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Resident urges Livingston County to boost veterans services funding, proposes dedicated millage
Summary
Joshua Parish, a Marion Township resident and nonprofit director, urged the county to increase funding for veterans services—proposing a dedicated millage of up to one‑tenth of a mill to address understaffing and a historic $500,000 shortfall.
Joshua Parish, a Marion Township resident and director of the local nonprofit VetLife, urged the Livingston County Board of Commissioners to expand funding for veterans services during the board's March 9 public comment period.
Parish said he served as program director for the county's emergency relief fund from 2010 to 2015 and described a prior $500,000 shortfall in the general budget that had supported day‑to‑day office operations. "We would just be receiving a dedicated millage," Parish said, calling for the county to "actually increase or at least come up to the 1 tenth of a mill." He added the county has more than 10,000 veterans and needs more staffing and outreach to serve them effectively.
Parish recounted his work with the state — including work with the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and an effort to create a County Veterans Service Fund — and urged commissioners to use the county's millage authority to expand services. He said the board has the authority to levy limited increases and said more staff and targeted outreach would improve veterans' access to benefits and services.
The board did not take formal action on Parish's request during the meeting; his remarks were part of the public comment period. Parish's remarks raised specific funding figures and authorities: the historical $500,000 shortfall, his recommendation of a 0.1‑mill target, and his statement that the board can act within limited millage authority. None of those proposals were formally introduced as a motion at the March 9 meeting.
Next steps: Parish's proposal would require formal consideration by the commissioners and, if it involved a new millage, would typically require a board decision and likely a voter approval process under state law. At the March 9 meeting, commissioners did not vote on any new funding or millage measures.
(Reporting note: Parish referenced "Public Act 2 14 of 1899" and other statutory language during his remarks; the transcript records this phrasing as spoken.)
