KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners has passed their budget for the next year.
The Board passed the $109M budget as it was written in a 10-1 vote during a meeting Tuesday night.
“It is the most progressive budget that I have seen in my seven years on the board,” Board Chair Julie Rogers said.
Rogers listed some of the budget items that she was pleased with.
“I am very excited about several of the things in [the budget], including the $25 stipend for Authority Boards and Committees [and] the restoration of part-time county employee benefits.”
Vice Chair Tracy Hall was also pleased with the budget.
“I think the budget is a statement of our values,” Hall said. “There’s more to criminal justice, we can actually help fund programs to reduce the recidivism rate. The goal should be keeping people out of jail and out of the criminal justice road, so I’m really proud.”
Commissioner Moore wanted to see more funding provided for diversity and equity in the budget.
“I would be remiss if I did not bring up the issue of diversity, inclusion, and equity,” Moore said. “Unfortunately, I’m feeling like these are just some words that are used on Hallmark cards and are beginning to seem meaningless.”
Commissioners declined to add extra funding for diversity needs, as they may have had to come out of the county contingency fund.
Board Chair Julie Rogers assured Moore that the issue of diversity would be discussed in the next meeting.
“We are going to have that discussion at the immediate next Committee of the Whole on diversity and inclusion consulting recommendations,” Rogers said. “I just hesitate to use contingency when we only have $100,000.”
Overall, board members were excited for the new budget and are continuing forward to work into the next year.
Some of the top priorities include emphasis on affordable housing, more support for Kalamazoo County’s new Consolidated Dispatch Authority, and continued work on their proposed justice facility as well as the soil erosion and sedimentation control program which monitors flooding issues, water contamination, and more.
The full budget outline can be found here.
