Issue of the Month: Kent County Land Bank

Kent County’s Land Bank has been quietly rescuing some foreclosed homes and— by partnering with non-profit developers—getting some rehabilitated housing back into the market. The Land Bank was created more than a year ago, and already is making a big difference. The Land Bank’s 3 basic areas of focus are (1) Real Estate Foreclosures, (2) Community and Economic Development, and (3) Land Assembly- Preservation for Public Use. The Land Bank recently hired an Executive Director and moved into a space rented from the county at 82 Ionia Ave NW. It is moving forward in finding funding for its efforts, and has successfully attracted positive reception from several funders. No county general funds are being placed into the Land Bank. One successful project of the Land Bank resulted in rehabilitation of a distressed and foreclosed industrial property in Sparta. By obtaining this property, the Land Bank was able to take care of the environmental concerns. As the property is gaining new life, it is getting attention from industrial users, and will soon be back on the tax role and hiring employees as a busy industrial asset in the Sparta area. The county’s residential tax foreclosure process is now underway. The Land Bank will actively work to acquire some of those sites and get them back into use. See more at http://www.accesskent.com/YourGovernment/Treasurer/land_bank.htm.

Issue of the Month: Kent County Animal Shelter Services

Kent County’s Animal Shelter is making a concerted effort to inform residents of the service offered to citizens regarding animal management in our county. The Shelter has 6 Animal Control Officers who are on duty or call 24 hours a day to address public safety and law enforcement in regards to animals. The specific duties of the Animal Control Officers are (1) help animals who are roaming freely, or have inadequate shelter or care, (2) enforce licensing and anti-cruelty regulations (3) impound stray dogs or livestock (4) issue corrective actions or citations for unlicensed, unvaccinated, or aggressive animal behavior and (5) investigate reports of dog bites and cruelty complaints. Local police get involved with complaints about barking dogs or other disruptive issues. The Animal Shelter is working on an awareness campaign to remind residents of the three “L’s”—leash, license, and love your dog. The Animal Shelter handles licensing—a state law requirement for all dogs—and charges $26 for a dog license (less if the dog is spayed or neutered), and offers a senior’s discount of 1/2 of the charges. Please help our animal friends have a quality life by complying with the Health Department’s animal control efforts. You may call the animal control officers at 632-7300 or your local police department.

Recognize value of conservative approach to using taxpayer money

During the past several decades, the majority of Kent County commissioners have been members of the Republican Party.

This Republican body has accomplished significant and far-reaching human service initiatives for our county.

During the most recent decade, these have included the Prevention Initiative, urban sprawl study and actions, steps to improve health care for persons of color, advocacy for the first Michigan urban county senior millage, and development of a centralized Kent County funded Veteran’s Service Department.

These countywide measures—benefiting all 600,000 citizens who live in both the urban and rural areas of our county—were implemented when nearly all of these Republicans lived outside the city of Grand Rapids.

These initiatives have been implemented while maintaining one of the best financially run counties in the state and nation—as recognized by nationally recognized bond rating agencies.

It is important to recognize the value of our conservative approach to using taxpayer money in our county and continue to vote Republicans into the county commission. The Republican approach will continue to keep our county finances secure, while at the same time continuing to enhance activities for improved quality of life for all our community.

Issue of the Month: Waste Management in Kent County

Kent County’s Waste to Energy (WTE) Facility recently processed its 4 millionth ton of trash. This is a significant milestone for our community because the WTE Facility has reduced trash needing to be disposed of in the land fill, and also helps produce electricity for some parts of our community. It is estimated the WTE plant has extended the useful life of the South Kent Landfill by approximately 20 years since it was opened in the 1970’s. This primary solid waste disposal facility for Grand Rapids, Wyoming, Kentwood, Walker, Grandville, and East Grand Rapids trash received more than 190,000 tons of trash from residents and businesses in the past year. This trash is incinerated under strictly monitored environmental standards. The WTE Facility produces and sells approximately 100,000 MWhs of renewable electricity each year. The WTE was recently honored for its environmental ethic and stewardship by gaining a 2 year renewal of its designation as a Clean Corporate Citizen. This designation was given because the WTE facility exhibits excellence in (1) the development and implementation of an environmental management system, (2) practice of pollution prevention, and (3) a strong environmental compliance record. The County also has a good recycling program and citizens can find where/how to dispose of recyclables at www.recyclekent.org.

Issue of the Month: Kent County Health Needs Assessment

Over the past several months, The Kent County Health Department has been working with more than 60 community partners, including the area’s major hospitals and mental health providers, to collect data for a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). The results from the CHNA will be used to formulate a Community Health Improvement Plan which will address the issues identified in the CHNA. Community input for the CHNA included 12 focus groups with nearly 120 participants. The Health Department made sure to receive input from a racially and ethnically diverse group of individuals throughout Kent County having a broad range of life experiences and economic backgrounds. The CHNA identified more than 40 Strategic Issues that community stakeholders would like addressed. I participated in a process to rank these 40 Strategic Issues in early November. The top three issues identified through this process were: (1) Ensure all community members, including the uninsured and working poor, have access to affordable healthcare, including preventive care and a “medical home” , (2) Reduce the racial disparity in infant mortality prevention services, and (3) Ensure access to quality dental care for all citizens. The CHNA Steering Committee will immediately begin engaging the community in developing strategies to address these three high ranking issues. These will be outlined in the Community Health Improvement Plan. I will let you know information as the Plan becomes available.

Issue of the Month: Kent County Prevention Initiative and Evaluation

Ever since 2002 the County Commission has allocated funds for a “Prevention Initiative” for our county. The Commission in that year directed the Administrator to “develop a plan to fund” three priority service needs: (1) primary prevention family support services (2) services to families who have had reported child abuse or neglect interventions, (3) substance abuse prevention activities. Since 2003 the Commission has allocated up to $1.7 million annually from the county General Fund to help local non-profit agencies address these three areas. The County has used the Kent County Family and Children’s Coordinating Council (KCFCCC) to oversee the distribution of these Prevention Initiative funds. The KCFCCC has provided reports of how the monies have been used, and the Commission has felt assured the funds are proving effective in addressing needs in the priority areas. The KCFCCC recently adopted a process of evaluating effectiveness of human service dollars in our county—including the Prevention Initiative—called the “Collective Impact Strategy”. The County Commission embraced this strategy, and is encouraging participation by all organizations involved with addressing social issues in our community. This includes businesses, governments, non-profit agencies, and philanthropic agencies. The Commission will be getting periodic reports of the KCFCCC’s implementation, and I will pass these reports on to my readers. I will work hard to assure our county’s commitment to the Prevention Initiative continues and we play a continuing role in addressing social needs in our community.

Kent County Budgeting in Times of Fiscal Stress

The Commission passed our county operating budget for 2012 in mid-November. This budget is for $160.6 million in General Fund expenditures against expected tax revenue of $160.5 million. Only $158,000 is being taken from the General Fund surplus from previous years. We are pleased to be able to adopt a “structurally” balanced budget which means we are spending no more than the revenue we are taking in. Since our revenue has dropped approximately $5 million over last year, this meant a decrease of that same amount in expenditures. This necessitated eliminating 21 FTE positions—most of which are currently vacant—and cutting services in many areas. The county has done a good job of limiting increases in health care and pension costs and is complying with the recently passed state legislation in regards to employees paying 20% of the cost of health care premiums. Like all local governments, the county is experiencing less revenue sharing dollars from the state and less local property tax revenue flowing into its coffers. Our county is similar to more than half of the nation’s counties in the nation who report they are experiencing declining revenues from their state and the federal government to perform mandated services, as well as lessening local tax revenues. Most counties—like Kent—are adopting a “new normal” of less revenues, less staffing, and lowered service levels than in previous years. I will continue to work hard on balancing the needs of my constituents against the need to maintain a conservative approach to using our tax payer’s funds in the most efficient manner possible.