Friday, June 24, 2022
Since 1854 — News from Montcalm County and Ionia County, Michigan
In discussing how to pay for a county pandemic readiness building, one thing became clear during Monday’s Montcalm County Commissioners Committee-of-the-Whole meeting — the sooner federal relief dollars are spent, the better.
During Monday’s meeting, commissioners agonized over what funding sources to use on the building during a back-and-forth discussion with Emergency Medical Services Director Eric Smith.
Continuing to rebuild relationships and advocating for more economic development on the county’s east side are two of the Montcalm County controller-administrator’s goals for the coming year.
The Montcalm County Board of Commissioners gave Controller-Administrator Brenda Taeter her second annual evaluation during the May 9 Committee-of-the-Whole meeting. The evaluation was held in an open session, as was last year’s evaluation — a nod to the importance of transparency to the taxpayers of this county.
When Montcalm County officials decided to share the wealth by handing out $500,000 of the county’s $12.4 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money to local municipalities to help with park projects, the feel-good idea seemed simple enough at the time.
However, after receiving nearly $3 million worth of requests (including asks of half a million each from two townships looking to build new township halls), commissioners are reconsidering the idea.
Four incumbents on the Montcalm County Board of Commissioners will be running against each other this year due to newly redrawn districts, while three incumbents on the Ionia County Board of Commissioners are being challenged by members of their own political party.
Meanwhile, a Montcalm County state senator is being primaried, while an Ionia County judge has filed to run for a seat on the Michigan Court of Appeals.
