Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By JAN TUCKER
Ontonagon — A census official stressed the importance of counting every citizen in the 2020 U.S. Census to the Ontonagon County Board Tuesday.
Marti Wenger told the board that numbers count when it comes to funds distributed by the government into the county. She said it has been estimated that 50% of the Upper Peninsula was not counted in the last census, which resulted in $1,200 loss for each person not counted.
Wenger said her job is to recruit counters, noting she needs 40 counters in the area. Wenger said counters will be paid $14 an hour and $.58 cents a mile. The census will be counted online, but there will be counters going door-to-door for those who do not go online.
She said that counters must be at least 18 years old, will work 20 to 40 hours a week with time and one half on Sunday and are paid weekly. They can apply for a job online to 2020census.gov/jobs.
The board approved a resolution urging and demanding the legislature to correct the shortfall that exists in the pension fund for the seven employees who have retired from the Western Alliance Board. The initial Manpower Consortium pension shortfall was $300,924, which the state of Michigan promised to address. Since then the unfunded liability has grown to $970,165. The same kind of shortfall occurred with the pension in the Eastern U.P. and legislation handled that.
In other action, the county board:
—Appointed Kelsey Preiss to the County Jury Board and thanked Jean Manning for her service through the years.
—Agreed to retain attorney Charles Lawler in a class action suit.
—Learned that Roy Hartwick will retire as veterans service officer for the county as of Dec. 31 and agreed to take applications for a new, part-time veterans officer for 20 hours a week. The new VSO will begin work on April 1, 2020 and work with Hartwick and be sent to accreditation training in May.
In a letter from Robert Botkins, of the Veterans Affairs Board, the county agreed to the application for a county veterans grant application of $50,000, with a per capita additional amount of $4,743. The newly hired VSO wages and fringe benefits will be paid by the grant.
—Approved the ballot language for OnTran which will ask voters to approve a 1 mill levy for the bus service in the August election.
—Agreed to purchase a gas water heater for On Tran, which will be paid with 80% federal money and 20% state funds.
—Signed a contract to purchase vehicle column lifts. The price of the lifts, up to $46,000, will be paid 80% federal and 20% state money.