I will say that this of the mill that I

have considered and this is my eighth

year sitting up here.

>> Um this is the first millillage where

I've heard from my constituents [music]

uh a majority

uh of opposition to the question.

>> You know, some have contacted me in

support, more have contacted me in

opposition to this, and that's a first.

That was Commissioner Jason Machki

speaking at the Washaw County Board of

Commissioners meeting on July 1st, 2026.

This is Washington County edition.

Before their regular meeting at 7 p.m.,

the County Board of Commissioners held a

work session about winter sheltering and

emergency 911 sir charges. A panel of

service providers updated the board on

winter sheltering services and the

impact of $1.3 million in county funds.

So, the CH PATH team provided street

outreach to 45 individuals who remained

living outside for the duration of the

winter months. Uh, and some of those we

engaged into hotels during the most

severe weather that we had, but 45

individuals consistently remained living

outside. The shelter saw 882

unduplicated individuals during the

winter months. This is just an amazing

number that the shelter system was able

to uh support uh with an average of 176

individuals per night across all the

sites. So we served 77 families or 332

people sheltered by IHN and SOS during

the winter months. Um and family shelter

had an increased capacity by 29 units.

Uh Alpha House is um expanding uh and

we'll have a se 70 total units once

they're able to fully open.

Ozone House, we served 198 youth across

all of our programs during the winter

months. You can read the details

obviously, but overall our latest report

this winter showed approximately 30% of

clients were served from outside of

county. So, this is an issue we're

talking about how to address, and it

isn't an easy one. For this upcoming

winter, our community needs another

location or two that allows us to have

people supported by multiple agencies so

we can start to solve this issue, this

issue with a well-unded system for our

housing and homelessness continuum of

care. For everyone standing up here,

everyone in this room, for everyone

listening online, for everyone in this

county, we need to see this as all of

our issue. If we don't address this

together right now for our upcoming

winter, people are going to die

unhoused.

>> They offered explanation about why the

Delana shelter in Ann Arbor is over

capacity.

>> We think one of those reasons is because

a Monroe shelter closed and so we think

[clears throat] a lot of those f maybe

we're not sure it's an anecdote that a

lot of those folks came out. This is

partially why the path team saw 100

people instead of 50 after the winter

season ended because at the Delana

Center there were 130 people on that

last night unless sleep.

>> The board offered feedback.

>> I just wanted to add quickly that I got

a communication a couple of maybe a

month ago and I sent it to Rhonda and

Shona and I I sent it. It was about a

complex that was

vacant and I thought, okay, we could

figure out a way to obtain that. Can we

look into this and find out why is it

empty and how much would it cost to to

assume it? And

I mean, it would have been enough

to handle all of your issues.

So, I'm just putting it out there.

>> I fully agree with Commissioner Sanders.

Uh, I think it's a great idea. Uh it's

one that I floated before when we had

those hotels available to purchase uh

over near Palm Palace.

>> We're looking into those hotels right

now. So, we will bring that to you if

it's if it's a possibility.

>> That's awesome. I I think it should be a

possibility. Like I said a year ago

whenever I first brought this up.

The board then heard a presentation from

County Sheriff Alicia Dyer, who

presented a plan to help fund 911

response by increasing a search charge

that appears on phone bills. The board

would put a question on the ballot for

county voters to approve. Our county sir

charge cost is 43 cents per month. Um,

we are an outlier compared to some of

our neighboring regions. And what this

is is it is the fee that you'll see on

your telephone bill. You'll see like a

E911 charge. A lot of people don't

realize that they're even paying it. Our

current funding structure for E911 in

county is uh this sir charge along with

the county general fund that you all

contribute to uh public safety and

dispatch services. If you see here where

stands versus our neighboring counties,

we are at the 43 cents in Washington. We

were grandfathered in at that many many

years ago. Our neighboring counties have

actually already um increased their

search charge to be able to fund their

dispatch center um with you know

Livingston $185, Monroe's at $2, Lenway

is at $3 and that would be the state

cap. So as of now you can't go higher

than that $3. Our current reality is we

have rising call volumes. There's a

growing need for mental health calls to

be triaged appropriately as

municipalities think through alternative

response and we have a rising community

d demand just for dispatch service. We

have a huge structural gap between the

dispatch cost and the actual

searchcharge revenue that we um get as a

as a county. If the search charge was to

increase by $2, we would actually bring

in significantly more revenue. It would

be about 8.3 million. Um, Metro Dispatch

would get 7.4 million and then the other

PAPs would also see an increase in in

their revenue which is significant for

for their current current budgets. This

is not a millage. It is not a property

tax. It is not based on um property

taxes. It is a user sir charge and so it

is a monthly charge that is on your

phone wireless and voice over internet

connection. A lot of people have no clue

they're paying this E911 charge on their

phone bill. Um, and we want to make sure

we get out accurate information and we

want to do public education across our

our county um, alongside our local

municipality uh, and public safety

partners so that way people really can

evaluate their options and then

ultimately make a decision.

>> The board had questions for Sheriff

Dyer. I think this is a good opportunity

for us to get voter buy in to sh change

a system that we currently use and make

it better.

>> How would things change though for the

municipal contracts if we were to go to

something like 250 or three?

>> So if we went to um the the $250 or even

$230 or 40 um it would cover dispatch

services across county. we would no

longer have to contract for dispatch

services. We could county fund it and it

would not cost or burden the county

fund. Um, and would give us some room

for putting social workers into dispatch

or looking at fire or other streamlining

services between the sheriff's office

and our other dispatch partners. And so,

um, that would that would cover it. $3

would be significant. Then how does this

impact the um payment and the how HVA

emergent comes into this equation?

>> Yeah. So there could be a couple options

with that. So you know some some local

municipal municipalities have expressed

interest for years over more

centralization between police and fire.

And this funding could be used to cover

the cost that people have to pay for

emergent health um because they also do

the EMS side. And so there's a lot of

possibilities there. I think we're on a

pretty quick turnaround timeline to get

this moving. Our our municipalities, if

this were approved at a funding level

appropriate to cover,

should likely save money.

>> Every local municipality in our county

would save money. Uh Ann Arbor alone,

they're paying, I think, 1 point

something million for dispatch right

now. They would not have to pay that

anymore. After the work session, the

board held their regular meeting.

At the June meeting of the board, county

administrator Greg Dill announced his

retirement effective July 12th. The

board read a lengthy resolution honoring

his service. Whereas Gregory Dill has

dedicated more than 30 years of his

professional career to public service,

providing exceptional leadership to

local government. Now therefore, be it

resolved that the county Board of

Commissioners does hereby honor and

recognize Gregory Dill for his many

years of exemplary service to county and

its residents. Be it further resolved

that the Board of Commissioners extends

its deepest gratitude to Gregory Dill

for his leadership, integrity, and

unwavering commitment to the well-being

of the county community. Greg Dill

responded,

>> "We are the form of government that's

closest to the community and our work is

paramount important right now,

particularly given the external

environment that we operate under."

The board considered a question for the

November 2026 ballot that would ask the

community to approve a millillage

funding healthcare in the county. It is

designed to address acute funding

challenges that exist due to current

policy at the federal level. At first

reading, the board considered ballot

language for a proposed mill that would

last only 3 years. The board considered

the question of adjusting other millages

so that taxpayers would not see an

increase in their total bill. I want to

move that we add under the now therefore

be resolved clauses a section that would

say the board uh directs county

administration to provide

recommendations on how to reduce

uh any other millages and put s in

parenthesis by 2 mills.

>> I appreciate this. I would like this

millillage to be on the ballot and I

would like it to be um a neutral mill

for folks in our community. We can't

reduce the millages because they're

already voted on, right? But we can

choose to not levy the amount that have

been approved by the voters. So every

year we'd have to reup our commitment.

So there's basically what I'm driving at

is there's no way of guaranteeing that

the money would be not levied. It

depends on every board's decision-making

authority in that year.

>> Yes.

>> Okay. We've got to find a better way to

do it because this this this just isn't

working.

Especially because we are

quas

six mills away from hitting the ceiling.

>> In a hypothetical situation in which the

federal landscape changes significantly,

we could always choose to stop levying

this millillage or if if needed. None of

this is truly ideal, but all of us have,

you know, coalesed around this notion

that we're trying to minimize the tax

burden as much we can.

>> And my constituents and even some of my

peers that said, you know, y'all better

quit asking us for more and more money

and figure out ways. They saying we're

being poor budgeters because we're not,

as I was on a bandwagon last week, we we

have other options.

We have other options

>> on the amendment. I'm just nervous

because I'm looking here at our

countywide villages and I can't think of

a single one where I want to draw money

away from parks or older persons or

roads or emergency communication system

or veterans or conservation. like I

can't think of anything.

>> I hate to do this, but um just want to

point out that the amendment that you've

made is to a first reading resolution.

So, in theory, it won't be directing

county staff to do anything until

later.

>> Yeah.

>> The board approved an amendment

directing county staff to recommend a

strategy for reducing other millages.

Only commissioners Machki, Sanders, and

Bean voted against. Discussion of the

main motion continued. I advocated for

three years. That way, um, the board can

reassess how things are in about two or

three years to see if we need to put it

back up on the ballot to meet this need.

Um, because I think it gets to the point

of this is like a temporary um, fix for

a problem that we did not create. So, I

would like to make a motion to table

this until we get all of the answers. I

want exact numbers. I want to know how

this is going to move. I want to know

what millages we're going to pull from,

how they're going to operate, how that

funding is going to substain. I want to

know all of those answer because we

don't have them.

>> I think in order to comply with the

ballot language uh requirements, we do

have to keep this moving uh for an

August uh uh 5th meeting. Um,

corporation council, can you clarify

um if that's even a a a technical

possibility to be able to do it in one

night? I'm not saying I would support

that, but is that even a legal option?

>> It is possible. Yes.

>> Since it would be legally possible to do

it in one reading, but if the motion to

postpone to or adjurnn to a time certain

passes and then we're at the August

meeting, wouldn't we then need to make a

motion to approve it in a single

reading? and then that would require

twothirds of the board to approve it.

>> Only commissioners Crystal Light and

Caroline Sanders voted in support of a

postponement.

>> And I also feel like um we have not

engaged our communities and our

residents with this millillage. It was

just brought like snuck in and we

haven't had time because I want to go

out into district 2 and ask you know the

thoughts and have town halls and have

the big harrah that we had. I want to

remind commissioners and and the

community, we we have discussed the

issue of public health at length. If

voters in four months say no, we will

come back to this table and make do as

best we can. Um they do have that right.

>> We're ignoring um our our most

vulnerable taxpayers here in this county

who don't seem to really get a voice.

Um, and

you know, I've got people that are

telling me they What are we doing?

When do we stop with these last minute

emergency millages?

>> We're talking about voting and putting

it out to the voters. And there's a

large difference between what voting

looks like in Ann Arbor and what voting

looks like in my district. So yes, we

can put it to the voters and yes, the

voters can vote, but in Ann Arbor, in

Ward 3, you have six places to vote. In

Bridgewater Township, you have one.

>> I appreciate the fact that we are trying

to make this neutral on residents. It

started out as a conversation about 8

years. I think 3 years is more

appropriate.

>> County staff offered more explanation

about what the millillage would fund.

>> Washington Health Project helps 4,000

people a year access Medicaid. With this

additional funding, we would help 3,000

additional people. That would be 7,000

people total. And then we would help 300

additional people access marketplace

coverage for paying for their premiums.

The ballot question for a healthcare

mill was approved at first reading with

commissioners Crystal Light, Caroline

Sanders, Shannon Bean, and Jason Machki

voting against.

Public commenters offered support for

$500,000 in bridge funding for Planned

Parenthood Michigan

>> for those who are uninsured,

underinsured, or living on low incomes.

Planned Parenth Planned Parenthood

Health Centers are often the only

affordable option. Planned Parenthood of

Michigan's Ann Arbor Health Center is a

critical provider of sexual and

reproductive health care in Washington

County. The Ann Arbor Health Center

provides birth control, STI testing,

cancer screenings, wellness exams,

abortion care, and many other essential

health services.

>> I'm Paula Thornton Greer. I am the

president and CEO of Planned Parenthood

of Michigan. at our power family health

center here in this county. Nearly one

in four patients we serve live at or

below the federal poverty level. And for

them, the difference between a door that

opens and one that doesn't is not this

abstract idea. It's whether they get

cancer screening, as you've heard, or

birth control, the care that lets them

plan their own lives.

7,000 visits a year happen at that

health center. Last year, I visited

Planned Parenthood's Ann Arbor location

after finding a lump in my breast. I

didn't have a primary care physician at

the time, so I immediately called around

to make an appointment. I was able to go

to Planned Parenthood's website and get

an appointment within two days. Later in

the year, I went to there to have an IUD

placed. Planned Parenthood provides

vital services to residents of county

who don't have other options. So I urge

you please to extend funding and support

this very necessary essential services.

>> The board expressed support for the

funding.

>> The emergency funding that you guys

referenced uh from a few years ago was

not the first time county u allocated

funds for Planned Parenthood. I got to

experience the ups and downs of uh the

attacks on Planned Parenthood in the

legislature. um and served under a

Republican trifecta where the Republican

party tried to put up legislate

legislative effort after legislative

effort to strip away and restrict

abortion access in the state of

Michigan. And I'm very proud of the

organization that you are because you

are resilient in the face of those

attacks.

>> The funding was approved.

The board considered a resolution

establishing a study committee to create

a historic district at Woodlon Cemetery

in Ipsellante. A spokesperson from the

Woodlon Cemetery Restoration Project

offered a public comment.

>> This fall and spring, we dedicated our

time to do listening sessions with the

descendants of those that are interurred

at the only black cemetery in county. It

is abandoned and if you drove past it,

you wouldn't even really know it's a

cemetery. Um, we've been working very

diligently to clear a lot of that excess

overgrowth over the last year. In those

listening sessions, the descendants

noted that one of the most critical

components was preservation of the site

in perpetuity, ensuring that it would

not be damaged or developed or anybody

would be disinterred. The board reacted

to the resolution.

>> I have a chainsaw and I know how to use

it. You [clears throat] guys need people

that know how to use chainsaws for your

cleanup.

>> Our next volunteer event is July 11th.

That's a Saturday. It's from 10 to 3 and

it's every other Saturday. So, bring

your chainsaw and gloves. It was

approved.

Due to the retirement of Greg Dill, the

county considered the appointment of

Derek Jackson as interim county

administrator. A memo from other county

leaders, including prosecutor Ellie

Savit, Sheriff Alicia Dyer, Clerk Larry

Kenbomb, Treasurer Leticia Sharp, and

Water Resources Commissioner Gretchen

Driscoll, expressed support for the

choice of Derek Jackson as interim. The

memo acknowledged the fact that Jackson

was previously a candidate for sheriff

in 2024, but lost to current sheriff

Dyer. The memo emphasized that their

recommendation was not political. The

board discussed the appointment. Does

this appointment have time limitation or

is it unlimited?

>> That has not been determined.

>> That has not been determined. I believe

it would probably be part of the

contract negotiation.

>> The agenda included a resolution

directing a search process to fill the

position of county administrator

permanently. County staff explained the

significance of that resolution. If this

is approved tonight, I will prepare a

documentation with what we will ask from

the search company to to focus on. Of

course, that will be uh it would need to

be approved by all of you. So, depending

on what steps we add to this, it it

could change the timeline, but in the

draft, I am considering roughly by the

end of the year.

>> The end of the year.

>> Yeah.

>> Do you have a do you have a date in

mind?

>> I'm sorry. Do you have a date in mind?

>> No.

>> Okay. Well, I guess for corp counsel, I

I think it is appropriate to have a

timeline in the contract for

when the contract starts and ends, and

we can always extend it, but I think we

have to have an end date in the

contract.

>> The appointment and the search process

were approved unanimously.

The next scheduled meeting of the board

of commissioners is Wednesday, August

5th. The board will hold a work session

at 5:30 p.m. ahead of their regular

meeting at 7:00 p.m. Like and subscribe

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