KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners met at a budget retreat Tuesday to set priorities for next year’s spending plan and some of the millions they have in reserve.
Based on their discussions, their first priority is to fill staff vacancies by improving wages and benefits for employees. Other priorities include equity, economic development initiatives, and better planning and infrastructure for climate emergencies.
The county has about $54 million in unallocated reserves, in addition to $12 million in surplus funding that went unspent last year.
County Administrator Kevin Catlin says they have plenty of projects to spend it on, with board approval, including upgrades at the County Administration building, a parking ramp for their new courthouse, a court room for their new judge, a new Household Hazardous Waste facility, and overdue repairs at the old section of the Kalamazoo County Jail. Catlin says it’s estimated the jail needs over $1 million just to repair the plumbing.
Staff presented the county commission with a funding list requesting items that would cost over $10.4 million and will now go to work on a budget, with the board’s priorities as a guide, and present it to the board this fall for their review and approval.
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