Grand Traverse County commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to reverse a December 1 budget decision to cut two part-time inspectors from the county's soil erosion department effective January 1. Several commissioners indicated they had been inundated with calls and emails from the public and local builders and contractors expressing opposition to the outsourcing of the positions to private providers. “You might say I've gotten an earful on this one over the last two weeks,” said Commissioner Larry Inman. Commissioner Herb Lemcool also said he'd received numerous contacts, “all” of which supported keeping the existing staff in place.

Several members of the board also expressed concern there hadn't been enough research conducted to confirm whether outsourcing soil erosion inspections would be a cost-saving move for the county. “Decisions were made on a hypothetical (basis) this was going to save us money, without the due diligence taken to find out if that was truly the case,” said Commissioner Addison “Sonny” Wheelock. Lemcool agreed: “We've never researched it...the message being sent to our employees is we don't value you.”

Commissioners supported for proceeding with a study to determine if outsourcing would save the county money, and/or if other systems could be introduced to increase soil erosion revenues, such as raising permit and inspection fees. The board is expected to review and make a decision on how to proceed at its next meeting.

Commissioners last night also unanimously approved a budget request from the county health department to add a full-time nurse to the county payroll. Health Officer Wendy Trute, who appeared before commissioners to present the request, said she recognized the board had just passed its 2015 budget and might not want to immediately entertain another funding request, but stressed the dire staffing situation of the health department as it faced multiple community disease outbreaks. Commissioners agreed with Trute's assessment and gave her approval to hire another nurse effective immediately, at an estimated cost of $53,000 with benefits. A portion of the compensation package for the position could be covered under a cost-sharing arrangement for public health services with the state.