallet. As you can imagine, that was a terrible tragedy for my family.

But, my family wasn’t the only one affected by this crime – so were the families of the two young boys who committed the crime. Neither of them were first offenders and I imagine neither of them thought they had very many options open to them.

I strongly believe that the citizens of Ingham County would want to prevent such a crime from taking place here. And that is exactly the purpose of the Juvenile Justice Millage (JJM) the voters of Ingham County have twice passed. All too often children who show at-risk behavior, such as truancy, end up getting into more and more trouble as they get older. Programs funded by the JJM do more than just lock-up our youth and forget about them. We offer these kids the opportunity to change their lives by taking real responsibility for themselves and their behavior.

For example, the Ingham Academy offers adjudicated youth who have been suspended or expelled from school a chance to earn their high school diploma. If so determined by the court, students are picked up from their homes each morning, driven to the Academy, where they spend a full day in school and are then driven home. Many of these youth are also involved in the PRIDE Program that offers after-school tutoring and activities. Students at the Academy have started an urban farm with fruits and vegetable planted right outside their classrooms. Chickens have been added to our urban farm and bee keeping is next on the agenda. These children are court ordered to attend school. If they misbehave or are not ready for school in the morning they will appear before the Court immediately. The youth agree to these terms and are held responsible for their actions moving forward.

The Academy offers these students the opportunity to learn first-hand about capitalism and free market enterprises. They are also learning about nutrition and ways to prepare healthy foods. Last year they bottled salsa made out of items from the garden and I’m told selling honey is next! These kids are learning that they do have options. Those options might not always be easy, and there are repercussions if they don’t hold up their end of the bargain, but these children are productive and learning to be proud of their abilities. The Academy is also partnering with Lansing Community College to offer our graduates additional opportunities to improve their lives by improving their education.

Members of the Ingham County Bench, Court Staff and Ingham County Commissioners have all come together to examine the way we treat our youth. In addition to the Ingham Academy I encourage all readers to find out more about Project Impact (also partially funded with JJM funds). Project Impact is a partnership with Mental Health and the Courts to look at the root causes of difficult behavior, many of which include mental health issues. Teen Court, Child and Family Services and the Dispute Resolution Center of Central Michigan all received grants to service youth in our county from the millage to evaluate and offer solutions to problem behaviors that keep our children out of the court system.

There is still much work to be done, but I am so proud of what Ingham County is doing for our youth. I often wonder if my father would still be alive if his murderers, those children, had been given other options. If they had been involved in Project Impact or the Ingham Academy three families might not have suffered the pain of what happened to me in 1985.

Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to learn more.

And, just because Andy is such a Michigan fan and Ingham County is the home of MSU . . . GO STATE!

Special Guest Blogger: Commissioner Brian McGrain on Human Services

2010-09-15T18:34:00.001-07:00

For the next two weeks, I have decided to get the perspective of other commissioners. With the budget now in full swing, and with Human Services (like the Health Department) one of the key areas that we focus on at the county, I thought this week would be an appropriate time to hear from the chair of the county Human Services Committee. So I introduce to you this week's guest blogger - Commissioner Brian McGrain:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many thanks to Commissioner Schor for asking me to provide guest commentary on the actions of your Ingham County Commission this week. I am pleased to be serving in my first term on the Commission this year, and am currently seeking re-election. My District (District #3) is comprised of the north-eastern sections of Lansing and Lansing Townships (a reverse L-shaped district running approximately from the Lansing Center in the west along Michigan Avenue to Frandor and then up through Groesbeck to Eastwood Towne Center). I have lived in the Lansing area for 16 years, and have resided in my current east-side residence for over 8 years.

I am especially pleased to be chairing the Human Services Committee of the Commission this year. This Committee provides oversight to Ingham County’s social service activities, and includes activities of the Health Department, Community Mental Health, Human Services, the Mid-South Substance Abuse Commission, MSU Extension, and Veterans Affairs, among others. Annually, the Commission establishes areas of priority emphasis guiding the budget process. Among the long-term objectives supported by the Commission are: preventing and controlling disease; promoting accessible health care; and assisting in meeting basic needs. These objectives are met through support of the various departments reporting to the Human Services Committee.

The overall budget for this service area in 2011 will be over $73 million, of which over $17 million is provided by county general fund dollars. These figures represent about 40% of all county expenditures, and about 25% of the general fund overall. The large amount of financial support provided to care for our County’s residents illustrates that the intent to meet our objectives is of key importance to us. However, it is also important to note that three-quarters of the money spent on these services actually comes from other sources, such as through the state and federal government. Our high level of commitment to this arena allows us to draw down significant matching support for our community.

I must admit, going into our budget cycle for the 2011 calendar year, I was concerned that there were going to be significant cuts to what we could afford. I had heard that we would be facing anywhere from a $4 to $7 million budget shortfall. Our Controller presented us with a proposed budget in August that spelled out a predicted $6.4 million shortfall. Thankfully, our Controller also proposed a number of expenditure changes and budget reductions to help close the gap. Many of our departments were asked to tighten their belts and come up with anywhere from 5-10% in budget reductions. Our Health Department, for instance, decreased their budget by over $1 million. We are hopeful that these budget reductions (some of which also tie hand-in-hand to revenue enhancements) won’t detrimentally affect levels of service to our community. We are also exploring ways to deliver services differently and more affordably, such as by opening up our own group home for teenage boys.

The Human Services Committee on August 30 passed its portion of the 2011 budget with minimal fanfare. Our Finance Committee will meet later this month to take a look at all the budgets that have been passed (including those for Law Enforcement, Judiciary, and County Services) and to consider any changes that might need to be made. A completed budget will be before the entire Commission shortly thereafter for approval, well before January 1, 2011. If only the State were so efficient! (I suppose this is the situation to be had when one has a well-managed county staff and a leadership team made up overwhelmingly of Democrats.)

While we are rapidly closing in on a balanced budget for 2011, many of us on the Commission are already concerned about our 2012 budget. We expect another budget shortfall, but we are already taking steps to begin preparing for the difficult decisions we will face next year. As always, we encourage community residents to contact us with questions about our activities and also proposed solutions to the situations we may be encountering. While we know that we have to tighten our belt, we also pride ourselves at having been a County that has provided innovative programming to support our residents. If I may ever be of service to you, I invite you to contact me at bmcgrain@ingham.org.

Best wishes to all for the remainder of 2010 and beyond,

Brian McGrain

Dog Park, Animal Control and Zoo Events

2010-09-09T19:23:00.001-07:00

With the budget underway, the one controversial issue on our plate right now is the upcoming dog park fees. I have talked to several people about this issue. Interestingly enough, the Lansing State Journal had an article about this. The article was fairly balanced and seems to indicate that regular users of the park like the fees for the safety and protection of their own dogs, and to ensure that dogs are licensed. The headline, though, said that people were upset about the fee (which was only mildly reflected in the article). Several people I have spoken with support the fees, but have suggested to me that the fees should be lower. One proposal I am exploring is for the fees to equal the park fees, and promotion of the north entry into the dog park. That way, people don’t have to pay Hawk Island fees as well as the Dog Park fees if they are not planning to use Hawk Island. We would have to lower the fee recommended by staff, and I am exploring the consequences of that. I am also trying to figure out who from the county told the Lansing State Journal that this is a done deal when the county hasn’t even considered this yet. I know that there is a sign, which the City is free to put up because they own the property…but the county has not yet made the decision to support this fee yet (contrary to what people think). This issue will be decided over the next few weeks.

While I have some space available, I am gonna promote some upcoming events…

Our outstanding animal control department has informed commissioners about the following pet program coming up:

Neighborhood Vaccination & Licensing Program for low income pet owners
Date: Friday Sept. 10th 11 AM-5 PM
Location: Patrol Division Bldg (Old North Precinct) 740 May Street Lansing 48906
Info: Rabies vaccinations are free for any dog getting a license that day. Cat Rabies vaccination is free. Micro-chipping for dogs and cats is ONLY $15. Cat & Dog Distemper vaccines are $5. Veterinarians are volunteering their time to help the low income pet owners of Ingham County receive vaccinations that they might not otherwise receive. For more information call 517 676-8373 This program is made possible through donations, fees, sponsorships and volunteers.

The zoo also has a series of upcoming events. Check these out:

September 12
Grandparents Day at the Zoo
9 a.m to 6 p.m.
Activities from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
General Admission Rates Apply (free for county grandparents)
In honor of the day, all grandparents residing in Ingham County will receive free admission to the Zoo. Activities begin at 11 am and include a special Grandparents' Day themed animal enrichment, activities for the whole family, live animal presentations and much more.

September 12
Eagle Owl Exhibit Grand Opening
9 a.m to 6 p.m.
General Admission Rates Apply (free for county grandparents)
Join us on Sunday, September 12 as we celebrate the grand opening of the new Eurasian Eagle Owl exhibit. The approximately 1,060-square-foot exhibit will be home to two of the Zoo's Eurasian Eagle Owls. The exhibit is located just south of the previous Eagle Owl enclosure.

September 16
Wine and Stein
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
$20 per person for members; $25 for non-members
Autumn is beautiful at the zoo and this is your chance to stroll the grounds on a cool evening, sipping some wonderful wines and beers and eating fabulous hors d'oeuvres from Lansing area restaurants! Must be 21 years of age and older to attend.

September 19, 2010
Horsepower at the Zoo
10 am to 2:30pm
Standard Parking Fee (event is outside of the Zoo)
Put the pedal to the metal and cruise on out to the Potter Park Zoo. See cool classic cars, antique autos and vintage hot rods while strolling the park grounds... all for the price of parking!

September 19, 2010
Tailgate for the Animals
1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
General Admission Rates Apply - Show your student ID and receive a 50% discount! Spartan and Wolverine fans are invited to begin the big game festivities early this year with a special day at Potter Park Zoo. Watch live enrichments as the animals of Potter Park Zoo make their prediction of who will win the big game.

If you are interested in finding out more about upcoming events at Potter Park Zoo please visit: www.potterparkzoo.org.

911 Intergovernmental Agreement, 2011 Budget, and Economic Development Through Smartzone

2010-08-25T22:29:00.000-07:00

This week, I had three different important county meetings. On Tuesday, the Board of Commissioners met. As I have said before, most of our tough work is done in committee. The Board meeting approved several resolutions, but not much controversial. One important resolution that passed (and not reported on here previously) was an intergovernmental agreement between Ingham, Eaton, Clinton and Livingston counties. This agreement will allow the four counties to combine in purchasing and maintaining new phone technology for the 911 centers in mid-Michigan and to develop virtual backup capabilities. All four counties need to upgrade their 911 phone systems in order to take advantage of internet protocol technology, and all four need to develop emergency backup E-9-1-1 capabilities in the event of primary system failure. Signing this agreement and approving the bylaws allows us to work collaboratively in order to reduce costs and provide for inter-connectivity between counties. It also allows each county to forgo the capital costs of building a physical E-9-1-1 backup center in each county. I had some questions about the makeup of the agreement and bylaws – specifically how decisions are made and how the funding is done – but county staff assured me that the decisions and funding will be done in a fair and equitable way. This agreement will be a good regional tool for savings and efficiency, and I am happy that we passed it unanimously.

The County Services committee held the first of the budget meetings. First it needs to be said that our staff – especially Mary Lannoye (controller) and Teri Morton (budget director) – was able to greatly minimize the impacts of the budget deficit and they need to be greatly commended by the employees and the citizens of Ingham County.

The budget books were handed out on Tuesday, so this there was not much time to read through the extensive budget before committee on Wednesday…but Commissioners and department heads were able to effectively parse and understand the proposals. Every department was happy with their budget allocations in the County Services committee. Not one department head objected to their recommended budget (which is rare). Commissioners did have some questions for some of the department heads, though. I asked our Parks director several questions about the line items in the budget, and he gave good answers. Parks are truly doing a lot more with very little money. I also had issues with our funding of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission. This is an entity that Eaton, Clinton and Ingham counties all belong to, and it handles land use issues for the region. While I have no problem with their work or staff, I did have a problem with the fact that we are giving them the same $102,000 that we gave them last year. I inquired why we should cut all our departments yet give tri-county the same allocation, and they said that cuts would be matched by other entities and would result in lost matching funds from the federal government. Some money we provide goes to administration, but the bulk of the money goes to services that receive an 80% match, so cutting would lose federal funding. Most Commissioners were satisfied with that answer, but I still believe that we shouldn’t be cutting our own departments yet leaving the regional entities whole. As such, I voted against that one appropriation (I was the only no vote on that part of the budget). The rest of the County Services items passed unanimously. The other committees – Human Services, Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Finance – will be holding budget hearings over the next three weeks or so.

In addition to serving on official county committees, I also represent Ingham County on the Local Development Financing Authority (also known as the Smartzone). This Authority oversees economic development activities that are a result of dollars that are captured for these purposes. We heard reports from East Lansing staff on the Technology Innovation Center (TIC), which has about 14 entrepreneurial businesses in it (mostly professor or student-run businesses who receive low-cost rent to get their idea off the ground). I am encouraged by the products that we are helping to get to market and the many people who are creating jobs through innovation that we can assist. I was not thrilled, though, that several of the businesses are looking at moving out of town after their lease with the TIC is up. East Lansing staff is trying to assist these entrepreneurs to stay in the East Lansing/Lansing area, but other areas are offering venture capital and appropriate space (i.e. hundreds of square feet of wet lab space) and other incentives that we cannot offer. I hope to bring forth a proposal to rectify that situation…but that is in development and will be reported on in a future County Blog. We also heard from the Lansing Economic Development Corporation staff about the University Research Corridor and the Knapps building project. I am very encouraged by the Knapps project. We did not receive a $2 million grant due to technical problems, but we hope to re-apply for that and get the money. In the meantime, it seems that the developers are still working to get all the appropriate financing and start the reconstruction. Severeal local, state and federal incentives will be used. The goal is to have residential space, incubator space, and retail in the building. It would be a great boon for downtown Lansing, and I am hoping that this can move forward as soon as possible. I have great faith in the Lansing Economic Development Corporation, and I think this will be yet another example of Lansing rebuilding its downtown and drawing young and talented workers and residents back to our city.

That’s it for now. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

211 Funding, Fair Master Plan, Electronic Health Records, Juvenile Delinquency

2010-08-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Another busy week on the County Board of Commissioners.

County Services Committee went 2 hours. We considered a few resolutions from the Treasurer. One dealt with moving money from the Delinquent Tax Fund to the 211 call system. In case you don’t know, 211 is the phone number you call when you need human service assistance. It is run by the tri-county United Way. The Treasurer said that he works with them often because of foreclosures and other issues where people run into trouble and need their help. He moved $5,000 from this fund, which was added to the $35,000 that the county gives them for operation of this phone number and staffing. I raised several questions about if Eaton and Clinton counties put in money for this. Apparently they put in a little, but not much. I again commented that regionalism means everyone putting in their own fair share, yet Ingham County is once again putting in more for the greater good. It seems that it is always important for regionalism when we pay more, but it never works the other way (example – Ingham County alone pays for the airport, even though it is in Clinton County!!!). I will continue to argue that all parties need to kick in money for true regionalism to occur on this and all other issues!

We also allowed the County Fair to move $48,850 budgeted for electrical uses to instead be used for a new master plan. The old one is really old (1970’s or so) and they need a new business plan and a competitive analysis of the Fairgrounds and its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Although I think that is a lot of money, we were assured that it will result in funding from other sources. When we did the beer tent, I indicated that I would support efforts to fund the Fair (that will prevent general fund dollars) and I am holding to that. I supported the resolution but told the Fair Board members that I truly hope this results in money to keep the Fair going. We were also assured that moving this money will not affect operations that were expected to be done.

We provided funding through the Health Department for electronic health records (HER). The EHR moves us from paper/written medical records to electronic records. It is not only required by federal law for the many grants that we get, it also gives us other capabilities - reporting to the federal government, patient management and billing. Paper medical records will be a thing of the past in the next 5-10 years. This will also allow us to share information with other health care instructions in the area and around the world.

The Finance Committee took up a resolution to allow Judge Garcia to contract with a specific attorney to do public defender work on juvenile delinquency cases. This one attorney will take all of the cases in Judge Garcia’s court, and all the cases in the Truancy Court. It is a pilot project for a year. It will save the county money because the attorney is willing to work for less than the amount that we usually spend. Commissioner Bahar relayed to the Finance committee that the Judiciary Committee had concerns that there could be a relationship between the jkudge and the attorney thatr could affect the ability of the attorney to proprelt advocate for his clients. Concerns were also raised about the fact that there is one attorney working with one judge, and that the attorney will want to stay in the good graces of the jkudge in order to get the contract in the future. I shared these concerns and offered an amendment that took care of this. We did not question anyone’s integrity, but wanted to be sure that the process remain without any problems. I proposed an amendment that would specify that this program is a pilot program, and that if it continues after the pilot then there will be an independent selection process instead of one judge deciding who the best person is for the job. Commissioners Grebner and Tennis assisted in drafting this language, which made us all feel a lot better about the pilot program.

Budget discussions start next week, with the County Services committee starting hearings. We should have the budget proposal in the next day or two. Wish us luck!

Ingham Health Plan, 911 Center Funding

2010-08-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

Lots of important issues coming up next week for discussion in committee. County staff continue to put together the budget, but other issues are still on the front-burner and here are a few things coming up:

Human Services and Finance will consider the annual resolution to authorize a public health service agreement with the Ingham Health Plan Corporation. I have written previously about the Ingham Health Plan (IHP). It is a way for the county to provide health care benefits for those without health insurance. The IHP is not actual insurance, but is a plan that Ingham County residents can join to be covered for certain health services. People have to be at a certain funding level, and it has fluctuated between 150% of the poverty level and 250% of the poverty level over the last few years. The County Board had a glidepath to get to 100% coverage of county residents using the IHP for low-income residents (along with a third-share plan for small businesses to offer insurance to employees). We have gone a long way, and are not continuing to try to let residents know about this plan. In my area, this is especially important to many of the folks in the Baker-Donora area, and county staff have used federal grants to knock doors and let people know that they are available for these health benefits. We also work closely with the Baker-Donora Center.

But how is this funded? The federal government has a program that issues dollars called the Disproportionate Hospital Share (DSH) program. Ingham County provides dollars to the federal government, who then matches the county dollars at a 2:1 ratio. The money is then returned to the Ingham Health Plan Board, which is an independent Board. So if we send $1 million to the feds, they return $3 million back to the IHP Corporation. The IHPC then allocates that money as they see fit. They also decide on the rules for eligibility and how the money is spent on programming. It has been a tremendously successful program, and this week we will again approve the contract with the IHPC. purchase public health services provided to low income residents of Ingham County. The IHPC proposes to purchase services for up to $2,647,727. The purchased services include: Public Health Nursing, Adult Dental, Outreach and Enrollment, and Support for the Ingham Community Health Center Network.

Another issue coming up deals with the 911 center funding (which comes from the 911 millage and not from our general fund). With the City of Lansing passing the agreement this week (and East Lansing previously approving it), we are now good to move forward with building the new center. Because the build will happen later this year and be complete and operational in mid to late 2011, we have to approve one more resolution funding two separate centers. That will be before us this week in Law Enforcement and Finance committees. If the cap of 80% of annual 911 revenue is maintained, the appropriation would be at less than the traditional 95% of operational costs. This is due to the fact that the operational budget requests have exceeded the capital projects. The 2009/10 East Lansing contract was $1,502,886. The 2009/10 Lansing contract was $5,230,130.

Staff is providing us with two potential scenarios that we could consider (or we could do something else if we want). The first staff scenario would fund to the two 911 Centers at 95% of their operating budget costs within the 80% CAP limitation. This would fund the East Lansing center at $1,467,672 and the Lansing center at $5,099,162.

The 2010/2011 estimated Ingham County 911 revenue is $8,208,543. The combined Lansing/East Lansing contracts funded at 95% is $6,661,163. 80% of 911 revenue (scenario #1) is $6,566,834. The difference is $94,329, and the cities would have to make that up.

The second scenario is to fully fund the operational contracts at the traditional 95% of operational costs. The East Lansing contract would be for $1,488,755 (an increase of $21,082) and the Lansing contract would be for $5,172,408 (an increase of $73,246). The additional funding would require a supplemental appropriation out of the 911 Emergency Telephone Dispatch Services Management and System Improvements reserve to increase the contracts by the additional $94,329. Should we do that, approximately $1,600,000 will still remain for Management and System Improvements in the reserve fund (after lease and maintenance costs associated with the radio project are factored in). Staff is recommending this option because we are consolidating the centers and all parties have agreed, and the long-term cost saving measure will save funds and maintain the quality of 911 Emergency Telephone Dispatch Services. I tend to agree with this logic, but want to hear more about the reserve balance and I think we need to have a discussion about the 80% policy. Traditionally we have had limits to ensure operations did not overtake capital expenses and to ensure that capital expenses actually happen. We need to ensure that capital items will be maintained after the consolidation. But for now, with a new center being built, I tend to favor the full 95% funding option. Should be a good discussion.

Lots of other stuff going on next week also. So stay tuned for the blog after Finance on Wednesday night or Thursday morning!

P.S. Don't forget...you can get an email sent to you whenever this blog is posted if you sign up in the box on the top right of this blog. Or you can join my facebook group at "Andy Schor, Ingham County Commissioner" and I will send out an update on facebook each week. And feel free to comment on this blog or to email me at aschor@ingham.org or to call me!

2011 Budget Primer: Deficits, Revenues, Expenditures; Final Primary Campaign Update

2010-08-05T19:09:00.000-07:00

This week was very quiet for the Board. As such, I would like to devote some time to discussing the budget. County staff will presented it to us at the end of August and early September. As you know (if you are a faithful reader of the Schor County Blog), the county is looking at a deficit of $7-8 million for the 2011 fiscal year, which starts in January. So why is it that we have that deficit? That gets asked often. The easy answer is that we have reduced property values which lead to less tax collections, as well as less interest income. At the same time, we have increasing expenses. That adds up to a deficit. But lets dig into that a bit more.

First let’s look at revenues that the county collects. In 2011, the county is expecting to collect $42.9 million in taxes. We are expecting to receive $9.3 million in intergovernmental transfers (transfers from cities, townships, etc. to the county). County Departments are expected to generate $20.8 million in revenues. We are also planning to use $1 million from our fund balance (rainy day fund). That is a total of about $74 million. All-in-all, these collections are $4.6 million less than the county collected in 2010 ($2.9 million less in taxes, $231,000 less in transfers, $147,000 less in department generated revenue, and $1.3 million less used from the general fund).

For fiscal year 2011, we are expecting county expenditures to be $80.4 million, which is $1.9 million more in expenditures than fiscal year 2010. That is about $6.5 million less in expected revenues than we have in expected expenditures (which includes the already-projected use of $1 million from our rainy day fund).

Why do we have $1.9 million more in expenditures in 2011 than we had in 2010? Here’s why…
1. In 2010 we had 3 furlough days for almost all employees. We have not figured any furlough days into the 2011 budget because we have not yet instructed county staff to negotiate this with the labor unions. That equals an additional $358,000 in expenditures than we had in 2010.
2. There is a 1% pay raise built into county employee contracts for 2011. Most contracts are in the final year of their cycle, so these will all be renegotiated for 2012 and beyond. But for 2011, the agreed-upon pay raise will cost $360,000.
3. We have an increase of $210,000 in employee fringe costs for 2011 (again, as per contracts).
4. The Friend of the Court and Prosecuting Attorney fiscal year change will cost us $185,000.
5. We have not yet implemented any hiring delays or hiring freezes for 2011. We have done that for the last few years, but not implementing those for 2011 would cost $953,000.
6. DHS foster care will cost an increased $253,000. This is due to new state mandates.
7. We always build in $300,000 to our budget for things that were not included in the budget, called strategic planning initiatives.
8. There is a drain tax at large increase from the Drain Commissioner’s office, which will cost $78,000.

We also have some items that will cost less in 2011. They are:
1. State ward cost decreases in the Family Court reduced by $350,000.
2. Community Mental Health reductions of 5%, saving $108,000.
3. Reduced costs for the clerk due to a 2011 being a non-election year for the county, which will reduce clerk costs by $160,000.
4. Debt service reduction savings of $277,000.

Add to this about $80,000 in other random costs, and you have the $1.9 million in expenditures.

So there it is. That is what we are looking at as we start our budget. Now we will see what the recommendations are from county staff to close the gap. I expect recommendations of more hiring freezes and furlough days, and other creative ideas. But we will see. Stay tuned…

Election Update: This is the final election update until the general election kicks into high gear. As you probably already know, I was victorious in my primary election!!! After a vigorous campaign knocking doors, doing mailings, running an absentee voter program, and continued constituent contact, I captured 83% of the total vote in the Democratic primary. Voters were not persuaded by the negative claims made by my opponent and expressed to me, over and over, that they like the job I am doing and want me to continue fighting for the residents of SE Lansing. Thanks to the voters of the 5th County Commission district. I also can’t express enough my deep appreciation for those who helped me on the campaign trail (knocking doors, lit drops, donating, letters to the editor, etc). I take it very seriously that the voters in the Democratic primary have again entrusted me to advocate for them when important county decisions are made. Now I will match up against my Republican opponent. I have met him once, and he seems like a nice and sensible guy. We will compare our records, philosophies, and ideas moving forward, and I am confident that voters will again choose me to represent the district and move Ingham County forward for the next two years.

Zoo Millage Placed on Ballot for Renewal, Confusion Ammt Defeated, Election-Year Antics Defeated, and final Campaign Update!

2010-07-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

This week at the County Commission meeting, we focused mostly on the proposal to renew the millage for the Potter Park Zoo. First, we worked on perfecting the language for the November ballot. One issue that was raised is the language dealing with tax increment finance authorities (such as DDA’s). Under state law, these authorities create economic development and jobs, and can capture a small amount of all millages (general fund and special millages). Previously we have included the names of all of these authorities on the ballot, and this can be very confusing to voters. I have actually had people tell me that they decided to vote against a millage because they don’t understand this authority language (which really has little to do with the actual question). We recently found out that state law doesn’t necessarily require us to include this language on the ballot, so the County Services and Finance committees had taken it out. There was an amendment to add language to the ballot initiative saying that authorities can capture some of the money, but that amendment was defeated. While I understand the idea behind the language, I opposed the amendment because I believe that it makes the ballot question very confusing for voters who may vote against the ballot question because they don’t understand that additional language. I think they should be voting on whether or not they want to fund the zoo, which is the point of the question in the first place. Others also said that brevity is the most important part of a ballot question, and opposed the amendment. I also pointed out that other ballot questions on the November ballot don’t have this language, so there is really no inequality of the various questions.

After that discussion, the Board was reminded that it is an election year when a second amendment was proposed. One of the Republican commissioners (Steve Dougan) proposed an amendment to the millage language that would reduce the millage amount from .41 to .39. He said that he thought that we should reduce the millage by 5% to give voters a break. This really was just an election-year stunt and, as I am sure he knows, was not necessary and actually could negatively change the ballot initiative. First, as Commissioner Celentino pointed out, the millage has already been reduced. When it first passed, it was .46, but was automatically lowered to .41. Second, I pointed out that the Board of Commissioners can reduce the millage at any time on our own. We ask the voters for a renewal to keep up the operations of the zoo, and if we think it is bringing more money than needed then we can reduce the millage amount on our own without going to the ballot. Dougan knows that, yet he has never attempted to reduce the millage at the Board level. When I questioned him about that, he didn’t respond. Also, I asked what Dougan proposed to eliminate at the zoo in order to make up for the reduced funding. He also had no answer to that. Commissioner Bahar, though, had the answer. She and Commissioner Nolan both serve on the Zoo Board and know what these cuts would mean to the zoo. Commissioner Bahar said that the cost would equal a veterinarian or something equivalent. They both also said that only a part of the zoo is funded from the millage, and the rest is provided by contributions from the zoo society. This cut would negatively impact the zoo when the people have already said that they support the zoo by passing the millage four years ago (at a higher amount!). Plus, Commissioner Tennis pointed out that decreased property values have already lessened the amount that people are paying for the zoo. .41 mills brought in $3.1 million a few years ago. Now the same .41 mills brings in $2.9 million. So people are paying less property tax values and the millage is already reflecting that. All these reasons and more show that Commissioner Steve Dougan was just engaging in election-year politics, which is disappointing but not surprising. Finally, it was pointed out that this language would no longer make the ballot question a renewal. With the renewal language removed, some voters may think it is a new millage and oppose it. That would be disingenuous to the voters. The proposed amendment was defeated with the 13 Democrats opposing and the 3 Republicans supporting, and the resolution placing the millage renewal on the ballot as reported from Finance committee was passed. The Democrats all voted for it, and the 3 Republicans on the Board voted against allowing the citizens of Ingham County to decide if the zoo millage should be renewed or not.

Campaign Update: 6 more days left! I continue to campaign based on my record, which is getting tremendous response at doors and everywhere. I really appreciate the good wishes and great comments from my constituents in SE Lansing. My opponent continues to sling mud, though. He must not realize that it isn't working and the voters are not fooled. This week, he again accused me of taking a pay-raise (a lie), and a new accusation...he accused me of doubling my own Board pay per diem (another lie). The per diem has gone up $1, and this was done approximately 4 years ago. We have never doubled it. Where does he get this from? I appreciate that the voters see through these attacks and ridiculous claims, and want someone with a proven record and ideas moving forward.

If you are interested in helping me this week, please let me know. You can also go to this page for more info on how you can help, or you can contact me at aschor@yahoo.com. Thanks everyone for your support. I am excited for election day to come and for the voters to speak!