Jackson County adopts Hedgerow permitting software for environmental health

Jackson County’s Human Services Committee voted to approve a three-year contract with Hedgerow to replace the county’s environmental health permitting systems.

The health department presented the recommendation during the committee’s meeting, saying the county’s current systems pose security and data-integrity concerns and lack modern user-facing features such as online payments and consolidated permitting. “After reviewing with IT and our needs in our department, we are requesting to go with Hedgerow,” the Health Department director said.

The recommendation, described in a staff report and a detailed vendor proposal, covers permitting for food-service establishments, wells and septic systems, campgrounds inspections tied to public-health responsibilities and nuisance-complaint tracking. Committee members asked about scale and value: Commissioner Bair asked, “We’re spending $171,000 over three years to administer a budget of how much?” The director said the department’s environmental health budget is “6 to 700,000.”

Health staff told the committee Hedgerow would consolidate several disparate systems and provide a clearer client interface for businesses and residents to submit applications and make payments online. The director also noted the software would allow staff to track and assign incoming complaints from phone, email and other sources in a single platform.

Commissioner Bair asked for examples of nuisance complaints handled by the department; the director listed items ranging from alleged septic failures and sewage odors to bedbug reports and food-service complaints, and said the department either investigates directly or refers issues to the appropriate township or municipality.

Commissioner Williams moved to adopt the staff recommendation to enter a three-year contract with Hedgerow; Commissioner Snell seconded. The committee voted unanimously to approve the contract.

The committee then received the health department’s broader monthly report. The director described an internal employee-engagement group now called the B Team, which reviews policies and runs wellness and engagement activities. The director also noted limited grant funding that has supported some of the work and said the department had presented a poster at a Michigan public-health conference. The director mentioned a community meeting in Arbor Village being held by EGLE (the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy) and that health staff would attempt to attend.

The committee’s approval directs staff to finalize a three-year Hedgerow contract; the motion did not specify implementation dates or a payment schedule beyond the three-year term discussed in the vendor proposal.