Washtenaw County Board of Commissioner's Working Session and Board Meeting August 5, 2026

The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners held a working session and board meeting on August 5, 2026, with extensive discussions on several key procurement and funding issues. A significant portion of the meeting focused on the Woodlawn Cemetery Restoration Project, highlighting the need for funding to support site stabilization, historic preservation, and community engagement efforts. The project has secured over $250,000 in funding and in-kind services, with upcoming needs including contracting for landscape clearing, herbicide application, and site engineering. Another major topic was the winter sheltering and homelessness response, where the board considered funding allocations for emergency shelter expansions, including a proposed hotel lease to accommodate overflow shelter capacity. The board discussed a resolution to allocate over $6.8 million to support continuum of care winter sheltering efforts, including a $100,000 allocation for the daytime warming center and a $50,000 set-aside for western county homelessness services. The meeting also addressed the proposed health care access millage, with debate over the millage amount, funding allocations among the Washtenaw Health Plan, health department, and reproductive health services, and alternative funding options to avoid tax increases. The board tabled the millage resolution to allow further analysis of alternatives. Additionally, the board considered a resolution to place a 9-1-1 surcharge increase on the November ballot to fund a unified public safety dispatch center, but the motion failed. The meeting included recognition of Lauren Brown's public service, discussion of election turnout, and various public comments on health care funding, homelessness, and environmental concerns. Several motions and amendments related to funding allocations and policy directions were passed, with ongoing work planned for shelter expansion, health care funding, and dispatch modernization.