Board of Commissioners

The Benzie County Board of Commissioners met on November 10, 2026. The board approved payment of $4,485,219.92 in bills and authorized a jail water-softener replacement for up to $7,036, accepting the low bid from Westshore Plumbing and Heating; funds are available in the jail capital fund. It also approved a medical-examiner waste service agreement with Daniels Sharp Smart, Inc., contingent on legal review and formally ending the current contract, with costs from the General Fund. Commissioners approved temporary construction easements for the Point Betsy shoreline-restoration work, pending legal review, and adopted a revised FOIA policy. Budget actions included a $5,000 amendment to the Veterans Relief Fund and a $9,887 amendment to the Capital Equipment Replacement Fund. The board also scheduled a special meeting to amend the county budget and L-4029 to reflect voter-approved animal-control and drug-enforcement millages.

The board approved Benzie County’s support of 2027 Grand Traverse Band 2% grant applications for Hope House of Northwest Michigan and MidMichigan Honor Flight; these were application endorsements, not grant awards. Honor Flight requested $40,000 for outreach and related costs. In an economic-development presentation, the Chamber described its strategic-planning work with Avenue ISR, largely funded through a Rotary Charities grant, and commissioners noted a five-year commitment using restricted economic-development funds. Other reports included agricultural research and funding, land-bank properties, emergency-management funding constraints, and regional growth; no additional county contract awards were identified.