Officials begin hashing out possible budget cuts
As they study solutions to their dire finances, Isabella commissioners opted Tuesday to ask Tribal officials for funding to survey residents on road patrols and other programs facing potential cuts.
Meanwhile, a former city commissioner suggested that spending county cash for commissioner health insurance was a waste of money, and a retired sheriff’s detective sergeant urged placing a public safety millage on the August ballot.
Anticipating a $6 million shortfall after the failure of a request for an additional 2.5 mills in the February election, the cost of asbestos abatement and rebuild of the administration building along with other costs, the county’s full board met in a special goal setting session after the finance and administration committee began the work of trying to balance the budget when the millage failed.
David Patterson, who spent 33 years with the sheriff’s office before retiring in 2021, told commissioners he understands they are worried about an upcoming millage renewal that’s already on the August ballot, but noted that if the county loses road patrol, it would take a long time to bring it back.
“It’s a decade of building back what you’re going to lose,” Patterson
said during public comment at the special goal setting meeting Tuesday afternoon. “And for God’s sake, get the word out…before the election.”
Patterson, a resident of Lincoln Township for 36 years, told commissioners that Sheriff Michael Main’s staff is “the finest, most dedicated people” and that he hears from the community that there was mismanagement, and kept waiting for a response from the county.
After hearing that all the information was on the county’s website, Patterson said, he came to the conclusion that the county needs help in public relations, nobody has taken responsibility and that the county got itself into somewhat of a perfect storm financially and didn’t mismanage funds.
Central Michigan University finance professor and former Mt. Pleasant city commissioner Da