KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — Backers of a plan to create a Kalamazoo County ID took the case to the Portage City Council last night seeking their endorsement for the program.
They got it despite a Portage policy that they usually don’t act on such requests, especially when it involves the expenditure of money by another governmental unit. The council approved a motion supporting the effort on humanitarian grounds.
Council Member Patricia Randall made the motion after City Attorney Randal Brown assured them there were no legal impediments to such a resolution.
She says it was not a political issue but rather a matter of human rights, and as elected leaders, she felt it would carry some weight if they let the County Commission know they supported the creation of the program.
The County Board has established a task force to draft a recommendation on how to create a County I.D. program that will be considered by Commissioners later this month.
More than one in ten local residents can’t qualify for a state I.D. for whatever reason, and trying to live without I.D. can be challenging in this society, which requires photo identification to accomplish so many everyday tasks.
