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Committee approves DOJ body-camera grant budget amendment, grant-writer contract and multiple prosecutor office agreements
Summary
The committee recommended to the full board a package of Prosecutor's Office items including a $333,333 budget amendment (first-year share of a $1 million DOJ grant), renewal of a $36,000 grant-writer contract, treatment-court MOUs and authorization to appoint outside counsel in a pending Court of Appeals case.
The committee considered a package of items involving the Macomb County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and voted 12–0 to recommend them to the full Board of Commissioners.
Budget amendment: The committee approved forwarding a budget amendment to add $333,333 in revenue and matching personnel expenditures to the Prosecuting Attorney Grant Funds budget. Staff said the amount is the first-year share of a $1,000,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant awarded over three years to support optimization of body-worn camera and digital-evidence processing. The county’s presentation described the funds as 100% federal — no county match required — to fund three grant-funded positions (one assistant prosecuting attorney, one prosecutor investigator and one administrative assistant). "This is a 3-year grant. It's a $1,000,000 and it's a third of grant revenue each year," the prosecutor's office representative said.
Consulting services: The committee also approved renewal of a consulting agreement with David Fisher Consulting LLC at $36,000 to continue outside grant-writing and consulting services. County staff credited the consultant with securing more than $3.5 million in new grant funding for the prosecutor's office since 2023, including the DOJ award just discussed.
Treatment-court MOUs: The committee recommended two memorandums of understanding — one for the 37th District Court Drug Court (Warren) and one for the 38th District Court treatment court (Eastpointe) — which county counsel said are modeled on new state administrative templates. The 37th District Court MOU continues an existing program; the 38th District Court MOU establishes a new treatment court. Staff said renewal MOUs will auto-renew under the new template unless a substantive change requires board review.
Outside counsel and legal services: The committee approved a resolution to appoint outside legal counsel (Fizard and Associates) to represent the prosecuting attorney in a pending Court of Appeals matter (case number 374004), and later considered a broader set of retained-legal-services arrangements. One committee amendment removed proposed engagement letters with two named firms (Evans Law Group PC and Versargent Associates PC) from the resolution before forwarding it, following commissioner concerns about appearance and potential conflicts. Committee discussion also addressed the county’s role and the separate litigation between the prosecutor and county leadership; commissioners spoke about preserving staff protections and the limits of county authority on HR matters.
The committee discussed procedural concerns over service of legal papers at personal residences; one commissioner said, "Serving subpoenas to people that work for the county personally at their home, in my opinion, is absolutely wrong." The committee approved the package of prosecutor-related items and will send the measures to the full board.
