Residents urge public safety millage

People offer support for August ballot proposal, criticize commissioners for lack of communication

A Shepherd man with thousands of social media followers vowed to help Isabella County commissioners spread the word if they choose to put a public safety millage on the August ballot.

Jay Gross, an Isabella County resident for more than 30 years and former Shepherd High School teacher, said he’d stand on the corner of Pickard and Mission streets to urge people to vote for a millage if the county puts it on the August ballot to save road patrol and detectives from losing their jobs as the county cuts the budget following a millage failure in February.

“I’ll do anything I can to help,”

Gross told commissioners during a work session Tuesday.

Gross wasn’t alone; about 20 people spoke to commissioners during public comment about what they say was a failure to communicate to the public why the county asked for an additional 2.5 mills in the February election, and what they’re willing to do to get voters to approve a public safety millage in August.

Maureen Moeggenborg, who said she’s a new resident of Isabella County, told commissioners they’ll be in worse financial shape if they eliminate road patrol — which is not a state-mandated function of sheriff’s offices.

“Nobody will move here,” she said. “Businesses won’t locate here.”

Moeggenborg criticized commissioners for not providing the public with detailed information about why the additional millage is needed and how the county got into financial trouble.

“You didn’t do your job,” she said, adding that the millage was the first increase the county asked for in 45 years, and that commissioners did not educate the public.

“Do it now,” Moeggenborg said of adding a millage proposal to the August ballot. “We will take it into our hands because we can’t trust the board to instigate it.”

County officials had been hesitant to ask for an additional millage in August because a renewal of the 6.61 operating millage is also on the ballot.

While most of the people who