2005 State of the County Address
Good morning. I find it hard to believe that this is the third State of the County Address that I am presenting to you. I am humbled to once again be serving as Chair of the Board of Commissioners, and I would like to thank my colleagues on the Board for extending to me this honor for a third year. I would also like to express my personal gratitude to the Board for continuing to provide outstanding service and leadership to our community. As I have said many times in the past, elected commissioners have been afforded a privilege to be elected officials and placed in a position where we can positively and significantly affect the lives of over 590,000 residents of Kent County. This is a privilege we do not take lightly, and I know that as individual commissioners and the Board collectively, we share this feeling and take seriously our responsibilities.
I would also like to reflect a moment and express my thanks, on behalf of the entire Board of Commissioners, to our citizens. They have placed their trust in us to guide, direct, and lead our great County. We know we are not perfect, we are only human. But in my ten years on the Board, I have found that there is a genuine interest in serving our citizens, even though we do not always agree on policy and program matters. The fact that we can disagree is what is truly great about our system of government. It allows voices to be heard that may not otherwise be heard. And when you think about it, things really come down to how our programs and this County organization can best serve our citizens. That is something we must continue to keep in front of us as we deliberate and plan, as we make decisions and implement those decisions, and as we evaluate what we can and cannot do.
I have also said many times in the past that I truly enjoy being the Chair of the Board of Commissioners. With the able assistance of Vice Chair Roger Morgan, Legislative & Human Resources Committee Chair Dan Koorndyk, and the entire Board, we have accomplished much during 2004, some of which I will highlight in a moment. We also have much on our plate for 2005, which seems to be the norm nowadays with the County. And it is here that I would also like to acknowledge and thank Executive Assistant to the Board Jim Day. Jim has served the Board of Commissioners well for eight years. For those who don’t know, Jim is in charge of the “care and feeding of the Board of Commissioners.” To those of us who have worked with Jim, we know his value. To our newest colleague, Commissioner Klein, you will soon discover his value, if you haven’t already. He makes our jobs easier, and I know that I’m speaking for the entire Board when I say, “Thank you, Jim.”
I’d also like to express my appreciation to County Administrator Daryl Delabbio for his work. While there have been considerable staff changes in the Administrator’s Office this past year, they have come together into a well-functioning team, with a strong desire to work together for the County’s common good. This spirit has been fueled significantly by Assistant Administrator Wayman Britt, who has been a welcome addition to our staff.
One year ago when I delivered this address, I mentioned that there was uncertainty in two areas. The first related to uncertainty in the State’s fiscal condition. And what finally transpired during 2004 was something that, at least in my mind, was totally unanticipated. While statutory revenue sharing has been the target of the State for a number of years, and certainly susceptible to reduction and/or elimination, I could never have conceived of the “solution” that was developed and implemented: zero-ing out the county revenue sharing line item in the State budget and mandating that counties shift property tax collections from December to July phased in over a period of three years. In effect, for the next three years, the State has imposed a tax increase on county residents. And while it does provide Kent County with some stability over the next seven years, in terms of being able to have a source of revenues, it was bad public policy. I predicted before the Grand Valley Metro Council that this was only the beginning, that cities, villages and townships with statutory revenue sharing would be the next target. In my estimation, with the State’s ongoing fiscal crisis, I believe that prediction will materialize this year. As a result of the state’s action, I also believe that at the end of the seventh year, when Kent County depletes the special fund designated to hold the excess tax revenues from the tax shift, the state will not restore revenue sharing. This means that Kent County will face at least a $10 to $11 million funding gap. It is not too soon to begin looking at how this will impact the County, and Administrator Daryl Delabbio is proactively working with staff to develop a series of recommendations that will address this shortfall. Assistant Administrator Mary Swanson is chairing an interdepartmental committee to review issues related to the County’s fiscal condition and what will be necessary for the County to achieve funding stability as we move forward as an organization. It is also comforting to know that we have one of the best, if not, the best Fiscal Services Directors in the State in Bob White. Bob will be relied on heavily for his expertise in municipal and state finance.
The second area of uncertainty last year was whether there would be a new Wildlife Park. We received our answer in August 2004, with the defeat of the Wildlife Park millage. So now our goal is to make the John Ball Zoological Garden the best that it can be, given the current circumstances and constraints. I believe that there will be increased opportunities for partnering with the John Ball Zoological Society to make this goal a reality. I have been impressed with the Zoo Society leadership and with the passion and commitment of Zoo Society Executive Director Brenda Stringer, who also served ably and admirably as Interim Zoo Director. Our expectation is that the Society will work with the County and its new Zoo Director, Bert Vescolani, to move the Zoo to a new level and I look forward to seeing the results of the planning work that is already in process. I am excited about the possibilities and the opportunities that exist in this area and believe there is a very bright future for the John Ball Zoo. I am also pleased that the County, the City of Grand Rapids, and other stakeholders from the community were able to work so well together on the John Ball Zoological Garden Reclamation Task Force, and that the efforts that took place in early 2004 helped forge a better relationship with the City of Grand Rapids and the neighborhood as we move forward. My gratitude to Grand Rapids City Commissioner Roy Schmidt for his role in creating the task force and for navigating it so well while it met.
Now I would like to highlight a couple of other accomplishments that took place in 2004 and also outline what I believe to be on the horizon for Kent County in this coming year and beyond.
1. Millennium Park
With the opening of the recreation core and completion of phase I construction of this premier park, the County will be shifting its focus to address some of the environmental issues that have come to light this past year. Grants and other support to address the environmental concerns will be emphasized, as well as completing a business plan and establishing systems to assure the long-term sustainability of this park. It is important for me to emphasize that this project is not only a significant park project, but it is also a significant reclamation project. This cannot be overemphasized and is a credit to the County’s willingness and determination to address long-term community needs. This past year, due in no small part to the efforts of Assistant Administrator Mary Swanson, we have a much better understanding of where we are in terms of property acquisition, environmental matters, and funding. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mary and her staff for their excellent work. I would also like to pay tribute to the unreserved passion of Ambassador Peter Secchia, for his ongoing and, it seems, endless energy and commitment to raising private funding for this magnificent project!
2. Central 911 Emergency Dispatch
In July 2004, the Board received a comprehensive report on central 911 emergency dispatch. The report recommended that the County pursue a system that will reduce the number of primary service answering points (PSAPs) from six to two. Due to the nature of the report, which was the culmination of several years of effort with numerous committees involved in the process, County staff further reviewed the report and has made a recommendation to consider creating a Dispatch Authority with the cities of Grandville, Walker, and Wyoming, along with the County, to further develop and refine a long-term plan for funding. County Administrator Delabbio has been meeting regularly with the City Managers of Grandville, Walker, and Wyoming to fine tune a proposed agreement for consideration this year by the governing boards of each community and this Board of Commissioners, with the goal of having a long-term plan developed and outlined for consideration in 2006.
3. County Facilities
In 2004, the County saw a new facility put in place, the North Kent Health Clinic, and a renovated facility at the corner of Fuller and Bradford become home to a satellite office of ACSET. In addition, comprehensive renovations to the Health Department facility on Fuller started and have recently been completed. A master plan for the County’s Fuller Campus, which includes the Health Department, CMH facility, Spectrum Health Kent Community Campus, Sheriff Department, Correctional Facility, Kent/MSU Extension Office, and Animal Shelter, was developed and approved by the Finance & Physical Resources Committee. Two houses on Bradford Street were purchased as part of the master plan. The County also acquired property on Monroe Street, north of I-196 and through the efforts of Commissioner Wahlfield and the Administration Building Task Force, the focus is shifting to looking at developing long term plans for service delivery in the north, east, and south areas of the County, which will in all likelihood include consolidation of facilities for both efficiency and economy consideration. The Sheriff Department East Precinct, a joint venture with the townships of Ada, Cascade, and Grand Rapids, also became a reality in 2004. It was a very busy year for Facilities Planning and Management Director Bob Mihos and his staff, and it’s shaping up to be an equally busy year in 2005.
We have made tremendous strides in updating, renovating, and adding on to the County’s facilities inventory for the last several years, but there is still much to do. A high priority for me is to come to some form of resolution on the FIA Building at 415 Franklin. This facility, which is owned by the County and leased by the State for FIA services, must be addressed. I have worked personally with Representative Jerry Kooiman to make sure something takes place during the next one or two years. The band-aid approach that has been taken simply will not work. Our citizens and the FIA employees deserve better. We have indicated to the State that they must plan to vacate the facility within 3 to 5 years. It does not effectively serve clients, nor is it an environment that supports the FIA employees. We are willing to work with the State to make things happen.
In similar fashion, the Sheldon Health Clinic is also in need of work. Funds have been made available in the County’s Capital Improvement Program to address this facility. We are working with ACSET to see that improvements take place, but one factor that will impact any move is the FIA building. Ideally, we would like to see ACSET, the Health Department Clinic, and FIA consolidate into one facility. This will be a very challenging goal, but one that we will be pursuing with diligence over the next year.
And because the County is known for looking ahead, in 2004 Administrator Delabbio asked Assistant Administrator Wayman Britt to chair an interdepartmental committee to look at the Correctional Facility and the corrections/detention millage, which is scheduled to expire in December 2009. This committee will be presenting a report and recommendations to the Board about the variety of issues related to incarceration and alternatives to incarceration.
Hotel/Motel Tax
The Hotel/Motel Tax, currently set at 5%, is used to support a number of functions, the most significant being the retirement of debt on the Convention Center bonds (approximately $92 million). Revenues from this tax are also used to support annual contributions to the Convention & Visitors Bureau (approximately $900,000), to the John Ball Zoological Society ($425,000), and to Festival ($10,000). Due to the very slow growth in hotel/motel tax revenues, primarily due to declines in the occupancy rates of the hotels and motels in the County, it is projected that the County will have to subsidize, with the General Fund, payments on debt retirement for the Convention Center beginning in 2008, if the current revenue trends continue. Provisions must be made to develop alternative methods to create or enhance revenues, reduce “discretionary” commitments for the hotel/motel tax, or a combination of both. The Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention & Visitors Bureau also has this on its radar and has created a Resource Development Task Force to look at how it can maintain and increase its revenues to promote our community. Administrator Delabbio and Fiscal Services Director White sit on this task force.
4. Prevention Initiative:
Three years ago, the Board adopted a Prevention Initiative designed to be an investment in the lives of Kent County residents, impacting the costs of caring for delinquent, abused and neglected youth, as well as the costs for incarceration, mental health and physical health services. Last year, the Board of Commissioners continued to support this effort, allocating $1.8 million to provide services to more than 2000 families and their children. As we committed at the time, a share of the funding was also dedicated to evaluating the results of this effort. Like many projects undertaken by the Board, the Prevention Initiative and its evaluation component, represent the long-term and visionary thinking of Kent County, and our commitment to future quality of life.
5. Legislative Agenda
In 2004, the County was actively engaged with the state legislature and Governor’s Office, which resulted in two critical bills being passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor. The first involved the Hotel/Motel Tax, which would have required Kent County to move to a different funding formula once the County’s population exceeds 600,000, which will happen when the 2010 Census takes place. Had we not worked diligently to change the law, we would have put our funding of debt retirement of the Convention Center at risk. Again, looking well into the future, we have preserved our ability to continue the current Hotel/Motel Tax levy.
The second piece of legislation involved the size of the Board of Commissioners. Again, looking well into the future, if the law would not have been changed, we would have been required to increase the size of the Board to a minimum of 25 members once the County’s population exceeded 600,000. Legislative & Human Resources Chair Dan Koorndyk convened a subcommittee that worked toward a recommendation to move the minimum number from 25 to 17. These two critical pieces of legislation resulted from the County working with our lobbyist, PAA, and our state legislators, especially former representative Jim Koetje, and representatives Jerry Kooiman and Mike Sak.
This year, Commissioner Koorndyk and the Legislative & Human Resources Committee have already started looking at what will be a very ambitious legislative agenda, which includes promoting legislation to allow counties to “opt out” of tax increment financing districts, Smart zones, and Brownfield developments, similar to our ability to opt out of Downtown Development Authorities; limiting medical liability for inmates in correctional facilities; revising the summer property tax deferment to include low-income households; and looking at the size of FIA and Road Commission boards. We have found success in working with the state to address issues that affect Kent County, and we will continue to do so as issues arise.
6. Strategic Planning
In my State of the County two years ago I said we would begin to develop some strategic guidelines to help direct staff and departments. Due to a variety of pressing issues, we never really got that process off the ground and put strategic planning on the back burner. In light of the budget forecast, however, it is imperative that we begin to identify the priority programs and services to be used during the development of the budget. This year the process has started, which will require both the Board of Commissioners and the departments of the County to participate. The development of strategic guidelines will help shape our future and cannot be underestimated in importance. So I will be calling on commissioners to devote some time to this process, and I promise that we will not impose any unnecessary time commitments on anyone as we proceed.
Obviously, our plate is full. We have accomplished much; but we have so much more to do. But we have a talented, creative, and committed staff; we have outstanding employees; we have tremendous boards and commissions; and we have a thoughtful Board that thinks long-term, not short-term. As I look at Kent County relative to other counties and local governments, I can state that we are in an enviable position. As we have found, we are not immune from financial challenges, but we are positioning ourselves to be able to address those challenges. Our collective goal is to remain in a position that will allow us to meet our many challenges, continue to plan for our future, and create the best County in the country.
Again, I would like to thank you for extending me the honor of being Chair of the Board of Commissioners. To our dedicated citizens who volunteer their time and talents to serve on our appointed boards, committees, and commissions, I say we couldn’t do it without you and we owe your our sincere gratitude. To our exceptional work force, I can not only say thank you, but also that I am proud of you. And last, but not least, I would also like to once again thank our citizens, for it is in serving you that is our purpose for being here. God bless you all.
