The Board’s Finance Committee, chaired by Commissioner Gwen Markham (District 9), recently kicked off its first hearing for the 2023-2025 budget.
During budget hearings, representatives from each county department present their recommendations and answer questions posed by the committee chair or members. This year’s budget hearings take place over six days and continue through August 18. All hearings are open to the public, and they represent the Board’s role as stewards of fiscal responsibility in the county budget process.
The County Executive’s recommended budget for fiscal year 2023-2025, including a description of the budget process, can be found at www.oakgov.com/fiscal.
Subscribe to the Board’s YouTube channel at bit.ly/YouTubeBOC to receive notifications for all upcoming webcast Board meetings, including standing committee, budget hearing and full Board meetings.
Residents may notice new county commission district numbers as they complete their ballots this election season.
In December 2021, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners adopted a new plan that set the boundaries and seats for county commission districts, beginning with the 2023-2024 term.
Oakland County officials, including Commissioner Yolanda Smith Charles (District 17) and County Executive Dave Coulter, recently announced $700,000 in food assistance grants to help eligible families access nutritious food as the prices of fruits, vegetables, milk and other staples continue to rise. The county is also allocating $250,000 to the Double Up Food Bucks program, which doubles the money for fresh produce at farmers markets for people eligible for food assistance.
The Pontiac Community Foundation and Lighthouse each will receive $350,000 in food assistance grants. Lighthouse has provided emergency food to approximately 5,000 households each week since the beginning of the pandemic, and it will use the funds to bolster its emergency food assistance. The Pontiac Community Foundation will use its funds to provide organizations that aren't traditional food providers but found themselves in that role during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond with grants of up to $50,000.
The county is also partnering with the Poverty Solutions Initiative at the University of Michigan to conduct a comprehensive healthy food system landscape study which will look at everything from healthy food systems and providers in Oakland County, to the role that urban farms and farmers play in getting nutritious food to families. The study will also examine transportation routes and how it might be a challenge for some families to have access to grocery stores.
Currently, Oakland County’s Health Division has several established food assistance programs in the community, which include Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Healthy Oakland and Prescription for a Healthy Oakland County. For more information about food assistance programs, visit https://www.oakgov.com/health/pages/default.aspx.
The Healthy Oakland Partnership (HOP) is encouraging residents to participate in its annual Senior Market Days this summer.
Residents 60 years and older will receive a $5 coupon distributed on a first come, first served basis, and must be used during the event. No registration is necessary.
In addition to $5 coupons for produce, the events will include a variety of resources for older adults as well as raffles and prizes.
Upcoming Senior Market Days dates and locations include:
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9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, August 24 at the Oak Park Farmers Market (Oak Park High School Parking Lot, 13701 Oak Park Blvd., Oak Park)
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8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, September 8 at the Oakland County Farmers Market (2350 Pontiac Lake Road, Waterford)
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8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 17 at the Farmington Farmers Market (33113 Grand River Ave., Farmington)
The 2022 Senior Market Days have been made possible in part by Beaumont Health, Trinity Health, Humana and Henry Ford Health System. For more information, visit www.oakgov.com/health/HOP.
Summer isn’t over yet, and that means that there are still several Concerts in the Parks on the calendar from the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Department.
Concerts are hosted throughout Oakland County communities. They are family-friendly events with some communities also offering additional activities. This season’s concert series includes the following upcoming events:
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6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, August 10 at Inspiration Park (56730 Grand River, New Hudson) featuring Wag the Dog
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6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, September 1 at LaFontaine Family Amphitheater (159 N. Main St., Milford) featuring EYE96
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11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, October 8, during the Dixie Byway Car Show at Mt. Holly (13536 Dixie Highway, Holly) featuring Highway 45
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners website, Facebook page, YouTube channel and commissioner newsletters are great ways for residents to stay engaged with the Board.
Individuals who follow the Board at @oakgov.boc on Facebook will see photos from events and information from around the county.
Subscribers to the Board’s YouTube channel can receive notifications when Board meetings are live and easily find recent videos. The channel can be found by going to YouTube and searching for the “Oakland County Board of Commissioners” or going to bit.ly/YouTubeBOC.
In addition, anyone can watch Board and committee meetings and access the latest news, meeting calendars, information about each commissioner and more by visiting www.oakgov.com/boc.
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