Jackson County committee approves budget amendment, ARPA building repairs and several appointments

The Jackson County committee on Tuesday approved a year-end budget amendment that transfers anticipated surplus to capital projects, authorized ARPA-funded masonry repairs on county buildings, advanced a farmers market site work bid paid for by grant funds, and confirmed multiple board and commission appointments.

The committee approved a motion to adopt year-end budget amendments that, according to Finance Director Cecilia, include a placeholder use of planned fund balance of $500,000 while also budgeting an anticipated $2.2 million transfer from the general fund to the public improvement and building fund for future capital projects. "I just don't know which direction our insurance entry is going to go regarding prepaid," Cecilia said in the discussion; the motion carried unanimously.

Why it matters: The moves set money aside for capital projects and commit ARPA and grant dollars to specific building repairs and a farmers market site, shaping near-term county capital work and how the county will use one-time federal and grant funding.

ARPA building repairs and contractor awards

The committee approved two ARPA-funded tuckpointing contracts and a recommendation on a farmers market site bid. Facilities staff said Davenport Construction is completing work on the courthouse south side, and the committee authorized additional north-side courthouse tuckpointing and north lawn tuckpointing using remaining ARPA funds.

- North lawn tuckpointing: Facilities staff recommended awarding the lowest bid to Grama Construction; the committee voted to forward that contract award to the full board. Facilities described the work as north lawn tuckpointing and said the contractor will address flashing and water infiltration issues as part of the work. The staff noted the contract amount as "48,000 92646" in the bid documents; the figure was discussed as the lowest bid in public remarks.

- Courthouse north-side tuckpointing: The committee approved sending the courthouse tuckpointing contract to the full board. Facilities staff said Davenport was the lowest bidder for that project at about $134,000 and confirmed the contractor will leave existing railings in place and perform repairs on-site to avoid safety concerns.

Farmers market site work

Parks staff said the farmers market project has three parts—site work, building improvements and an operator lease—and brought the site work package to the committee. Parks staff said the grant covers the county's out-of-pocket costs for the site work and that the county does not anticipate a local match for that piece. The committee moved the recommended, lower bid to the full board; the motion passed unanimously.

Clerk's semiannual report: paper filings, early voting and jury figures

The county clerk presented a semiannual report that included court filing volumes, early voting utilization and jury statistics. The clerk said Jackson County does not currently accept electronic circuit-court filings: "We do not have an electronic filing system and therefore we cannot accept electronic filings," the clerk said, noting the state is moving toward statewide electronic filing and the county will evaluate transition timing.

On elections, the clerk said the county administered early voting after voters approved Proposal 22-2 and reported widely varying utilization: about 0.55% in February, 0.53% in August and roughly 12% in November. The clerk gave the raw counts as 694 voters in February, 683 in August and 16,590 in November and credited staff outreach and overtime for managing high demand in November.

The clerk also reported 30 jury trials so far this year—17 in circuit court and 13 in district court—and noted new fines tied to juror questionnaire noncompliance, which have resulted in $3,650 collected so far.

Technology and contracts: payments and aerial imagery

The committee approved a renewal of the county's G2G credit-card payment service agreement with Oakland County, which allows the county to use Oakland's hosted online payment system and security services. The committee also approved a contract for updated aerial imagery (orthogonal imagery) for the county, authorizing approximately $108,467.76 for a spring 2025 flyover. Staff said the county is not purchasing oblique imagery this cycle to limit costs and retain ownership of base orthogonal imagery.

Policy changes and fee schedule

The committee approved several policy housekeeping items and a revision to the county's nepotism policy to clarify covered relationships. Human Resources Director Deb (last name not provided) said the changes close previous language gaps and that existing supervisory relationships would be handled case-by-case; commissioners asked whether the revision could force employment changes and were told staff would seek reassignment or other options before termination. The committee also moved the proposed 2025 fee schedule—highlighted changes were included with the budget documents—to the full board; the changes would take effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Appointments and routine business

The committee confirmed multiple appointments by voice vote and consensus, including: - Sarah Lightner to the Fair Board (term listed as running through the end of "27" in the agenda materials). - Janelle Merritt, Mike Way and Nate (Nate/Kevin) Lavery to parks and recreation public-member seats. - Patrick O'Dowd to the Land Bank Authority as a construction representative. - Mike Way to the Library Board of Trustees (reappointment after a midterm vacancy). - Andrew Grimes and Charles Woodburn to the Materials Management Planning committee (Woodburn was confirmed as an at-large member); the committee noted two open positions remain that require township or city nominees. - Jacob Hurt to the Region 2 planning representative seat.

Committee members also received the clerk's, treasurer's and monthly finance reports and approved the claims list by voice vote.

Votes at a glance

- Agenda approval: Motion by Walls, support by Pawlowski; passed unanimously. - Farmers market site bid: Motion moved and supported on staff recommendation; forwarded to full board; unanimous. - North lawn tuckpointing (ARPA): Motion by Pulaski, support by Snell; forwarded to full board; unanimous. - Courthouse north-side tuckpointing (ARPA): Motion by Pawlowski, support by Willis; forwarded to full board; unanimous. - Year-end budget amendment: Motion by Pawlowski, support by Snell; approved unanimously (includes $500,000 planned fund balance placeholder and planned $2.2 million transfer to public improvements). - Aerial imagery: Motion by Pawlowski, support by Snell; approved unanimously ($108,467.76 buy-up agreement authorized). - G2G payments renewal: Motion by Snell, support by Walls; approved unanimously. - Purchasing policy update: Motion by Snell, support by Pawlowski; approved unanimously. - Nepotism policy update: Motion to adopt moved from the floor and carried unanimously; staff flagged existing supervisory relationships that will be managed administratively. - Multiple appointments to boards and commissions: voice approvals; all passed unanimously.

What to watch next

Several items approved by the committee will go to the full Board of Commissioners for final approval, including the ARPA-funded repairs, the farmers market contract actions and the year-end budget amendments. The committee also signaled continuing work on materials management planning, with two open seats to be filled by a city or village nominee.

(Reporting note: All motions and voice votes were recorded in the committee transcript; unless a vote tally or individual roll-call was read aloud, the committee reported outcomes verbally as "passes unanimously." )