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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Genesee commissioners give go-ahead to ID card for vets -- but not through Clerk's Office
Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com
on December 12, 2013 at 6:00 PM
GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The county Board of Commissioners is moving ahead with plans to offer a special identification card for veterans but the board doesn't want Clerk-Register John Gleason's office to issue it.
Commissioners approved a plan for offering the card Wednesday, Dec. 11, but told Gleason, who first proposed the idea last month, that his office's role should be to deputize employees in the Department of Veterans Services so they can certify military discharge papers and issue the cards.
Gleason said he's researching whether such an arrangement is legal but initially told commissioners he would not deputize workers in other county departments.
"Our office has spent a great deal of time on this," the clerk-register said. "We don't need to transfer this (job) to" another department.
Commissioner Omar Sims, D-Flint, said the Clerk's Office is already unable to keep up with its current workload and said he was "taken aback by our clerk's unwillingness to compromise."
"I was in the Clerk's Office ... you had a line (and) your workers are overworked already," Sims said. "If you deputize, people can get the job done."
Gleason said his office can handle the work involved in issuing the identification cards, which can be used to qualify for discounts from some businesses, at a cost of $10 each.
Commissioners are involved in the process because the board sets the fees charged by county offices.
Veterans already are able to file discharge and other military service papers with the Clerk's Office so that they can be certified and used to qualify for government benefits.
Commissioner Ted Henry, D-Clayton Twp., said he would like to see the Department of Veterans Services become the county's one-stop shop for services that former soldiers and sailors need.
Gleason didn't rule out helping the Department of Veterans Services with the ID cards and said he is "tired of our county fighting over who does what when" and wants "to do it legally and appropriately."
"I started this effort. I'm proud of what we've done," he said.
Although the Michigan Secretary of State plans to issue drivers' licenses and identification cards with special veterans designations beginning in May 2014, Charles Middletown of Genesee Township said many veterans would like the county issued card as an option.
"This is handy for a lot of people," Middletown said. "Fifteen other counties (in Michigan) have adopted this and they like it." |
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Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:36 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I was listening to the Mike Kilbreath Radio Show and heard the discussion of the disrespect given to John Gleason by several commissioners. It doesn't matter whether they like or dislike Gleason, he is an elected official and they need to conduct themselves with some decorum and not slam him every time he comes to commission meetings. Kilbreath specifically named Omar Sims, Brenda Clack and Jaime Curtis for raising their voices to nearly scream level.
I missed all of the good stuff. I went to the meeting because I wanted to speak to Gleason about the election issue. I missed Inez Brown who spoke before I got there and I left before the Veterans confrontation. However I spoke to Charles Middleton at lunch and got his perspective.
It is hard to believe the infighting and backstabbing going on in the county commission. Even outside people are getting into the fray. At least two individuals have asked me to research the alleged five bankruptcies attributed to Ted Henry.
The divorce of Jaimie Curtis with sordid details are out there. Nick Singelis has not only told the media that Curtis was part of a Shrine solicitation of prostitute ring, he posted a supposed deposition of a prostitute involved in the allegations on the Facebook page of Curtis. Curtis should have had better protection o his page.
Ted Henry and Curtis have had their public fights. Curtis replaced Henry as Chair and then replaced Henry on the finance committee three months after appointing him.
The second battle of the day with Gleason was the battle over the veterans cards. Charles Middleton (not Middletown as the Journal printed) has worked with Gleason to establish a one stop shop for these veterans card to make it easier or veterans, Their information will be on file and using the clerks office will make it easier for veteran that are disabled to access. In addition the clerk already has software and other accessories needed for the cards because of the CPL process.
Veterans now will have to go to both the Clerks office and the Veterans affairs office which are in two different buildings and pay parking twice. In addition I am informed the veterans affair office will have to buy the equipment and software necessary to produce these cards. Then the issue becomes one of who has the responsibility or the storage of these files.
Clearly the county needs to rise above their petty complaints. If positions are discretionary, stop interfering in the right of the clerk to make changes. Even I have noticed that under Bogardus, as Register of Deeds, the county property records became harder to trace. Information that was once on the documents is no longer there. Plus their records don't match those of Equalization and often there is no clear chain of Title. Changes are justified in this office and the county commissioners need to get out of the business of micro managing that office and the Clerk's office. |
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Fri Dec 13, 2013 10:04 am |
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