Another clerk’s office discussion, another heated argument.
The Montcalm County Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 on May 8 to combine the two county clerk offices during a lengthy heated meeting. The vote to relocate the clerk’s Vital Records/Elections Office from the Administrative Building across town to the Circuit Court Office at the courthouse in Stanton didn’t specify when the move would take place, whether a current mail room would be added for more space or whether the county would digitize any of the clerk’s many records.
The Montcalm County Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 to combine the two county clerk offices, but not before multiple public allegations were made during a lengthy heated meeting.
The vote to relocate the clerk’s Vital Records/Elections Office from the Administrative Building to the Circuit Court Office at the courthouse didn’t specify when the move would take place, whether the current mail room would be added for more space or whether the county would digitize any of the clerk’s many records.
Three Montcalm County employees who work for the two clerk offices and a former county employee voiced concerns about the way commissioners handled a proposal to combine the two clerk offices before the Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 on Monday to move forward with the idea (see accompanying story).
Circuit Court Chief Deputy Clerk Stephanie Bracey of Sheridan told commissioners that she and her colleagues felt “disrespected” after comments made by Vice Chairman Adam Petersen of Montcalm Township at the county board’s April 10 meeting.
As the Montcalm County Board of Commissioners prepare to make a decision on consolidating the two offices of the clerk, a former sheriff’s deputy blasted them for their lack of understanding.
A Montcalm County commissioner added a seemingly innocuous item to the agenda at the start of Monday’s county board meeting: Veterans Affairs Office.
However, when Vice Chairman Adam Petersen of Montcalm Township began to go into the details of his last-minute addition, it resulted in a heated argument, with Clerk Kristen Millard saying she was “blindsided” by the proposal.
The Montcalm County Clerk’s Office and Register of Deeds Office won’t likely be merged anytime soon.
Commissioner Chris Johnston of Crystal Township requested last month that the office consolidation topic be added to a meeting agenda after Register of Deeds Lori Wilson announced her mid-term retirement earlier this year. In response, Wilson rescinded her resignation and said she would serve the remaining two years of her term.
The Montcalm County Clerk’s Office on Monday certified recall signatures against four officials in two townships.
A total of 227 elector signatures were needed to initiate a recall against Belvidere Township Supervisor John Anderson and 358 signatures were certified as valid.
One of the long-lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic is a national labor shortage, including right here in Montcalm County.
Montcalm County government is struggling to hire for and retain multiple positions ranging from the Sheriff’s Office and Jail to the Commission on Aging to the Clerk’s Office to the Animal Shelter.
