Calhoun County Board of Commissioners Report

From the Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 Calhoun County Board of Commissioners Meeting

At the Oct. 5, the biennial election of members of the Calhoun County Board of Canvassers took place. On the consent agenda, Commissioners approved a planning consultation services agreement with Fredonia Township and a County Road Department Traffic Control Order for A Drive N and 15 Mile Rd in Marshall Township to change the intersection to a 4-way stop for safety purposes.

To view the agenda or meeting recording, visit the Agendas page of the website.

In new business, the Board approved,

an amended services agreement with Calhoun Intermediate School District for a second liaison deputy from the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office
a Michigan Department of Transportation contract with the Calhoun County Road Department for construction through a federal grant to improve Wattles Road in Emmett Township

A message from Calhoun County Administrator/Controller Kelli Scott

Public Health Department Receives Award

The Calhoun County Public Health Department (CCPHD) was honored last week at the Michigan Premier Public Health Conference with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director's Award to Local Public Health. CCPHD was selected for its promotion of harm reduction and work to decrease hepatitis C and HIV in Calhoun County.

These efforts by CCPHD have primarily been led by Nurse Practitioner Michelle Thorne, who formed partnerships with local private clinicians increasing access to care, helping 29 clients with HIV, 18 of whom are now HIV undetectable. Of the 36 clients seen with hepatitis C, 21 have been cured in 2022—with even more cured so far in 2023.

Congratulations to the Public Health Department for this honor. We are proud of our innovative and problem-solving employees who serve residents with care and competency. Pictured is CCPHD staff who accepted the award on Tuesday at the Michigan Premier Public Health Conference.

It's Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The Michigan Association of Counties is encouraging counties to recognize October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, an important time to reflect on the significance of cybersecurity in our daily work and personal lives. In today's digital age, our collective efforts to protect sensitive information and systems are more critical than ever and local governments have a role to play in this endeavor.

Calhoun County’s Information Technology Department is committed to promoting cybersecurity awareness year-round. Employees regularly receive information sent out by our Cybersecurity partner, KnowBe4. Scam of the Week alerts, Security Tips, and Phishing Campaigns are all part of this valuable toolbox that help us keep our environment secure!

The National Association of Counties (NACo) has partnered with the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) to promote increased cybersecurity protections and offer free tools for county governments. The MS-ISAC is the US Department of Homeland Security’s key resource for cyber threat prevention, protection, response and recovery for state and local governments. We will continue to stay up to date on best practices to protect our digital environment while continuing to offer convenient technology to our residents who need to conduct business with the County.

Opioid Settlement Planning Work Continues

With the assistance of Amy Dolinky, Technical Advisor for Opioid Settlement Funds Planning and Capacity Building with the Michigan Association of Counties (MAC), I shared information on the National Opioid Settlements and the County’s plans, with the internal Countywide leadership group on Sept. 21 and with the Calhoun County Opioid Coalition on Sept.27. The County is slated to receive more than $11 Million over the next 18 years for opioid remediation efforts by both the County and community partners. Next steps include the establishment of a Calhoun County Opioid Settlement Steering Committee, which I’m hoping to convene in November. Ms. Dolinky will continue to facilitate this work for the next several months as we develop our strategic spending plan for the best use of these restricted funds.

MERS, MAC Annual Conferences

I, along with several county employees, attended the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS) of Michigan annual conference from Sept.27-29 in Detroit. The County took first place in our division for this year’s MERS Impact Awards to recognize municipalities who display outstanding commitment to helping their employees achieve financial security in retirement, and demonstrate best practices in designing and implementing their retirement and post-employment benefit programs. 

Pictured are Calhoun County employees Deputy HR and Labor Relations Director Catherine Lessnau, Sheriff’s Detective Jonathan Pignataro, Administrator/Controller Kelli Scott, Circuit Court Administrator Kris Getting, and HR and Labor Relations Director Kim Archambault.

In Jan. 2023, Calhoun County implemented a new health benefit for retirees aged 65 and over who qualify for Medicaid, using a combination of the Mercer 365 Health Care Exchange and MERS’ Health Care Savings Program. This program offers customized health care plans to retirees with a fixed stipend contributed by the County into their new Health Care Savings accounts. The County’s Dec. 31, 2022 Actuarial Valuation for our Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) plans showed a 37% decrease in unfunded liabilities due to this change to a defined contribution-type program.

The Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) 2023 Annual Conference took place this week in Kalamazoo. I attended breakout sessions on road funding, latest trends in labor relations, and the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT, to improve the efficiency within local government operations. The County will be exploring Generative AI in more depth over the coming months to ensure the responsible use of this technology breakthrough. The County Administrative Officers Association, MACAO, also met during the conference, and there were helpful legislative updates from the MAC staff, who are working hard on behalf of all 83 counties in the state to get favorable new laws in place, and protect against unfavorable ones, as the state legislature winds down for this year’s session over the next few weeks.

A Calhoun County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) meeting took place on Tuesday, Sept. 26. At this meeting, representatives from EDCs around the county provided updates about what economic development is taking place in each municipality. The recent decision by Ford to pause construction was also discussed; Marshall’s City Manager Derek Perry stated that the city will move forward with site preparation efforts, regardless.

An internal Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee meeting was held on Thursday, Oct. 5. The Committee welcomed four new employees who joined the committee.

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