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Eaton County commissioners outline options for incoming board after millage defeat
Summary
At a Ways & Means advisory workshop, commissioners reviewed options to close projected budget gaps following a failed millage, including hiring freezes, targeted position reviews, renegotiation of the Delta Township sheriff contract, and lobbying the state on unfunded mandates.
Commissioners and county staff on Monday described a range of steps the incoming Eaton County board should consider to address a possible structural budget gap after voters rejected a millage.
At an advisory Ways & Means workshop that the chair said would include no formal actions, commissioners and staff discussed personnel reductions, contract negotiations, capital spending and the risks of cutting grant-matched positions. The chair framed the session as a nonbinding effort to give the next board options and said the current adopted budget runs through next fall with only a small fund-balance carryover.
The discussion centered on where to find sustainable reductions without undermining mandated services. Controller-level staff advised that any cut recommendations be expressed as dollar amounts rather than flat percentages—because a percentage reduction affects the sheriff, prosecutor and courts differently than smaller offices such as the clerk or treasurer. Staff gave a preliminary overtime number for sheriff…
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