OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — Ottawa County commissioners met on Monday to work on the county's budget for the next year - a budget some want to see change.
While the proposal given to the Finance and Administration Committee sits about 5 percent higher than the one put into place last year, some commissioners were looking for the opposite.
"We were elected on a platform to promise fiscal responsibility and efficiency," Committee Chair Gretchen Cosby said. "So, I'd ask for an approximate budget reduction of 5 percent, and I did ask for that actually."
Among potential cuts could be funding to Ottawa County's Department of Public Health.
Some commissioners expressed support for decreasing the amount of money going to the Department from the County's general fund. General fund dollars are received in large part directly from taxes.
Commissioners discussed the idea of lowering general fund contributions to the Department to pre-pandemic levels, down to about $2.5 million.
Commissioner Doug Zylstra, however, pushed back on the proposal, saying the County spent more on public health in the early 2000's, and that reducing the contribution now would be a bad idea.
"I don't see how in any responsible scenario, you reduce public health budget to 30 percent below 2001 levels - especially when you consider those raw numbers that is not accounting for population increase and that's not an accounting for inflation along the way," Zylstra said.
Some commissioners have taken aim at the Department of Public Health in the past for its handling of COVID-era practices like vaccines and mask mandates, as well as more recently for things like sex education and presence at local LGBTQ Pride events.
Commissioners who supported the idea of cuts on Monday said they would be in an effort to cut back on what they see as now-unnecessary COVID-era spending.
"I think that would be a very, very wise use of taxpayer funds and still allow all the essential services to function just fine," Commission Chair Joe Moss said.
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for September 12th.
Commissioners are expected to approve a final form before the fiscal year starts on October 1st.
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