The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Local lawmakers weigh in on consolidation
By Sean Dalton, Heritage Newspapers
PUBLISHED: January 31, 2008
Washtenaw County officials agree that the Township Services Consolidation Act most likely will never be anything more than an act. And while some might not agree with the method taken to create the discussion, the discussion is both important and necessary.
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"I certainly don't support it in its present form," said state Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-52nd District. "I think it's generating discussion on regional efforts, which is good. It's encouraging townships to look at some new ideas."
Byrnes characterized Washtenaw County as being "on the cutting edge" of regional cooperation, pointing out the Chelsea Area Planning Team, Dexter Area Regional Team, the Southwest Washtenaw Council of Governments, Saline Sustainability Circle and the Washtenaw Metro Alliance as examples of regional cooperation.She also singled out the Washtenaw Intermediate School District as another example of consolidation and cooperation.
"(This legislation) certainly brings our attention to some of the places where we have duplication of efforts and we need to 'de-duplicate' them," Byrnes said. "Maybe this could be used in other parts of the state to urge cooperation where it's needed, but the actual bills are bad, and I'm not alone.
"We're all just trying to make government more efficient and less costly, and that's the desire here. But we really need to look at energy standards, water withdrawal, mortgage lending issues and many other issues."
Washtenaw County Commissioner Jeff Irwin, D-11th District, sees regional efforts as a natural extension of the evolution of townships in Michigan.
"We have a local governance structure in place here putting as much power as local as possible," he said. "This was for the reality of 1827, when people felt that you should be able to get in your buggy and go to the township hall and be home by nightfall. But, in 2008, that is a bit of a different concept.
"It makes a lot of sense to consolidate many functions. I hope that people are going to be comfortable putting some of those functions up to a greater level and getting the job done at a lower expense."
Irwin envisions townships gradually letting go of the reins when it comes to services and responsibilities that are not core to the character of a community. "Functions that are more tightly connected to those issues of place and sense of community will remain there, such as land use and zoning" he said.
Irwin sees election administration as a good candidate for county administration.
"The stuff that is more administrative and ministerial makes sense for consolidation," he said. "Whatever happens is going to be the state's decision. We're all Michigan Municipal Corporation somewhere and we're all creatures of the state, bound to the state constitution and legislation."
Washtenaw County Commissioner Mark Ouimet, R-1st District, is a regular at public meetings and has recently been attempting to build congruence in municipal emergency response and victim management plans with the county's standards. His view of consolidation is more consumer-friendly toward townships.
"I've always offered to townships and villages to blend our services together to increase efficiency," he said. "I think we should continue to offer that, but I don't think we should force other governmental units to surrender those activities unless they want to."
Ouimet said he believes that consolidation will happen "naturally" as other units of government reach the point of being unable to afford rendering those services, which would then be sent up the ladder to county and state control.
"We're here to help and if you want it, that's fine, but when I ran four years ago, one of the issues that I ran on was protecting the sovereignty of individual units of government and only partnering when they want it," Ouimet said.
Some of what he would consider successful collaborative efforts between the county and individual municipal entities include:
* The adoption of software and hardware standards utilized by the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department and Chelsea Police Department.
* Collective purchasing of capital equipment and supplies through 1Washtenaw, a countywide initiative to assist communication and collaboration among the 29 local units of government.
* Various regional planning efforts.
Ouimet said boundary conflicts are one of the major issues to come before the county in recent years. In particular, two annexation requests have come up in his district between Dexter Village and Scio Township. And both times he has been an advocate of letting residents settle the disputes at the local level.
"If people in those sub-divisions want to stay in the township, that is what they should be able to do," Ouimet said. "That is why we offer the regional planning approach, if the township wants to take advantage of it. But I don't think it should be forced. The economy moves us in that direction where it's needed."
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