Called ”Seeds for Change: Growing Prosperity in Ypsilanti,” the project is intended to provide job training and placement to unemployed workers interested in agricultural employment, and to offer shared commercial kitchen space and business support to local agri-business entrepreneurs, according to a staff memo. The initiative will also encourage local entities – including governments, universities, hospitals, and other partners – to buy products made from people in this program. Products will be available for purchase with food stamps, to address the nutritional needs of low-income residents and expand the market for locally-produced products.

The project will initially rely on existing county staff, including workforce development resources, as well as local Dept. of Human Services support and possible other public funding, which has not yet been specified. Additional funding from state and federal sources will be needed, according to the staff memo, and the project will seek private grants and volunteer support.

Possible partners include Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, Food Gatherers, Food Systems Economic Partnership, Growing Hope, Think Local First, two local food co-ops, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and University of Michigan Hospital, local school systems, University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College, local working farms and farmers’ markets.

This brief was filed from the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. A more detailed report will follow : [link]

Washtenaw County employment applications ask about felony convictions.

Mary King, coordinator of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative of Washtenaw County, told commissioners how the MPRI is attempting to reduce the county’s high prisoner recidivism rate – a problem dating back several years. She also urged them to consider eliminating a question on the county’s employment forms that asks about an applicant’s felony history. Such questions can be barriers to employment, she said, and the biggest cause of parole failure is lack of a job.

Leaders of two county departments – Mary Jo Callan of the Office of Community Development, and Patricia Denig of Employment Training & Community Services (ETCS) – gave an update on how some of the county’s $22.69 million in federal stimulus funds are being spent. Those two departments alone have received $13.22 million for a wide range of programs, from job training to low-income housing.

Federal Stimulus Spending in Washtenaw

Mary Jo Callan, director of the joint county/city of Ann Arbor Office of Community Development, started with an overview of federal stimulus funds, noting that $321 million had been awarded to entities in Washtenaw County through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. About half of that has been awarded to the University of Michigan, she said. Washtenaw County government has received $22.69 million.

Thursday’s presentation focused on the $13.22 million received by the OCD and ETCS departments, in the categories of family support, community building and workforce development.

Stimulus: Funding for Family Support Services

Several programs have been funded by $1.067 million to support families, said Patricia Denig, interim executive director for ETCS. Of that, the largest amount –  $925,193 – was awarded through the Community Service Block Grant program. Funds have been used to hire additional ETCS staff, increase existing services – like the county’s emergency financial assistance programs and foster grandparent program – and expand efforts like the Washtenaw Literacy Coalition, the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing program, and microloans offered by the Center for Empowerment and Economic Development (CEED).

Senior nutrition services received $61,554 and has expanded the number of meals served by 20,000 to a total of 245,000 meals over 15 months, delivered to 2,200 people in the county. Delivery has been expanded to areas not served before, Denig said, and Saturday delivery was added.

The county’s emergency food assistance program received $17,000 in stimulus funding, Denig said. For this program, the county partners with the nonprofit Food Gatherers, which supplies local food pantries. The federal funding is helping provide emergency food for an additional 1,400 households annually.

Finally, the county received $46,285 for human services via the Community Development Block Grant program, which is administered by the Washtenaw Urban County. These funds were allocated in two ways, Denig said: 1) to Northfield Human Services to provide transportation for low-income residents, and 2) to the Fair Housing Center, which helps alleviate barriers for low-income residents and to advocate for those facing housing discrimination.

Stimulus: Funding for Programs to Strengthen Communities

Three programs in this category got a total of $7.578 million in federal stimulus funds, Callan told commissioners: weatherization, neighborhood stabilization and infrastructure projects.

Of that, the county’s weatherization program received $4.29 million, and 100 projects are in progress and another 70 applications have been approved. Though only about $1.8 million has been committed to projects at this point, the county has until the spring of 2012 to spend the funds, Callan said. The program has hired five new employees, trained six inspectors and has 12 contractors approved to do weatherization work.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) received $3.024 million to acquire foreclosed or abandoned houses. The county has worked primarily with Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley and Community Housing Alternatives to buy 17 homes so far, Callan said. The NSP funds are also paying to demolish blighted properties in Ypsilanti – primarily in the Water Street area – and in Ypsilanti Township. And a portion of the money will be used to redevelop 144 units of rental housing at Parkview Apartments in Ypsilanti. [These funds are overseen by the Washtenaw Urban County – see Chronicle coverage: "Urban County Allocates Housing Funds"]

The remainder of the funding in this category – $262,282 – is being used for infrastructure improvements in low-income areas, including road work in Ypsilanti Township and sidewalk repair in Pittsfield Township.

Stimulus: Funding for Workforce Development

Washtenaw County received $4.578 million for workforce development programs to help dislocated workers and unemployed adults, as well as for a summer youth jobs program.

Denig said that whenever possible, the ETCS staff tries to enroll people in both the dislocated worker and adult worker programs, which received a combined $1.463 million in stimulus funding. Those funds helped pay for the training of 97 additional participants in the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) adult program, and an additional 189 people in the WIA program for dislocated workers – people who are transitioning to new careers after their jobs have been eliminated. These services are offered at the county’s Career Transition Center in downtown Ypsilanti, which opened last fall.

The summer youth jobs program received $1.957 million. Over 600 young people between the ages of 14-24 worked at 120 sites across the county, Denig said. The program’s goals include giving employment opportunities to youth that they might not otherwise have had, and to help develop good work habits, financial literacy and social skills. One of the program’s participants, Leslie Minor, was selected by the Michigan Works! agency as its Alumni of the Year, Denig said.

Stimulus: Challenges Faced

Callan concluded the presentation by saying they were very proud of their accomplishments and that they’d been good stewards of the money. But she also acknowledged how “extremely challenging” it has been to manage this stimulus funding. It’s an unprecedented national program that’s heavily scrutinized, and the funding comes with a lot of strings attached. Reporting requirements are very detailed – “some might say onerous,” she said – which entails considerable staff time.

Ramping up the programs is another challenge, Callan said, whether it’s hiring and training new staff for the weatherization program or finding employer partners for the summer youth jobs program. Another challenge is knowing that these are short-term dollars, she said, though demand for these services continues to grow.

One of the things that will have a lasting impact, Callan noted, is the paradigm change that’s happening between the Office of Community Development and ETCS. They’re working together to try to find the best way to provide the services they offer – it shouldn’t be the case that residents just get the services that are available from the office that they happen to enter, she said.

Callan cited weatherization as an example – those services are offered through both departments. Together, they’ve entered into a joint contract with the Clean Energy Coalition, a nonprofit that will provide training for contractors and subcontractors in energy efficiency and weatherization. Both departments will share the costs for CEC to develop the training curriculum, Callan said.

They’re committed to looking beyond departmental silos, Callan said. In general, the goal should be to collaborate and have a “permeable boundary,” within county government and throughout the community.

Stimulus: Commissioner Questions, Comments

Several commissioners had questions for Callan and Denig. Barbara Bergman asked whether there was any movement toward consolidation among nonprofits that the county worked with in the community, quipping “or is that a bad question that we’ll discuss in private?”

It’s a question that many people are asking, Callan said. Her office works with about 70 nonprofits, and those groups are trying to do things differently and collaborate more. But just like jurisdictional cooperation between local governments, it’s challenging. The Office of Community Development isn’t interested in supporting new nonprofits, she added, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in new ideas and new approaches.

Responding to a question from Wes Prater, Callan clarified that the federal funding didn’t always align with the county’s own fiscal year, which runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. They are rolling funds, with grants given over a minimum 15-month period. Verna McDaniel, the deputy administrator who’s been hired to replace retiring county administrator Bob Guenzel next month, said it was the county finance department’s job to account for the funds within the county’s budget.

Prater asked whether the new contractors being hired for these expanded programs are complying with the Davis Bacon Act, which requires that public works projects pay prevailing wages. It was important to have rigid enforcement of that, he said. Denig said they’ve recently hired a contractor who’s an expert in Davis Bacon, who’ll help with compliance issues. Aaron Kraft, who supervises the weatherization program, said that new contractors weren’t all familiar with Davis Bacon, so there’s been a learning curve.

Prater also asked how many of the contractors being hired are from Washtenaw County – it was important to him that those jobs stay local. Kraft said they’d get that information to him.

Mark Ouimet wanted to know whether the senior nutrition program included delivering meals to senior centers as well as the homebound. It did, Denig replied. Ouimet said that the program was important not just for the food, but for socialization as well.

Bergman asked about the senior nutrition program, too. She noted that federal and state funding for the Area Agency on Aging has been cut, and she worried about that vulnerable population. She wondered if it would be possible to use neighborhood providers for preparing meals, or whether that would run counter to public health code. Denig said the program achieves economies of scale by using one provider for food preparation, but that they can look at how to expand delivery services. The federal stimulus funds have allowed them to serve more people who’ve been on a wait list on the eastern side of the county, and to increase delivery in rural areas on the western side.

Jeff Irwin asked about a comment that Callan had made during her presentation about the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and how it was sometimes difficult to acquire foreclosed houses because of competition from the private sector. He asked her to elaborate. The competition comes from buyers who are able to respond more quickly than the county can, she said, and who can pay more for the property. Using federal funds, the county can’t pay more than 1% below the appraised value – so the county must get an appraisal and funding together before moving forward. In contrast, some buyers can act quickly and are willing to pay cash.

Responding to a follow-up from Irwin, Callan said there are different types of buyers. Some are speculative, having faith that the market will turn. Others are acquiring the houses as rental properties. And to a lesser degree, some are actual homeowners making purchases. Irwin pointed out that on the positive side, it meant that there are people out there willing to invest.

He also asked Callan to clarify the difference between the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) and the Community Development Block Grants-Recovery (CDBG-R) program. NSP funds focus on foreclosure reclamation, Callan said, whether through demolition of blighted property or acquisition and rehab. The funds can be spent in a limited geographic region, designated by low-income population. CDBG-R is used for housing development, public instructure improvements, and to a limited degree, human services programs.

Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative

Mary King, coordinator of MPRI of Washtenaw County, began her presentation by noting that Michigan spends nearly $2 billion annually for its corrections systems. It costs $30,000 to incarcerate a prisoner for a year, and $45,000 if the prisoner is mentally or physically ill. [Similar information was discussed at a recent forum on MPRI at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy. See Chronicle coverage: "Panel: MPRI Transforming State Corrections"]

Washtenaw County has the highest recidivism rate in Michigan, King told commissioners  – as high as 75%, depending on whether it’s calculated over two or three years. One of the biggest factors contributing to repeat offenses is a lack of employment, she said. It’s extremely difficult for parolees to find a job, especially in this economy – and given the fact that an increasing number of employers require background checks, no matter what the job.

Nationwide, 82% of employers now do background checks, King reported, and only 12.8% will hire someone with a felony conviction. It’s ironic, she said: The very thing that would make a community safer – finding employment for parolees – is the thing that’s most frequently denied. “You could make the case that we’re actually creating the very thing that we fear.”

Because it addresses this and other problems of transitioning from prison to the community, MPRI “is a crime reduction program,” King said.

The program begins when a prisoner is incarcerated, she said, but intensifies 60 days prior to their release and continues for six months following their return to their community. Services vary, depending on need, but include help in finding housing, transportation, clothing and other basic needs. Employment training and family counseling are also available. The nonprofit Catholic Social Services is the lead agency for MPRI locally, but its steering committee includes representatives from county law enforcement and corrections, faith-based groups and other nonprofits, and former prisoners.

About 350 people each year return to Washtenaw County from prison. Of those, 32% are from Ypsilanti Township, 25% from Ann Arbor, 19.5% from Ypsilanti, 8.5% from Superior Township, 2% from Pittsfield Township and the rest from other parts of the county. Those statistics are important, King said, because the program has made a commitment to help settle former prisoners back into the communities where they previously lived.

The local program is just in its third year, so there isn’t yet data on recidivism to show MPRI’s impact. King said that other sites in the state, which have been using MPRI for a longer period, are showing roughly 30% reductions in recidivism. The goal had been a 10% reduction, she said, so it’s “beyond people’s wildest expectations.”

With employment being a major challenge, King said the program offers “juicy” incentives for employers to hire former prisoners. Employers can “try out” a worker for eight weeks at no cost – MPRI acts as the employer-of-record and pays all wages. Up to $2,400 in tax credits are available for each new hire, she said, and employees are bonded for up to $25,000.

But the biggest barrier is the felony box on an application, King said – many employers automatically discard applicants who check “yes,” regardless of skills, work ethic, or experience. ”It puts everyone into the same box, which is if you have a felony, you’re not welcome here.” Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits the rejection of all applicants with criminal records, but it happens all the time, she said.

King laid out several reasons for “banning the box.” People of color are arrested, convicted and sent to prison in disproportionate numbers, compared to the overall population, she said, and are at a disadvantage when they return to the community. The county could serve as a model for employers in other governments and the private sector – King pointed out that one of the board’s stated priorities is to “support programs which result in successful reintegration of persons who have come through the criminal justice system.” [Jason Smith, an intern with MPRI, elaborated on reasons to ban the box in an essay published by The Chronicle on Jan. 27, 2010.]

Background checks are also an issue, King said. While they should be used for certain sensitive jobs, it shouldn’t be an across-the-board practice. Often there are inaccuracies in the report, and applicants aren’t given a chance to see it or respond. If background checks are conducted and result in the applicant being denied a job, the applicant should at least be allowed to see the report and verify its accuracy, she said.

King said that MPRI is providing a template for a resolution that local governments can modify to address these issues. She encouraged commissioners to take action, saying it would level the playing field for former prisoners. In Michigan, Battle Creek was the first community to ban the box, and Kalamazoo has now done the same.

“We’re hoping that Washtenaw County might like to be third,” King said.

MPRI: Commissioner Questions, Comments

Leah Gunn recalled that the mayor of Battle Creek had come to the board and discussed that town’s experiences with eliminating the felony box. She said if it works there and in Kalamazoo, “I don’t know why it wouldn’t work here.” Former prisoners have served their time, she said, and the board should consider banning the box, especially if it helps reduce recidivism.

Barbara Bergman has previously raised the suggestion of banning the box. She commended King for getting “water from a rock,” noting that the state hadn’t kept all of its promises regarding MPRI. She said that although there should be exceptions – for example, for employees working with children – in general, eliminating the question about felony convictions is the “only humane and smart and money-saving thing to do.” The county should also require its contractors to do the same, she said.

Jeff Irwin said he wanted to get feedback from the county’s human resources staff, as well as department heads and other employees. It’s the board’s responsibility to float the idea within the organization, before acting on it. He commended King for making the suggestion, and said that reducing recidivism is key to dealing with the state’s criminal justice problem.

After King’s presentation, Diane Heidt – the county’s human resources director – told The Chronicle that currently, applicants aren’t eliminated from consideration if they’ve been convicted of a felony. And background checks aren’t conducted until after an offer has been extended, she said.

Trenda Rusher, head of Washtenaw County's Employment Training & Community Services (ETCS) department, led a joint meeting of the Workforce Development and Community Action boards on Monday. (Photos by the writer.)

The Washtenaw County department that Trenda Rusher supervises is undergoing transition, and not just because the long-time workforce development manager is retiring.

At Monday’s annual joint meeting of the two boards that oversee the county’s Employment Training & Community Services (ETCS) department, Rusher spoke of several other changes – from the dramatic growth of revenues, thanks to federal stimulus dollars, to the equally dramatic increase in demand for services, due to Michigan’s economic plight and the implosion of the auto industry.

And as Rusher departs – after nearly three decades with the county, she’s heading to Washington, D.C. to start her own consulting business and to be near her twin daughters – the new county administrator will be looking at possibly reorganizing the operations that serve as a conduit for millions of federal, state and local dollars.

Verna McDaniel, the deputy county administrator who’s expected to replace retiring administrator Bob Guenzel, spoke to ETCS staff and members of both boards on Monday, saying “we will be looking at all options.” No decisions have been made – a planning team will be meeting to lay out a strategy for evaluating what’s next, she said.

ETCS Highlights in 2009

There are 24 members of the Workforce Development Board and 17 members of the Community Action board – about half of the combined group showed up for Monday’s half-day joint meeting. They oversee, respectively, the county’s job training and community services programs that ETCS manages. ETCS director Trenda Rusher spent part of the meeting summarizing what those programs accomplished in 2009.

Stimulus funding is taking the organization’s budget from $8 million to about $20 million, Rusher said. For 2009, the ETCS budget was $13.6 million – with 96% of those funds coming from federal and state grants, and the rest from county appropriations. Additional federal funding has been earmarked for ETCS programs in 2010. Of the $13.6 million budget, 73% of the funds – nearly $10 million – were used for workforce development programs.

The largest program getting stimulus funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the county’s weatherization initiative. Last spring, the county was awarded just over $4 million to weatherize up to 600 homes over an 18-month period. [See Chronicle coverage: "County Gets $4.1 million Weatherization Grant"] Previously, the local weatherization program, which serves  low- to moderate-income families, had funding for about 100 homes annually, Rusher said.

Some members of the county’s board of commissioners have questioned why more homes haven’t been weatherized by this point. Commissioner Ken Schwartz in particular has voiced concerns about the delay, and at the board’s Dec. 2, 2009 meeting, he asked again for an update. From Chronicle coverage of that meeting:

Patricia Denig, director of planning and operations for the county’s Employment Training & Community Services (ETCS) department, said that the federal program was initially held up because the U.S. Department of Energy – the granting agency – decided to conduct a national prevailing wage survey, and those results weren’t released until August. In September, ETCS issued a request for proposals (RFP) to get bids from local contractors to provide weatherization services. Bids were received and ETCS was ready to sign contracts in early November, Denig said, but local labor organizations raised concerns about whether those bids had been reviewed by the the county’s Construction Unity Board, known as CUB. Now, ETCS was awaiting a decision from CUB.

In a follow-up this week, Curtis Hedger, the county’s corporation counsel, told The Chronicle that those contracts are now being processed without CUB approval. Wage guidelines for the weatherization contractors, which are lower than what CUB would like, are mandated by the federal government. On Monday, Rusher told members of the ETCS oversight boards that “we’re working like crazy” to get the weatherization requests processed. The grant funding must be used by Sept. 30, 2010 March 31, 2012.

Juanita House, right, holds her daughter Olivia Hudson while working on a group exercise at the joint meeting of the county's Workforce Development and Community Action boards. House is a member of the Community Action Board. In the background: Aaron Kraft, who supervises the ETCS weatherization program.

The weatherization program is one of many community services programs that are managed by ETCS. Among its programs, the department provides emergency food assistance and a summer food program for low-income children, health insurance for low-income county residents through the Michigan Enrolls program, and several services for senior citizens, including meals served in community centers and a foster grandparent program.

At Monday’s meeting, Rusher highlighted several workforce programs as well, including the county’s Access Points initiative. A federal program, it provides training to volunteers at faith-based organizations and community centers, which then act as satellite sites for providing employment resources. [.pdf file of Access Point sites and contact information]

There are 36 Access Points in Washtenaw County, Rusher said – more than in the rest of Michigan combined, and the highest number for any other participating region in the country. “They’re like gerbils,” she said. “They just keep growing.” Gov. Jennifer Granholm last year came to a breakfast for Access Point participants, to thank them for “putting Michigan on the map,” Rusher said.

Another highlight of the year was the opening in November of the Career Transition Center, located in downtown Ypsilanti on the second floor of the KeyBank Building at 301 W. Michigan Ave. Monday’s board meeting was held in a conference room in the basement of that building.

Since opening, thousands of people have walked through the center’s doors, Rusher told board members. She cited a head count of over 6,000 people, but then noted that those numbers include duplicative counts, with some people coming to the center multiple times.

George Toles, who works for ETCS corporate and business services, fires up a demo of a practice interview program at the Career Transition Center in Ypsilanti. A webcam mounted on top of the computer monitor records the interviewee. Counselors at the center then help critique the responses. The equipment is also used for employers off-site to conduct actual job interviews.

On Monday, board members attending the half-day joint meeting spent part of the time touring the center, which includes conference rooms, a computer training lab, interview rooms – each with a phone and computer – and a large area with computers and Internet access available for conducting job searches. There’s also a functional gas fireplace in the lobby.

The center serves as an entry point for people accessing the state’s unemployment services, via the Michigan Works! program, as well as a resource for people hoping to change careers. ETCS operates another employment center in Ypsilanti as well, at 304 Harriet St.

While both centers offer classes and help in identifying resources for job seekers, the newer Career Transition Center encounters more people who have never previously been unemployed. It’s often an emotional experience, said Rhonda Williams, one of the career counselors on staff. “We have to be Dr. Phil sometimes,” she told The Chronicle.

Update on the Future of ETCS

In reassuring ETCS staff about the upcoming transition, there was an element of Dr. Phil in the remarks of Verna McDaniel, deputy county administrator, who spoke to staff and board members on Monday,  The department employs 22 county staff, plus about 65 contract employees.

McDaniel is the sole candidate being considered at this point to replace county administrator Bob Guenzel, who also dropped by the Monday event. She was interviewed by the county board of commissioners on Thursday – an interview that Guenzel characterized in his remarks on Monday as “superb.”

McDaniel told the ETCS crowd that she didn’t want to presume she’d be the next administrator, but she said that county administration would work closely with the leadership of the boards and with staff in the coming weeks. She pledged to provide frequent updates about plans for the department.

Verna McDaniel, right, talks with Jenny Bivens, workforce development manager, at the county's Career Transition Center in downtown Ypsilanti. McDaniel, deputy county administrator, spoke to ETCS staff and the joint meeting of the Workforce Development and Community Action boards on Monday.

Whoever is appointed by the board of commissioners on Feb. 3 will have their hands full, McDaniel said. To help with that transition, she and Guenzel have formed a team to work on a smooth hand-off between administrators and to lay some groundwork for the future. There are several opportunities, she said, given the retirements of both Rusher and Peter Ballios, the county’s finance director.

They’ll be looking at all options, she said, but they haven’t made any decisions “so don’t feel we have secrets or anything like that.” There’s no need to panic, she added, urging people not to speculate or spread rumors about what might be happening.

What they’ll be doing is laying out a process by which to make decisions, she said. They’ll be seeking staff and board input, she added: “You’re going to be seeing a lot of me.”

On the board level, some reorganization is already occurring: the Workforce Development and Community Action boards have combined their leadership into a joint executive committee, co-chaired by Keith Peters and Mike DuRussel.

But other possible changes aren’t yet in place. In response to questions from ETCS staff, McDaniel said they’ll have a plan for the ETCS leadership transition by March 31. Rusher, whose retirement took effect at the end of 2009, has agreed to stay in her position through the end of March. McDaniel said they don’t yet know if a search for Rusher’s replacement will be local or national. The board of commissioners has asked the county administration to look at “other permutations of leadership,” she said.

When one staff member stated that the department needs an interim leader after March, McDaniel agreed. She said they didn’t want to rush into naming an interim, but that by the time Rusher leaves, “I’m almost certain that will be necessary.”

Commissioners also discussed their plan for this Saturday’s retreat, which will focus on setting budget priorities.

Stimulus funds for local workforce

At their April 15 meeting, commissioners will be asked to approve the receipt of $3,638,720 from the federal stimulus act, to be managed by the county’s Employment Training and Community Services (ETCS) department. Nearly $2 million of that will be spent on funding between 600 to 1,000 jobs this summer for teens and young adults from low-income families.

Trenda Rusher, ETCS director, is contacting schools and existing programs that serve the county’s youth, trying to get the word out about the availability of funding for jobs, according to McDaniel. The No. 1 priority is to find placements for eligible youth, she said.

In addition, $855,634 is allocated for services targeting dislocated workers, such as people laid off from the auto industry, and $461,622 will fund other adult workforce programs run by ETCS. These programs are currently funded by nearly $4 million in federal money awarded last summer via the state’s No Worker Left Behind program. Out of the stimulus funding, $363,872 will be used to cover administrative costs.

Annual equalization report

Next Wednesday’s meeting will also include some much-anticipated financial news: Raman Patel, the county’s equalization director, will present the board with an annual equalization report, which tells how much money the county will be collecting in taxes this year. The report is crucial because the county is already four months into its current fiscal year, and if tax revenues turn out to be lower than projected, the board will have to make cuts in order to balance the current budget. This possibility has been discussed frequently over the past few months, as one challenge in a generally bleak budget outlook.

April 11 budget retreat

Grappling with those budget challenges is the focus of Saturday’s retreat, held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the county’s Rolling Hills Park Lodge. The retreat is open to the public and will be facilitated by Scot Graden, superintendent of Saline Area Schools.

Commissioner Kristin Judge, who’s taking the lead in organizing the retreat, said the goal is to emerge with a set of budget priorities, which will help guide the board as they make what will inevitably be difficult choices to slash the budget. Of its roughly $100 million general fund budget, the county could face deficits of up to $28 million for 2010-11, unless revenues are higher than projected or the board makes deep cuts in expenses. County administrator Bob Guenzel has described this as the worst financial situation he’s seen in his 36 years with the county.

Judge said they’d start the retreat by revisiting the county’s “guiding principles,” which are listed on a framed poster in the conference room where Wednesday’s briefing was held. They are:

1. Ensure long term fiscal stability for the County.
2. Reduce the cost of conducting the County’s business.
3. Enhance customer service.
4. Provide the necessary knowledge, skills and resources to County employees to carry out these principles.
5. Ensure adequate provision of mandated services.
6. Focus on the root causes of problems that affect the quality of life of County citizens by aggressively pursuing prevention strategies
7. Provide leadership on intragovernmental, intergovernmental and intersectoral cooperation and collaboration aimed at improving services to County citizens.

Judge said they’ll use those principles to help identify general budget priorities. They won’t talk about cuts to specific programs or departments, she said – that will come later, during their regular board meetings. Rather, discussion at the retreat will aim at developing broad priorities that can help guide the board and administration when the time comes to make specific recommendations about budget cuts.

Commissioner Mark Ouimet asked what success would look like at the end of the retreat. “If we come out of there alive,” quipped Rolland Sizemore Jr., the board chair. Judge said she hopes they’ll emerge with 7 to 14 budget priorities. Commissioner Jeff Irwin said success or failure depends on how broadly they cast their priorities – too broad, he said, and it won’t provide meaningful guidance to the administration. “It’s more art than science,” he said.

Ouimet asked who was attending. Of the 11 commissioners, Judge said Conan Smith can’t attend, and it’s unclear whether commissioners Barbara Levin Bergman or Ronnie Peterson will attend, either.

Sizemore said that even if they all don’t attend, the retreat will be useful. “We may not get as far as Kristin thinks we’re going to get, but it’s a start.”

Judge also said she hoped the board would come together as a group and talk through some of their feelings about their priorities for the county. Ouimet asked what she meant by “feelings,” and Judge allowed that she was using her “counselor talk” (she has a masters degree in counseling), and that he could think of it as opinions. However, she said, part of the point is to bond as a board, since they’ll have some tough decisions to make together. “I think we need to do some of that warm and fuzzy stuff,” she said. “So come with a positive attitude!”

During the public comment part of Wednesday’s briefing, Caryette Fenner, president of Local AFSCME 2733, said that even if the board emerged with just one priority, that would give some guidance. Fenner represents the largest union of county workers – with more than 850 members – and said she plans to attend Saturday’s retreat as an observer. Irwin said he’d be interested in hearing her thoughts at the retreat, when there will be time for public comment as well.

Misc.: Feel-good reports

As board chair, Sizemore said he and Ouimet, who serves as vice chair, wanted to do more positive things at future board meetings, since they’re dealing with such negative budget news at the Ways & Means Committee. [Ways & Means meetings, chaired by commissioner Conan Smith, immediately precede board meetings. Much of the board's work is conducted during these sessions, which are typically longer than the regular board meetings that follow.] Sizemore asked staff to come up with some “fast, feel-good reports” that they could present to the board. Deputy county administrator Verna McDaniel and Joanna Bidlack, management analyst with the county administrator’s office, said they’d work on that.

A graduate receives congratulations and a chef's jacket from Scott Roubeck, Special Projects Coordinator for Food Gatherers' Community Kitchen

The Culinary Arts Training Class is part of the jobs training program that’s integrated into the Food Gatherers Community Kitchen. The Community Kitchen serves meals nightly at the Delonis Center, the homeless shelter on Huron Street on the periphery of downtown Ann Arbor. During their 120 hours of instruction, which accumulates in twice-weekly sessions, students in the training class are responsible for preparing the Monday night Community Kitchen meal.

Missy Orge, Director of Outreach and Training at Food Gatherers, emphasized in her remarks to the assembly that the training class is not easy. Although the most recent class started with 10 students, all of which completed the course, the class from the spring dwindled from eight to four students by the course’s conclusion.

Culinary Arts graduates made the appetizers served at the graduation reception – including this carved fruit centerpiece.

Based on the quality of the appetizers on offer at the reception – which were prepared by graduates of the course – it was not hard to believe that some of the Monday night dinners they prepared during the training course earned applause from the diners.

In addition to their diplomas, graduates received a chef’s jacket and a “golden spatula.” Although the spatula is likely ornamental, the gleaming white new jackets are fully functional. And the goal of the program is for graduates to find a place in the food industry where they could get those jackets dirty.

Among local establishments where graduates have found employment in the past are: People’s Food Co-Op, Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Zingerman’s Deli, Zingerman’s Next Door, Stucchi’s and Washtenaw Community College.

Currently, graduates are employed by Sodexho (at Borders World Headquarters), Subway, Kroger, Zingerman’s Deli, Red Hot Lovers, McDonald’s, Little Caesar’s, UM Hospital, Avalon Housing, Food Gatherers.

Gradautes of the 6th and 7th classes of the Food Gatherers' Culinary Arts Training Class. The graduation reception was held at the Delonis Center.

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