Hillsdale County offices reopened for regular business on Jan. 19, following a 3-2 vote from the new board of county commissioners the prior week in favor of doing so. At the end of the month, the county buildings will also remove health screeners at the entrance due to financial reasons.
When the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services shut down restaurants and other venues in November of last year, the previous board of commissioners partially closed county buildings in response. During that time, the offices conducted business virtually or by appointment.
With no official edict from the state to close the buildings, the newly elected board was able to vote in favor of reopening the buildings for full service.
District 1 Commissioner and Chair of the Facilities Committee Doug Ingles made the motion. According to Ingles, he made the decision based on a slowing number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the area. Additionally, Ingles cited the amount of open businesses as a reason to open the county offices.
“Even the retail stores in our community are open, so I felt that it was important to be able to service customers in the county buildings,” Ingles said.
District 4 Commissioner Brad Benzing supported Ingles’ motion.
“Government is just like any other business the public wants to obtain services from,” Benzing said. “Not everyone wants to do things online or on the telephone. There’s no reason we should not be open just as any other business.”
The historic county courthouse and annex building remain in phase one — open to business only by appointment — because they are operated under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Supreme Court. The offices of the county clerk and county prosecutor, which are contained in those buildings, are therefore still conducting business by phone and appointment.
According to District 1 Commissioner and Chairman Mark Wiley, all the surrounding villages and cities reported their offices were closed to the public. The only city office that is not closed to the public is the city of Hillsdale.
Wiley and District 2 Commissioner Kathleen Schmitt voted against the proposition.
“We are still in the midst of a pandemic,” Wiley said. “A lot of folks are still exercising caution so I hope our decision doesn’t come back to bite us.”
After the end of January, the courthouse and county offices will no longer have health screeners who take the temperature and log the health of anyone entering the building. The county previously used coronavirus relief money to pay a private company $7,000 per month/month for the screeners, but since that source of income ended on Jan. 1, 2021, the board of commissioners voted to stopcease using the screeners.
Ingles said the decision was made in order to be fiscally responsible.
“We decided that $7,000 times 12 is $84,000 and that just doesn’t fit our budget,” Ingles said. “Other options may become available, but right now we are being more responsible by ending that agreement.”
Wiley asserted that the cost of the screeners might be worth diminishing risk.
“What would it cost us if we had to shut the building down for 2-3 weeks if people get COVID-19? Then you shut down services completely,” Wiley said.
For the time being, anyone entering the building must self-screen at the entrance, wear a mask, and follow general safety protocols. The buildings also have shields at all counters between the customers and county workers, and undergo regular sanitization.
Wiley said multiple elected officials were not happy with reopening the buildings, but Benzing noted that the offices have already seen an influx of people needing their services.
“The treasurer commented to me Thursday that they had a big influx of people coming in regarding new property taxes and payment plans,” Benzing said. “Most of the customers are older, less computer savvy people, who are now able to come in.”