It was a quick and mostly presentation filled meeting on Monday, but it ended with much discussion over what the future would look like for the Alger County Commission.
The Alger County Commission Committee of the Whole on Monday, November 14 was the first meeting after the election, when commissioners Catherine Pullen, Katherine “Kappy” Laing and commission chair Jerry Doucette lost their reelection bids.
“This is 40 years of experience walking out the door next month,” Commissioner Esley Mattson said. “We need everyone to pitch in and pull their fair share.”
According to the Michigan Association of Counties, roughly 32 percent of county commissioner incumbents lost across the state. Alger is at 60 percent. To try and get new politicians used to government operations, training sessions have been posted across Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
Two of the winners from those elections — District 1’s Rick Capogrossa and District 2’s Dean Seaberg — were in attendance at the monthly meeting. Capogrossa will attend the training while Seaberg declined due to a scheduling conflict.
No major tears were shed during the meeting, but Pullen stated that she was proud of the work accomplished during her time on the board.
“This county is better off now than when we got here and I’m proud of that and thank you for being able to work with you,” she said.
In board business, the county primarily made financial moves. With the help of Alger County Treasurer Pam Johnson, a number of monetary moves were made to pay off more retirement financial requirements called OPEBs. An acronym for “other post-employee benefits”, OPEBs are other benefits available to retirees that can compound interest if not paid regularly.
A total of $603,643.95 was paid with $103,643.95 coming from excess proceeds from the deferred tax roll fund, $300,000 from previously earmarked for OPEB’s and another $200,000 from the general fund.
“It was quite a lengthy process to get this done as well as a lot of hard work,” Doucette said.
Numerous officials also used their time to credit Alger County Prosecutor Rob Steinhoff after the results of the lengthy trial last week.
A number of items were added to next Monday’s consent agenda, including payments for vehicle maintenance, updates to the 9-11 system and more. The meeting will be at 4 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21 at the courthouse basement conference room.
