The Delta County Board on Tuesday did not pass a proposed policy for choosing who represents the county on the Michigan Counties Workers’ Compensation Fund board. Commissioner Christine Williams is shown reading her statement in support of the policy. (Sophie Vogelmann | Daily Press)

ESCANABA – The Delta County Board voted Tuesday to reject a proposed policy for its representation on the Michigan Counties Workers’ Compensation Fund board.

Commissioner Christine Williams brought the suggested policy to the board, which aims to ensure transparency and fairness in the appointment of Delta County’s representative to the MCWCF board.

“First, it makes the seat a shared opportunity, so by rotating the appointment through all five commissioner districts, every commissioner at some point has an opportunity. It’s a fair and predicted chance to serve on it. No one can hold the seat indefinitely just because of their current position on the board,” Williams said.

The proposed policy does not consist of any new benefits; rather, it states clear, written rules around the policy that already exists. It outlines a proposed rotational system of commissioners appointed to the MCWCF board, transparency in their compensation, their length of term and more.

The policy also acknowledges the work that the MAC compensation board is doing and why they are being compensated, according to Williams. County representatives on the MCWCF board receive $6,000 in addition to their compensation for serving on their county board.

The district rotation refers to the rotational appointment of commissioner representatives in the policy. Delta County’s representative would be a Delta County Board member, appointed for the duration of one year on a rotating basis so commissioners have an equal opportunity to serve.

According to the policy, after District 1 commissioner served as representative on the MCWCF board, the rotation would recommence with District 5. If a commissioner chooses not to serve on the MCWCF board, they can defer to the next district in rotation. Commissioners would serve in this order: District 1, John Malnar; District 2, Patrick Johnson; District 3, Christine Williams; District 4, Kelli van Ginhoven; and District 5, Matthew Jensen.

Commissioner Patrick Johnson noted while he supports transparency in the policy proposal, he does not agree with the rotational system proposed.

“(The chairperson) is the only person that is on call 24 hours. So, our increased stipend of – I think it’s $1,000 or $1,500 — that the chair gets (for being chair) to me, that doesn’t quite cover it. So this is kind of the nice, extra perk,” Johnson said. “As far as visibility goes, absolutely. We need to have that visibility. People need to know our chair is getting an extra $6,000 to sit on this (MCWCF) board.”

John Malnar, chair of the Delta County Board, is Delta County’s representative on the MCWCF board. More information on the MCWCF can be found at https://michigancountieswcf.org/about/.

The policy failed on a 2-3 vote, with Malnar, Johnson and Jensen opposed and van Ginhoven and Williams in favor.

In other business, the board:

— Authorized an agreement between the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office and the Delta County Sheriff’s Office to house up to 10 inmates from Marquette County. Marquette’s office will pay Delta County’s office $55 per day per inmate, to help ease overcrowding in Marquette County’s jail.

— Approved Delta County Airport’s contract with Mead & Hunt Inc. for the airport’s snow removal equipment building project. While the FAA has not yet green-lighted the project, Airport Manager Ashleigh Young will now be able to proceed as soon as they hear back from the FAA. The project is part of the Airport Capital Improvement Program to expand the airport’s snow removal equipment building and relocate the sand building. The board previously authorized $425,000 in spending.

— Accepted the 2026 remonumentation grant application. Delta County annually submits remonumentation grant applications to the Office of Land Survey & Remonumentation at the Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs Bureau of Construction Codes. The grant application outlines a $78,428 budget regarding the county expenditure detail for the remonumentation program in the 2026 grant year. The county budgeted $92,007 from the state in the 2025 grant year for survey and remonumentation purposes.

— Approved a contract between Director of Delta County Central Dispatch Jen Peterson, on behalf of Delta County, and the UP 911 Board. The UP 911 Board consists of all dispatch units in the Upper Peninsula, along with Roscommon County downstate. This contract allows participating counties to collaboratively put together a Request for Proposal and a contract for an upgraded Computer-Aided Dispatch software system.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.