ESCANABA — Members of the Delta County Board of Commissioners received an update on continued efforts to get Delta County ready for the 2020 United States Census during the board’s regular meeting Tuesday.

Michigan Works Workforce Services Manager Darren Widder delivered a presentation about this work. Now that former Delta County Administrator Philip Strom has left the county, Widder is co-leading the Complete Count Committee in Delta County along with Commissioner Theresa Nelson.

According to Widder, the Complete Count Committee’s primary goal is to ensure Delta County’s 2020 census is as accurate as possible. He noted the census will have a financial effect on both the county and the state.

Widder said the committee is in place thanks to Strom and the board.

“That is going to be a partnership and collaboration between government and community organizations and individuals in order to make sure that we are strategizing — forming a local work plan, and that’s going to assist us in getting as complete a count as possible,” he said of the committee.

According to Widder, the committee will use local knowledge, influence and resources to develop census related-ideas, identify budget resources, evaluate risks and educate people on the importance of the upcoming census. He added that it will work with the next-nearest Complete Count Committee, in the Hannahville Indian Community, to ensure the committees are not duplicating their efforts.

Widder said the committee is concerned by plans for canvassers to use what he described as “undertested” handheld technology instead of paper questionnaires in the 2020 census. He said this could be particularly problematic in rural areas like the Upper Peninsula.

“Even though it is connected with satellite, we know how many dead spots there are in the U.P.,” he said.

Widder also spoke about hiring plans for area census workers.

“From what I’ve gathered, it looks like they’re planning to hire around 40 workers — both part-time and full-time — in Delta County,” he said, noting this number is an approximation based on peak needs for census work and historical attrition rates.

He encouraged anyone interested in applying for one of these positions to do so as soon as possible, as workers are currently being hired.

“It’s an incredibly important part, to make sure we’re getting those applications to try to hit the number of workers we need,” Widder said.

To apply, visit 2020census.gov/jobs.

In other business, the board:

– voted to give Delta County Airport Manager Jeffery Sierpien approval to sign a contract on the board’s behalf for the building of a new airport fire truck, accept an $862,000 grant from the federal government for this project, and change plans for the new fire truck to allow its foam system to be tested without shooting foam — which contains PFAS — from the truck.

On the topic of PFAS, Sierpien said the airport received a separate grant for $28,000 that allowed it to buy another piece of equipment. This piece of equipment will allow the foam system on the airport’s current fire truck to be tested without shooting foam.

– approved a three-year contract extension with the courthouse union pending union approval after discussing this topic in executive session. Courthouse employees will receive raises in the first two years of the extension and a smaller raise in its third year. The extension also includes additional floating holiday time and additional bereavement time.

– set Delta County’s 2019 winter tax millage rates — including an operating millage rate of 5.0317 mills, or $5.03 per $1,000 of taxable value. The operating millage rate was unchanged from previous years.

– canceled its Oct. 1 meeting. Sabor would not have been able to attend this meeting, and the board has a statutory meeting scheduled for Oct. 8.

– agreed to table a decision on the hiring process to find a replacement for Strom until the deadline for county administrator applications has passed. Applications are due Sept. 6.

– did not take action on a resolution submitted by Marquette County. The resolution opposed legislation that would require county commissioners to run as nonpartisan candidates in Michigan.

– held a public hearing on the county’s proposed budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year. No comments were made during the hearing.