County board in Corunna refills 2 road deputies, 2 prosecutors

Correction, Sept. 18, 2026: Our Sept. 17 story reported that commissioners voted 5-0 to table the Rolling Hills rezoning in Woodhull Township. The draft minutes posted by the county clerk record that vote as 4 yeas — Commissioners Josh Haley, Gary Holzhausen and Brad Howard and Chairman Gregory Brodeur — and 1 nay, Commissioner Cindy Garber. The Current regrets the error.

The Shiawassee County sheriff's road patrol will get two deputies back and the prosecutor's office will refill two lawyer jobs, under votes taken at the county board's Sept. 16 meeting in the Commissioner Chambers at the Surbeck Building in Corunna.

According to the draft minutes, Garber moved to approve the replacement of an assistant prosecutor and a chief assistant prosecutor, and separately moved to approve replacing two sheriff road patrol deputies at no more than Step 1 on the pay scale. Both passed on 4-0 roll calls — Holzhausen, Garber, Howard and Brodeur — after Haley left the meeting at 6:20 p.m. Commissioners Bill Johnson and Matthew Shepard were excused for the night. The board also approved replacing the Probate Court Administrator, at a Grade 12 for a non-attorney or Grade 13 for an attorney, on a 5-0 vote earlier in the meeting.

The county's problem-solving courts drew the largest new outside money on the agenda. Commissioners voted 5-0 to accept a contract with Michigan Mental Health Court for a grant of $86,890 and the Michigan Drug Court Grant Program for $135,822, and authorized Brodeur to sign. A separate 5-0 vote put $25,000 from the county's opioid settlement funds toward keeping the 35th Circuit Court Swift & Sure Sanctions Probation Program running in fiscal 2027.

At the jail, the board approved "Option 2" for renewing the county's agreement with Combined Public Communications for inmate communication and technology services, including a $90,000 Technology Investment Grant and applicable commissions. The minutes do not spell out what Option 2 contains or what inmates and their families will pay — a question this desk first raised Sept. 17 and still has no answer to. Commissioners also renewed the administrative services contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for the county's inmate health program from Oct. 1, 2026 through Sept. 30, 2027. No dollar figure for that contract appears in the minutes.

On the business side, the board voted 4-0 to terminate the county's contract with PayIt and to authorize a Gov Pro contract, pending negotiations by the county administrator and county attorney. Neither the old cost nor the new one is in the minutes. The board also approved a three-year auditing contract with ACM CPA's LLC — again with no dollar value recorded — and a $64,115 quote from Mechanical Services, LLC for two new boilers and installation, without naming the building they are going into.

Other spending: a renewal with the Shiawassee Regional Educational Service District for hearing and vision screening at up to $16,706, and a $103,084 grant agreement between the county health department and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy for environmental health services from Oct. 1, 2026 through Sept. 30, 2027. Commissioners also discharged a housing rehabilitation mortgage for Kathryn Kuechman of 315 E. Williams St. in Corunna.

The board went into closed session at 5:21 p.m. and came out at 5:35 p.m. to talk with its lawyer about trial and settlement strategy in Henderson v. Shiawassee County, then voted 5-0 to adopt counsel's recommended strategy. Nothing about the substance of the case or the strategy was disclosed in open session. Before the closed session, the board heard a Land Bank Authority impact report from SEPD Director Justin Horvath, grant updates from Sarah Kopko of Lionbear and from Kent Edwards, and a board annual meeting item from Paula Brooks of Durand. County Administrator Dr. Boggs reported on 2027 budget preparation, coming union contract negotiations, and said a groundbreaking ceremony for the veterans garage is coming — the project that August's final minutes said needs a sign-off from the City of Corunna first, as The Current reported Sept. 16.

What happens next: the Rolling Hills rezoning in Woodhull Township comes back at the board's October meetings; the minutes do not list those dates. These minutes remain in draft form until commissioners vote to approve them at their next regular meeting.