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Hello! The work of the County continues and I’m glad to have the opportunity to serve you. I want to thank our great staff for their hard work, especially on the FY2024 budget process.
Ottawa County Millage Facts
I’d like to give you some facts about our County millage rate so you can know how we stack up to other counties around the state:
- At 3.9 mils, Ottawa County has the sixth lowest County millage rate among the state’s 83 counties.
- Ottawa County’s millage rate is lower than our neighboring counties. (Kent: 4.131, Allegan: 5.1272, and Muskegon: 5.6097)
- Ottawa County’s millage rate is lower than similarly sized counties. (Washtenaw: 4.3512, Kalamazoo: 4.6318, Genesee: 5.3921, and Ingham: 6.7479)
John Gibbs | County Administrator
The following articles, updates, and upcoming events have been curated from a variety of sources:
The FY2024 Budgeting process is in full swing. This year, County Administrator Gibbs has taken steps to increase transparency for the public and for the Board of Commissioners:
| Old Way |
New Way |
| Commissioners approved the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) at the very same meeting it was first presented |
Created a special work session one week after the introduction of the CIP, which gives the Board and the public one week to review the CIP |
| There were no special work sessions for the Board and the public to deliberate the budget prior to the Public Budget Hearing |
Created two special work sessions prior to the Public Budget Hearing, for the Board of Commissioners and the public to deliberate the budget |
| Grants, intergovernmental revenue, and a full list of recipients of County funds, were not reviewed as part of the budget process |
Grants and other revenue from the state and federal government, as well as a complete list of recipients of County funds, were added the Budget Packet for Commissioners and the public to review |
| No specialized budgeting software was used, requiring Fiscal Services staff to manipulate the complex and unwieldy Munis financial system, at great cost in time and effort, in order to produce budget reports |
Initiated the process of procuring budgeting software as soon as is feasible in advance of the FY2025 budget year, in order to reduce the workload on our great Fiscal Services staff who do yeoman’s work in preparing the budget |
(All open to the public and take place at the Fillmore Complex Board Room)
| Date |
Meeting |
| Monday, August 21, 11:00 AM |
Finance & Administration Committee Special Work Session to review the FY2024 Budget |
| Tuesday September 12, 9:00 AM |
Public Budget Hearing (during the regularly scheduled Full Board of Commissioners meeting) |
| Tuesday, September 19, 10:30 AM |
Finance & Administration Committee special work session to approve the budget and forward it to the Full Board of Commissioners to vote on at the Sept. 26 Full Board of Commissioners meeting. |
| Tuesday September 26, 6:30 PM |
Full Board of Commissioners votes to approve the FY2024 budget. |
Take some time to brush up your skills at the range during National Shooting Sports Month. If you want to support a local Ottawa County shooting range while exercising your Constitutional right, you can find a list of ranges located in our County here. (list is courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources).
Preliminary unemployment rates for June 2023 were recently released by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget. Ottawa County’s June unemployment rate was 3.5%. This rate was the fifth lowest in Michigan, with rates ranging from 2.8% in Livingston County to 8.1% in Ontonagon County.
Forty-eight Michigan counties saw their unemployment rates increase from May to June. Twenty-six counties saw their rates decrease. The remaining nine counties saw no change.
 More unemployment data, including monthly and annual data, is available on Ottawa County’s interactive Unemployment Dashboard. Explore the dashboard on the Department of Strategic Impact’s County Statistics page. You can also view the Unemployment Dashboard directly.
Unemployment data for the entire state is available from the Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives. The press release from the State of Michigan is also online.
Enjoy locally sourced signature tapas dishes created by chefs from area restaurants competing to win the coveted Harvest Knife Award! Guests will have an opportunity to taste tapas; vote on their favorite dish; and virtually bid on silent auction items – all while supporting farmland preservation.
About the Farmland Preservation Program
Funded through a combination of private donations and both state and federal grants, the Ottawa County Farmland Preservation Program seeks to protect valuable farmland through various programmatic efforts, including the Purchase of Development Rights Program. By selling the development rights to Ottawa County, this program allows participating landowners to receive compensation for the development potential of their land, yet still retain ownership and other rights associated with it through a permanent easement.
Read about the important work of the Department of Strategic Impact in their July 2023 update.
Ottawa County publishes a 'snail mail' newsletter two times each year. If you missed the Ottawa Way Newsletter in your mail box, you can view the publication online.
While the Ottawa County Road Commission is a separate organization from Ottawa County government, we understand that being informed on projects like road closures and resurfacing projects is important to residents. Sign up now to receive weekly construction updates.
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