Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Veterans Memorial topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners reject payroll-deduction plan for Ogemaw County Veterans Memorial Park
Summary
A proposed resolution to allow voluntary payroll deductions to fund the Ogemaw County Veterans Memorial Park failed after commissioners split on whether payroll-based donations create peer pressure; commissioners said employees may still donate via QR code or direct payment.
A proposal to let county employees make voluntary payroll deductions for the Ogemaw County Veterans Memorial Park failed after a tie vote at the July meeting of the Ogemaw County Board of Commissioners.
The measure, introduced by commissioners supporting the memorial, would have allowed employees to designate small payroll deductions to a one‑time veterans park fundraising effort. One commissioner said he supported the project but opposed payroll deductions because many county employees work less than 40 hours a week and he worried deductions could feel coercive. "They earned their money, and it should be nothing on our end to try and sway them to donate," another commissioner said during the discussion.
Supporters said the program would be a limited-duration option providing a convenient way to give. "It just gives them a seamless way of being able to just do a check off of whatever amount they would like to donate," a commissioner who backed the plan said. Opponents warned setting a payroll-deduction precedent could lead future groups to ask for the same arrangement.
When the resolution was put to a roll‑call vote, board members split and the chair declared the motion failed. Commissioners clarified that employees who wish to contribute can still do so outside payroll: the treasurer's office will collect donations and a QR code is available for online giving.
The board did not adopt any alternate funding mechanism at the meeting and took no further action on the memorial fundraising program.
