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Commissioners defeat proposal to increase drain revolving fund amid procurement and oversight concerns
Summary
Water Resources Commissioner Stephanie Barrett sought to raise the county's drain revolving fund from $100,000 to $250,000 for maintenance; commissioners raised procurement, transparency and past bond concerns and the motion failed on roll call (recorded as 7 no).
A proposal to increase Muskegon County's drain revolving fund from $100,000 to $250,000 was defeated after commissioners questioned procurement practices, oversight and prior use of county backing for drain bonds.
Water Resources Commissioner Stephanie Barrett (who is responsible for county drains) asked the board to increase the revolving fund to allow more timely maintenance and to avoid issuing a separate note for each small project. Barrett described active field work, multiple contractors called in, and the county's responsibility for more than 300 county drains.
"We're actually having to call contractors because it's really bad right now," Barrett said, describing recent inspections and cleaning operations.
Discussion shifted to the county's historic use of full faith and credit for drain bonds (the Chaddock drain was cited repeatedly), with several commissioners saying the prior bond effort raised concerns in the community and that any use of additional county funds should include clear procurement requirements. Commissioner Chris (speaker 15) said appearance matters and emphasized a condition that additional funds follow the county purchasing process.
The motion to increase the revolving fund and transfer $150,000 from the general fund to the drain revolving fund was put to a roll-call vote and recorded as defeated (the clerk recorded seven no votes on the roll call as presented in the meeting).
