Cheboygan County joins opposition to House bills that could lead to revenue loss
Last week, the Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners joined multiple other jurisdictions around the State of Michigan in opposing Michigan House Bills 4729-4732, which were introduced by three state representatives from downstate.
Cheboygan County Treasurer Buffy Jo Weldon and Cheboygan County Clerk Karen Brewster presented a resolution to the county board asking the commissioners to formally oppose bills 4729, 4730, 4731 and 4732. The county board had also received correspondence from Cass, Iosco, Menominee and Tuscola counties, all opposing the same House bills.
"These bills would reduce revenues not just in my office, but also the register of deeds and equalization," said Weldon. "What they're aiming for is discounting fees for information."
Weldon said by doing this, if the bills were to be approved, several for-profit organizations who requested the legislation would be able to sell the information they receive.
Weldon and Brewster were concerned — as stated in the resolution they provided — that the bills, if passed, would provide the for-profit organizations with all the records of Cheboygan County taxpayers from their offices, at a deeply discounted rate.
"We believe it will put taxpayers at a higher risk of fraud and theft," said Weldon. "So Karen and I are asking you today to join us by opposing these bills. We really need to protect our taxpayer information as much as we can."
Weldon and Brewster said they feel this legislation could potentially undermine the integrity of the county offices and reduce revenue needed to fund some daily operations.
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The House bills were first introduced by Representative John Cherry, D-Flint. State representatives Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, and Steve Marino, R-Harrison Township, also sponsored this House bill on April 29, 2021.
These four House bills spell out what a clerk, treasurer or register of deeds must do when asked to make accommodations for the inspection and reproduction of records and files in their office. The bills also address the fees that can be charged by the county for these services, some of which could possibly be waived entirely.
The treasurer and clerk would no longer have a choice of which medium they use to produce the copies of the records, they would have to reproduce it how the requester wants. These records could include property owner names and addresses, principal resident status, taxable values of property and more.
The clerk and treasurer would also be limited in what they could charge residents for items, such as parcel cards.
Copies of these house bills can be read at www.legislature.mi.gov and searching the bill number. These four bills are tied together, none of them can take effect unless all are enacted.
The county commissioners voted unanimously, with one absent, to approve the resolution as it had been presented to them. Copies of the county's opposition will be sent to the governor, the Michigan House of Representatives, the Michigan Association of Counties, the Michigan Association of County Clerks and several other governing bodies.
Contact Reporter Kortny Hahn at khahn1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @khahnCDT.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan County opposes House bills that could lead to revenue loss
