MACOMB DAILY, March 18, 2008
By Chad Selweski Macomb Daily Staff Writer

COUNTY LEADERS PUSH FOR EXECUTIVE
• Current form meant for different era, they agree

    Top current and former county officials released a joint statement Monday calling on voters to approve the May 6 ballot proposal that would create a new style of county government led by an elected executive.

    County Sheriff Mark Hackel, Prosecutor Eric Smith and Treasurer Ted Wahby were joined by two former county board chairs, Nancy White and Patrick Johnson, in calling Macomb’s “government by committee” format outdated and ineffective.

    “Our current form of government was designed for a different era when we had half the population to serve and none of the economic challenges we have today,” the joint statement said.

    The five officials had already endorsed an executive form of government but they said they are launching individual campaign efforts to support the ballot proposal with seven weeks until the May election.

    Smith and Hackel, citing the frustration of dealing with a 26-member Board of Commissioners, said they will raise the executive issue every time they speak publicly. White, who now lives in Maryland, said she will make return visits to the county to promote the plan.

    The officials argue that a county with a budget of $450 million and 840,000 people – larger than five states – needs a central figure providing leadership. Instead, the county board holds all legislative and executive power.

    “The buck stops nowhere,” the statement said.

    Critics say the creation of an executive office would create an expensive new layer of bureaucracy that would force a tax increase. But the opposition group, known as Protect Our Future-Macomb, is a small organization that may be no match for the political power of the pro-executive forces as the election approaches.

    In addition to many elected officials, the pro-executive group, known as Charter Equals County Executive, consists of a business-labor partnership. The group collected the 35,000 signatures necessary to place the issue on the ballot and hopes to run a high-profile campaign through Election Day.

    The opposition group was supposed to provide a list earlier this month of officials supporting their cause but hasn’t released the names yet. The leader of the group, Nathan Hlavin of Macomb Township, could not be reached for comment.

    If the countywide ballot question is approved, a panel would be elected to write a “home rule” charter – a county constitution – that would create an executive office, reduce the number of commissioners and initiate other government reforms.

    If voters approve the charter, Macomb’s first executive would likely be elected in 2010.