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Early Childhood Services gets the thumbs up

The Record-Eagle - 9/22/2021

Sep. 22—SUTTONS BAYFrances Alexander is a U.S. Navy veteran who did two tours of duty and came home with post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.

Alexander teared up as she told the Leelanau Board of Commissioners on Tuesday about her struggles taking care of her 18-month-old daughter.

"I hit a really dark place," Alexander said. "Honestly, if it wasn't for Parenting Communities I don't think I would have made it. They saved my life."

The county board spent the evening debating whether to continue funding the Early Childhood Services program after voting 4-3 at its executive session Sept. 14 to recommend setting the tax levy at 0.000 mills for the voter-approved tax levy.

On Tuesday the board voted unanimously to continue funding the program, but at a lesser amount. Property owners will pay 0.1988 mills instead of the 0.253 mills approved by voters in 2019.

The reduced tax rate will bring in about $620,000 when it is collected in December. The program is run by the Benzie Leelanau District Health Department, which has submitted a proposed 2022 budget of $602,144.

The proposal was put forward by Commissioner Rick Robbins and competed with two other proposals — one higher and one lower, that were both defeated.

Parenting Communities is the backbone of the ECS program, which offers free services to children from birth to 6 years old to make sure they are ready for school. Children and their parents participate in play groups around the county. Kids can also receive in-home assessments and be connected with services they may need.

Over the course of two meetings — Monday and Tuesday — the board heard more than four hours of public comment overwhelmingly in support of keeping the ECS program intact.

There were also at least 125 letters supporting the program, and a petition signed by about 1,300 people.

The underlying motion to zero out the millage rate came from board Chair Will Bunek and was approved along party lines, with Republicans Melinda Lautner, Debra Rushton and Rick Robbins also voting "yes."

Bunek was harshly criticized both in person and in the letters for saying that the U.S. is a constitutional republic and when voters make an incorrect decision, the county board has the responsibility to do what is right for the county.

The five-year ECS millage proposal passed by 99 votes with a turn-out of about 33 percent of registered voters. Bunek, Rushton and Lautner have said they object to the passage of the proposal as those who supported it only comprise 17 percent of registered Leelanau County voters.

Bunek said it was never his intention to eliminate the program and claimed his words were "twisted by the media," "misunderstood" and "taken out of context," even though the meeting was recorded and can be viewed on the county's website.

Leelanau County resident Jackie Anderson said Bunek's denial of what he said shows his poor character and lack of moral compass. She also worries that the board's actions of last week will set a dangerous precedent.

"If this behavior is allowed to continue, then I ask 'where does it end?'" she said.

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