Tough decisions await now | News, sports, jobs
3 mins read

Tough decisions await now | News, sports, jobs



So where does Alpena County go from here?

That’s the question residents have been pondering since last week, with the defeat — by just 129 votes — of a proposed property tax increase.

Data reporter Steve Schulwitz found himself perhaps adding salt to the wound of the bitter defeat when he put together a story about the turnout. While crunching the numbers, Schulwitz found that of the more than 17,000 ballots in Alpena County, nearly 9,000 were cast as a straight ticket.

When you factor in 15,337 ballots for the county petition, that’s a difference of about 2,000 fewer votes than the total cast in the county.

Schulwitz surmised that a large portion of the 2,000 could have come from straight lots.

Often, in straight party voting, voters don’t end up completing their ballots by voting on local issues and partisan races.

If it occurred last week with just a small fraction of voters, it could easily account for the 129 votes the county council’s request failed by.

It’s a premise not disputed by Alpena County Administrator Jesse Osmer, who agreed that voting often results in partially completed ballots.

“It’s unfortunate, but it absolutely could have changed things,” Osmer said in a post-election news release.

If that is true, it is unfortunate for the county residents who are now faced with a number of service cuts that no one would have chosen for themselves.

County officials have been very transparent in letting residents know before the vote that, if the millage request were to be defeated, tough cuts would have to be made, many of which would come to the county Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Erik Smith said when that day arrives, he would have to cut or eliminate a number of services from his department, including things like marine and trail patrols, 24-hour road patrol and the number of deputies in the department.

While he wasn’t happy with the results, Smith indicated in a story last week that the people of the county spoke through the ballot box and that it is now the role of county officials to respect their position and start making tough choices.

Of course it’s true.

In an editorial in The News on Tuesday, the newspaper called on county residents to get more involved in the financial decisions that the county board is now facing.

For example, does it make sense for the county to seek the mill again, or would it just be like Don Quixote tilting at windmills?

Certainly I respect the people’s voice this past week. There is wisdom in just going ahead and implementing the cuts.

As I write that, though, I’m concerned that it failed by just 129 votes, and I wonder: If people had to redo it, would it make a difference?

One thing is certain, and that is a decision on how to proceed must be made quickly.

If you have an opinion on this subject, let the commissioners know now.

Bill Speer retired in 2021 as publisher and editor of The News. He can be reached at [email protected].



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