Brown elected to serve as Board of Commissioners chairman
The new chair of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners says he envisions a “team” approach to county government and anticipates a good working relationship between the legislative and executive branches.
Don Brown, a Washington Township Republican, was unanimously selected by his fellow commissioners to serve as chair Thursday night in a virtual organizational meeting. He will earn a $90,900 salary for 2021 and 2022.
The 30-year veteran of county government vowed to work collaboratively with the county’s elected officials, department heads and agencies.
“We’re all one team,” Brown said. “We’re all here to service the public.”
The board also chose Harold Haugh as the vice chairman and newcomer Barbara Zinner as the sergeant-at-arms.
Brown, 57, succeeds Bob Smith in the role as chairman. Smith, a Clinton Township Democrat, decided not to run for re-election and lost in his bid to become Clinton Township clerk. He represents District 7, which serves Shelby, Washington, Bruce, Ray, Armada, and Richmond townships, the villages of Romeo and Armada, and the cities of Memphis and Richmond.
He said the top issue facing the county board is managing the challenges brought by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I take this position very seriously. I pledge my personal support to be available 24/7 if the need should arise,” he said after the vote was taken.
Haugh, 71, a former Roseville mayor and member of the state House of Representatives, was also chosen unanimously.
Zinner, 68, the wife of former Harrison Township trustee Steve Zinner, is in her first elected position.
The county commission posts
are part-time, while the chairmanship is a full-time position. A commissioner’s salary is slightly over $30,000 per year.
The 13-member panel for the first time has a Republican majority with eight new members coming on board after commissioners were ousted in this year’s primary or election, or decided not to run for re-election.
The board includes the most women it has had in its current format, including three minorities. Democratic commissioners Michelle Nard of Warren and Antoinette Wallace of Mount Clemens are Black, and Mai Xiong of Warren is Asian.
After the meeting, County Executive Mark Hackel said he’s long had a “great working relationship” with the new chair. Although he and Brown belong to different political parties, Hackel said Brown takes a non-partisan approach to governing and working on various issues, as does he.
“Look at our financial situation and you’ll see we have a structural balanced budget for the past 10 years. There’s no political bantering when it comes to Don and I on the issues. I’m extremely excited to be working with him,” Hackel said.
“Harold (Haugh) as well
has been a tremendous asset at the state level. He truly understands the legislative process.”
In other organizational business, the board voted 12-1 to hold its meetings at 3 p.m. instead of 7 in the evening.
Commissioner Julie Matuzak opposed the move because she felt it excluded some members of the public from participating. Commissioner Veronica Klinefelt, D-Eastpointe, said when the board held meetings at night very few people attended, yet the staff and administrators would have to come back or stay over.
Matuzak noted that 44 people were on Thursday’s remote meeting.
“I think the public is participating,” she said.
The board also approved awarding a $51,000 contract to Clinton Townshipbased Wahl Tents for a pair of tents at the Verkuilen Building to serve as waiting areas for the COVID-19 vaccination site. Funding comes from the CARES act.
Newly appointed health director Andrew Cox said the tents will be used as temporary shelters for people who receive the injections to wait 15 minutes before they are allowed to leave to be sure they don’t experience adverse reactions to the shots.
The tents are expected to be erected by Saturday, he said.