By SCOTT DAVIS
sedavis@lsj.com
November 15, 2011
From Lansing State Journal
A proposal that would dissolve the board of the Ingham County Road Commission and give management of road operations to county commissioners appears to be gaining bipartisan support on the Board of Commissioners.
The proposal is the most recent and wide-ranging of four proposals being considered by the Democratic-controlled board to address what many see as rising turmoil at the road agency. If approved, it would be contingent on legislation now moving through the Legislature.
"I have a concern right now that the employees are so distracted by what is going on they are not able to focus on their jobs," said county Commissioner Steve Dougan, one of four Republicans on a 16-member Board of Commissioners who wants his board to act soon. "There are a number of businesses that depend on clear traffic seven days a week."
The five-member Road Commission board, acting on a consultant's report, has fired or forced out top agency managers. Agency employees increasingly have grown frustrated with the turmoil and have been holding informational pickets in protest.
The report was commissioned earlier this year after Republicans called for an external investigator to examine claims of racial bias at the agency.
The most dramatic of the four proposals being considered by the Board of Commissioners' County Services Committee came last Tuesday when county Commissioner Andy Schor, a Democrat, proposed dissolving the governing board for the Road Commission. His proposal would bring the commission's operations "in-house" as a new county department - the Department of Transportation and Roads.
That proposal followed others introduced by Republican county commissioners — outnumbered 12-4 by Democrats — that range from asking Road Commission board Chairwoman Shirley Rodgers to resign to the resignation of all five board members.
Schor's resolution would be contingent on passage of a state House bill that would allow most county commissions in Michigan to dissolve their road commission boards and govern the agencies directly. The bill was approved by a House committee last week and is now pending in the House.
Saving $37,000
Schor said he believes his proposal will save more than $37,000 annually in combined salaries and meeting stipends paid to road commissioners. But he added a change is needed because of ongoing tumult at the road agency.
"It does seem like it is dysfunctional," Schor said, adding he thinks moving Road Commission management to the Board of Commissioners would increase accountability. "We're directly accountable to the citizens."
Schor's proposal needs support from a majority of the Democrats on the board.
Board of Commissioners Chairman Mark Grebner supports the proposal and predicted it will find strong support among fellow Democrats. All four Republican county commissioners — Don Vickers, Vince Dragonetti, Randy Schafer and Dougan — also back the plan.
"We don't run into problems like appointed boards do," Grebner said. "The problem is that the (appointees) running them are only indirectly responsible to anybody else and it's the nature of the beast that every political body tends to appoint hacks to boards."
Low morale
Saying there is low morale at the Road Commission, Dougan said it is urgent county commissioners adopt some sort of plan regarding the agency by mid-December.
For several weeks, more than a dozen Road Commission employees have been picketing and attending county meetings to complain about the road board, particularly its firing last month of Jim Benjamin, the agency's director of operations.
The board dismissed Benjamin, and asked finance director Tina Henry to retire at the end of the year based on a recommendation from consultant Michael Goree, president and CEO of Growth Strategies Consulting Inc., to make management changes at the agency.
The consultant's report contended the Road Commission was riven with distrust among managers and employees.
It also highlighted concerns Rodgers improperly interjected herself into day-to-day management but did not find any merit to claims of racial bias.
Saying there is low morale at the Road Commission, Dougan said it is urgent county commissioners adopt some sort of plan regarding the agency by mid-December.
For several weeks, more than a dozen Road Commission employees have been picketing and attending county meetings to complain about the road board, particularly its firing last month of Jim Benjamin, the agency's director of operations.
The board dismissed Benjamin, and asked finance director Tina Henry to retire at the end of the year based on a recommendation from consultant Michael Goree, president and CEO of Growth Strategies Consulting Inc., to make management changes at the agency.
The consultant's report contended the Road Commission was riven with distrust among managers and employees.
It also highlighted concerns Rodgers improperly interjected herself into day-to-day management but did not find any merit to claims of racial bias.
Defending job
Rodgers, who also is president of the Lansing school board, has repeatedly declined in recent weeks to comment on criticisms of the Road Commission board. She could not be reached for comment for this story.
In September, Rodgers defended her leadership on the board. She said she has taken steps to ensure the agency follows equal opportunity guidelines and that minorities are considered for employment, adding that her goal is to have an agency workforce "representative" of Ingham County.
About 82 percent of Road Commission employees are white; in comparison about 72 percent of county residents are white, according to 2010 Census.
"Some may see it as micro-management. I just see it as making sure the administration has done the things they need to do," Rodgers said in September.
Debbie De Leon, a Democrat and chairwoman of the committee considering the four proposals, has been a staunch defender and has said Rodgers is the type of leader she wants overseeing the Road Commission.
She called proposals to change the Road Commission board "ridiculous."
De Leon said some county commissioners are "second-guessing" the Road Commission board when it merely is trying to address management problems.
De Leon said she is willing to study Schor's proposal but said it likely will need many weeks of study.
She said one of her concerns is that the road agency and its numerous road contracts are too much for county commissioners to manage.
Rodgers, who also is president of the Lansing school board, has repeatedly declined in recent weeks to comment on criticisms of the Road Commission board. She could not be reached for comment for this story.
In September, Rodgers defended her leadership on the board. She said she has taken steps to ensure the agency follows equal opportunity guidelines and that minorities are considered for employment, adding that her goal is to have an agency workforce "representative" of Ingham County.
About 82 percent of Road Commission employees are white; in comparison about 72 percent of county residents are white, according to 2010 Census.
"Some may see it as micro-management. I just see it as making sure the administration has done the things they need to do," Rodgers said in September.
Debbie De Leon, a Democrat and chairwoman of the committee considering the four proposals, has been a staunch defender and has said Rodgers is the type of leader she wants overseeing the Road Commission.
She called proposals to change the Road Commission board "ridiculous."
De Leon said some county commissioners are "second-guessing" the Road Commission board when it merely is trying to address management problems.
De Leon said she is willing to study Schor's proposal but said it likely will need many weeks of study.
She said one of her concerns is that the road agency and its numerous road contracts are too much for county commissioners to manage.
More say for voters
County road commissions in Michigan date back to the early 1900s, when state lawmakers authorized counties to create the agencies to handle duties formerly conducted by townships.
Monica Ware, spokeswoman for the County Road Association of Michigan, said the road commissions also were designed to help insulate road construction projects from county governmental politics.
Ware said the association is opposed to the House bill in its current form and wants to give voters a greater say over whether to dissolve a road commission.
It has proposed a substitute version allowing the change only by a county-wide vote, but a House committee has rejected the change.
"We ask for some transparency in the system," Ware said. "Road commissions were created by a vote of the people."
Ware said county commissions can move toward a system to elect, rather than appoint, road commissioners. That, she said, would make road commissioners more accountable to voters.
But Grebner said electing road commissioners would further politicize the road commissions.
Essentially, he said, it would mean Ingham County's road system would be controlled by the urban majority in Lansing and East Lansing.
County road commissions in Michigan date back to the early 1900s, when state lawmakers authorized counties to create the agencies to handle duties formerly conducted by townships.
Monica Ware, spokeswoman for the County Road Association of Michigan, said the road commissions also were designed to help insulate road construction projects from county governmental politics.
Ware said the association is opposed to the House bill in its current form and wants to give voters a greater say over whether to dissolve a road commission.
It has proposed a substitute version allowing the change only by a county-wide vote, but a House committee has rejected the change.
"We ask for some transparency in the system," Ware said. "Road commissions were created by a vote of the people."
Ware said county commissions can move toward a system to elect, rather than appoint, road commissioners. That, she said, would make road commissioners more accountable to voters.
But Grebner said electing road commissioners would further politicize the road commissions.
Essentially, he said, it would mean Ingham County's road system would be controlled by the urban majority in Lansing and East Lansing.
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