Commissioners wary of regional materials-management plan; county capacity and potential fines questioned

County staff updated commissioners about onboarding for an eight-county materials-management plan. The administrator said the program requires time-consuming local education, food-waste messaging and coordination that may be difficult for Ogemaw County to deliver because many residents lack curbside garbage pickup.

"It's really hard and difficult to create plans about food waste and recycling when all our residents do not have garbage pickup," the administrator said, describing the effort required to meet the regional plan’s expectations. Commissioners discussed the potential that the region could ask counties to chip in for a regional grant coordinator and that the state could impose fines if the county later declined to comply. Staff said the county can withdraw within one month after plan completion but legal is reviewing penalty options; commissioners asked to be kept apprised and to weigh cost and capacity before committing further.