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Commissioners, department heads push strategic-plan follow-up; prosecutor, courts outline funding and program priorities
Summary
At a month-long strategic planning follow-up, Mesquite County commissioners and department heads discussed tying four-year goals to the strategic plan, identifying funding needs, exploring a possible public safety millage, and expanding specialty and diversion programs in the courts.
Mesquite County commissioners opened a follow-up discussion on the county's draft strategic plan and four-year goals, hearing from department heads about funding, program priorities and operational strategies.
DJ Hilson, Muskegon County Prosecutor, told commissioners that funding is the principal constraint for departmental strategic plans and asked the board to collaborate on identifying funding sources. Hilson described the prosecutor's office's participation in specialty courts and treatment-focused approaches to cases involving veterans, PTSD and substance abuse, and said increased staff would allow the office to assign personnel to community engagement and specialty-court work without overburdening existing attorneys.
Alicia Bridal, circuit court administrator, outlined short- and long-term court goals. On the front-of-court side she said the court has room to improve child-support collections and is analyzing arrearage cases for affordable orders and barriers to employment; the court is partnering with a program called GEMS and WorkFirst to address employment barriers. Bridal also said juvenile justice legislation effective Oct. 1, 2024, provides reimbursement for diversion programming at 75%, enabling the county to fund alternative services and restorative programs for eligible youth.
Commissioners discussed how to integrate department four-year goals with the strategic plan and suggested a monthly calendar to review several departments at a time. Chair Nash and other commissioners asked departments to present goals and proposed strategies the board could support, including identifying specific funding requests or actions commissioners could take to help secure resources. Commissioners also discussed the idea of exploring a public-safety millage, citing examples from other counties, but treated that as a preliminary option requiring further study and community outreach.
Multiple commissioners urged staff to identify efficiency and continuous-improvement approaches that could reduce waste and free resources; one commissioner pointed to prior work with a continuous-improvement contractor and Health West's CADA program as models for process review.
Commissioners directed staff to continue refining departmental goals so the full strategic plan and four-year goals can be aligned and presented to the board for approval in a future meeting. No formal votes or funding commitments were taken at the session.
