Kalamazoo County says its new budget speaks of good financial health. Commissioners approved the $90 million plan on Tuesday. It includes a 1.75 percent raise for nonunion staff. It also puts $2 million toward funding legacy benefits costs. And among other things the budget will pay for the jail to fill vacancies on its nursing staff.
Commissioner Mike Seals says the pay is competitive because it has to be. Seals says the jail has lost nurses in the past from not paying them comparably to other local employers.
“You have both hospitals, you have all the doctors’ offices in Kalamazoo County. There’s a plethora of jobs for nurses here and there’s a shortage of nurses,” he says.
Commissioner Julie Rogers voted for the budget. While she told the board that she supported it overall, Rogers said she’s disappointed that the budget did not include more funding for programs that serve older adults.
“We’re all paying for people who break their hips and have long hospitalizations or nursing home stays,” Rogers said.
She added that a senior millage could help to close the gap. The board could decide this spring whether to put such a millage on the ballot in May.
The county has building aspirations for the near future. That includes possibly breaking ground on a new animal shelter this spring and building a new courthouse within the next few years.
