Moss expresses concern about spending, ‘centralization of power' during budget workshop

OTTAWA COUNTY – The chairman of the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners wants a deeper look at spending and “centralization of power” this budget season.

Joe Moss, chair of the board and co-founder of Ottawa Impact, spoke about the county’s year-to-year budget increases and contracts with local municipalities during a budget workshop Friday, Aug. 23.

Although he later said he felt everyone would be “relatively OK” with the budget as is, Moss asked if it would be possible to see historical trends in why the budget has grown.

“It would be very interesting for us to review how spending has increased in the county over time,” Moss said. “There’s a lot of discussion in Lansing, Washington, and other places about runaway spending. I’m not saying we have runaway spending; I’m saying that we have a lot of spending.”

He acknowledged that the county’s population has steadily grown, but said he feels that growth doesn’t, “at first glance,” account for the full budget increase. 

Other commissioners offered some reasons for the increases over time. Roger Bergman mentioned the county has added municipal contracts, such as the sheriff’s office and assessing office providing services for local townships. Although those contracts raise the overall budget, they are mostly “cost neutral,” Interim Administrator Jon Anderson said.

“Even though revenue is coming in, it’s going to add. The budget’s going to look bigger. It doesn’t mean that we’re spending general fund (dollars), necessarily,” Anderson said.

The county’s public defender office has also grown, Bergman said, but is primarily funded by the state. Sylvia Rhodea mentioned increased autism services through Community Mental Health over the years as well.

More: First look at Ottawa County's proposed budget shows $2M boost for health department

That led Moss to say there has been a “centralization of power” at the county level, and that it may be time to reevaluate what the county is involved in.

“I think one thing that represents is an ongoing commitment to spend and also a centralization of power,” Moss said. “It would be appropriate to review some history and look at the changes to gain a better understanding and see if there are things that, perhaps, the county should divest of or send back to townships or anything like that.

“The closer government is to the people, the better. I want to recognize that in our current trajectory, we are continuing to consolidate power up. I would like to look at, how do we empower the local units below us?”

Other commissioners didn’t have much to say about Moss’s comments, but a speaker in public comment at the end of the meeting noted it comes just weeks after Ottawa Impact candidates lost five of nine races in the August primary.

"I find it really interesting that you’re suddenly concerned about consolidating power at higher levels of county government immediately after you lost your majority on the board,” said Sheila Detlof of Holland Township.

During board discussions, Jacob Bonnema requested a year-by-year breakdown of costs for legal services, saying it’s a question he received frequently. Moss added on, saying that would be “nice to do” for all departments. The commissioners asked if fiscal services could provide such a report by the next finance meeting, currently scheduled for Sept. 3.

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No actions were taken on the budget during Friday’s meeting. The next finance and administration committee meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 3. As of Monday, Aug. 26, the next full board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10, as the Aug. 27 meeting was canceled.

A public hearing for the fiscal year 2025 budget will also be held Sept. 10. The budget is expected to be voted on for final approval Sept. 24. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Moss laments spending, 'centralization of power' during budget talks