Podcast 83

Derek

Podcast 83 is a regular look at the news, stories and trends related to Michigan’s 83 counties from Keweenaw to Monroe, Chippewa to Berrien.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    Podcast 83 Special Episode on Acrisure Risk Services August 18 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guests: Sarah Kline and Paul Bragenzer of Acrisure Topic: A new episode of Podcast 83 explores the growing human resources challenge in county government and features a MAC Corporate Partner positioned to help members address it. Keying off a presentation made at the MAC Legislative Conference in April, Acrisure’s Sarah Kline and Paul Bragenzer spoke with host Stephan Currie about the need for counties to be in transition mode today to avoid big trouble tomorrow. “Statistically speaking, about 37 percent of organizations, both in the public and private sector, are going to have leaders that are retiring, in the next 10 years,” said Kline. “And only about 30 percent of organizations actually have a true perpetuation plan. So, we see that as an area of risk for counties, especially. “And the reason why we wanted to bring that topic into today's podcast is it really resonated with the folks (at the conference),” she continued. “So … we could see the wheels turning as they were having conversations at their tables that we felt like that topic resonated with them.” “Let's talk a little bit about risk management. What risks and safety concerns come from these generational risks?” Currie asked. “Well, it's, very interesting to see when an organization has a specific mindset and structure, where information and knowledge is housed in a few people, and then when that person leaves,” replied Bragenzer. “There goes some information that does not then get passed down throughout the organization, so consequently, there's disharmony.” Acrisure, Kline explained, focuses on helping counties and others maintain a “safety culture” in everyday operations: “If you walk into the building on your first day or into that job, are we exhibiting that culture as everyone is interacting, and are we also creating that as part of their onboarding and just so that it's something that is all the way from the beginning, they know what to expect and what the culture is going to be. That's a great foundation for bringing up those future leaders and making sure that we minimize that risk from a perpetuation standpoint.” See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

  2. Aug 4

    Podcast 83 Special Episode on CoProPlus Procurement Services August 4, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guests: Shawn Vaughn and Austin Brown of CoProPlus/PPIM Topic: Helping county staffs address the conundrum of rising prices and limited procurement budgets is the focus of Podcast 83’s newest episode. Shawn Vaughn and Austin Brown of PPIM/CoProPlus joined MAC’s Stephan Currie for a discussion on how their firms can help you keep the bills in check and the proverbial shelves stocked. “The Public Procurement Institute of Michigan (is) a Michigan-based nonprofit … that exists to support people who are responsible for public purchasing, whether they're public procurement professionals, a finance director, administrators, clerks or department leaders who wear multiple hats,” explained Vaughn. “Let's talk about that a little bit,” said Currie, “because there are varying capacities of government agencies out there. Some have procurement professionals, some don't. So, what does your support look like in actual practice?” “We've had to be very nimble and pivot, because the needs do change, of course,” replied Vaughn. “So, our goal is to make public procurement more accessible and less intimidating, especially for agencies with limited staff or limited procurement resources. We focus on three core areas: education, helpful resources and, my favorite, collaboration. “One of our biggest priorities is providing that practical education that public agencies can put to use right away,” she continued. “A great example is our “Why It Matters” webinar series. So, rather than simply explaining procurement rules … We focus on why good procurement matters, and how it helps agencies make better decisions.” “We've been a long proponent of CoProPlus,” said Currie. “I've worked with CoProPlus for a long time. Talk a little bit about the interaction between CoPro Plus and PPIM.” “So, the PPIM ultimately is what exists to help public entities do the procurement that they want to do,” said Brown. “CoProPlus is the cooperative program and the vehicle that helps them do that. We've got about a little over 170 contracts that exist within our portfolio. And it's a wide variety of different contracts that are available. So, a lot of what Shawn has mentioned is what PPIM is tasking people with: Can you procure more efficiently within your own organizations, whether that's going through the bidding process or using resources that are already available to you. And then, sometimes that is looking at cooperative contract usage, and that's where the CoPro Plus program exists.” See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

  3. Jul 21

    Podcast 83 Special Episode on Nationwide Services to Counties July 21, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guests: Ken Kelbel and Greg Watson of Nationwide Topic: A changing retirement landscape, both in business circles and government regulations, makes the role of in-state team of advisers even more important for county governments and their employees, said two representatives of Nationwide Retirement Solutions in a new episode of Podcast 83. “There have been a lot of changes in the retirement plan landscape recently due to legislation, specifically the SECURE Act,” said Ken Kelbel, a longtime Nationwide staffer in Michigan who was recently promoted to oversee Michigan operations. “You have Secure Act 1, and then Secure Act 2.0. So, there's a lot more opportunity for us to actually help county government structure plans that are kind of more modern today that incorporate new investment options and lifetime income benefits, which is a new innovation that we've had at Nationwide … “It's really having that sort of local presence,” Kelbel continued. “Everyone on my team lives in Michigan. We're committed to that local service model.” Nationwide also is aiding counties by making money management simpler, said Greg Watson. “(A) focus for me is what I'll call consolidation efforts, and for those of you that are familiar with this marketplace, you know, over the years, the public sector 457 market has been thought of as kind of a payroll slot type … Oftentimes, a county might approve multiple providers to have payroll slots within that organization over time. So, you know, slowly and gradually, you turn around one day, and all of a sudden, you've got three, four or five providers that your employees have to choose from, Obviously, that's challenging from the employee standpoint. “And from the county standpoint,” he continued, “working with three or four or five different administrators. That can be a burden on the payroll team and other administrative staff that have to interact and essentially do everything five times, instead to just have one retirement plan partner. “A great example of how that can be very successful in the state of Michigan: Last year, we finalized the transition consolidation of Emmett County, who had 457, 401A, multiple providers. … Now participants have a single point of contact for their retirement business, both the 457 and the 401,” Watson continued. “We can help them better understand their defined benefit pension benefits as well, with some of the calculators that we have. So, it kind of turns into a one-stop shop for both the county and the employees.” See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

  4. Jul 8

    Podcast 83 Legislative Update July 8, 2026

    The newest episode of MAC’s Podcast 83 delves into the wins for counties out of the Legislature’s mad dash to a fiscal 2027 budget right before the holiday weekend. “The overall budget, I believe, was less than previous year budget, correct?” asked host Stephan Currie. “It was pretty much flat, with a $14.1 billion General Fund. That's what we look at. We look at the General Fund, because that's what they have some discretion over,” replied Deena Bosworth, MAC’s chief lobbyist. “You had some increased pressures because of the One Big Beautiful Bill, financial pressures coming from federal changes. So, to make it out flat, I think is pretty good, plus there is still an option to get the (Revenue Sharing Trust Fund) done by the end of the year; that isn't bad,” Currie said. In other budget news: Public safety funding – “I'm very happy about that one,” Bosworth said. “That's the continuation of the $11.7 million that goes out to counties for public safety revenue sharing grants. Now, it's a line item in the budget, same as last year.Prosecutor funding – “What they did this year in the fiscal 27 budget is they added $3 million in addition to what they had appropriated before to make all of those counties that were eligible (for this funding) in 2025 and 2026 whole.”Also in this week’s episode, two new team members were introduced: Davis Grimm and Maci Main. Both Grimm and Main are coming to MAC from legislative offices and will work under Bosworth on the association’s advocacy team. See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

  5. Jun 30

    Podcast 83 Episode on Savi Student Loan Services June 30, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guest: Tony Raffa of Savi Topics: With major changes coming to federal student loan programs on July 1, this week’s Podcast 83 episode features a MAC partner that aids counties and their employees in navigating loan repayment rules. Savi is now operating in nine Michigan counties to aid county employees, or even all of a county’s residents, navigate the dizzying rules of loan repayments “We are a public benefits social impact company, really founded by a lot of student loan experts and policymakers, to help those many people out there struggling with student debt, trying to better understand their debt and all their options,” explained Savi’s Tony Raffa. “Probably the most important thing is that collections are back on the table (as of July 1),” he continued. “The biggest concern here is that we've seen 9 million borrowers are currently in default nationally, so about 1 in 4 borrowers. We see about 25 percent of those in Michigan are in this boat. And what that means is it means these borrowers are not currently making student loan payments. Now, that has a few effects “For starters, anyone who's not making student loan payments is going to see an immediate hit to their credit score. We've seen, on average, credit scores dropping by 57 points, and as we continue to get deeper into defaults and delinquency, we will only see that number increase. We've even seen 2 million people go from prime to subprime credit scores.” See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

    Podcast 83 Episode on Savi Student Loan Services June 30, 2026

  6. Jun 23

    Podcast 83 Legislative Update June 23, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guest: Deena Bosworth of MAC Topics: The Michigan Legislature is another week closer to a statutory deadline for approving a fiscal 2027 budget and it’s not clear what is going on, reported MAC’s Podcast 83 team in a new episode. “What is the latest on the budget?” asked host Stephan Currie. “What we're hearing is that they worked really hard all weekend to come up with agreements on big items and funding,” replied Deena Bosworth. “Now, how far into the weeds do they get? We're not quite sure. “We know the governor was really pushing to have housing included in these budget negotiations. We know the speaker was really pushing to have property tax reform in these budget negotiations,” she continued. “We have advocated, and I think others have advocated, that these are huge policy discussions that really should not be part of the budget conversations.” This week’s episode also touched on: Brownfield redevelopment changes: “So, counties, cities, townships and villages would be eligible for these grants or a low-interest loan program, kind of like a revolving fund through the state,” Bosworth explained. “Grants (would be) up to about $2 million each, unless it's a huge transformational package or transformational site. But it would allow locals to do some environmental cleanup, some remediation and then prep it for redevelopment.”Indigent defense resources for juveniles: “This one's a tough one for us,” Bosworth said. “House Bill 4070 expands the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission's authority to make recommendations for youth indigents who are going through the process. MAC is supportive of expanding MIDC to youth,” she added. “But the state also has to pay for that. And we already know that we struggle with the authority of the Indigent Defense Commission, telling our counties what they can and can't do within their facilities or their budget when it deals with dealing with indigent defendants. So, right now, we are opposed … because we don't see where the state is necessarily going to allocate the funding necessary to implement it.”See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

  7. Jun 16

    Podcast 83 Legislative Update June 16, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guest: Deena Bosworth of MAC Topics: The state’s fiscal 2027 budget faces a July 1 deadline, but it’s not clear what that actually means for what will be in the document, say MAC’s Podcast 83 team members in a new episode. “First and foremost, the budget, we've got an artificial deadline. I call it an artificial deadline. It is an actual statutory deadline of July 1, but there's really nothing that puts any teeth in it if you (miss it),” said host Stephan Currie to open the episode, “as we saw last year when the budget got done on Oct. 8. “What are we hearing on this year's budget?” “We are hearing making great progress. We are hearing that they are not talking at all. We are hearing, oh my goodness, we have lots of issues on the table and we'll see what happens,” said Deena Bosworth. “We hear: ‘You know, we're really going to get this done since it's an election year, we'll have the budget done by July 1. “And then last week we heard, we could just do a few months of a budget and then come back and revisit it. So, yeah, we are hearing quite a bit,” she added. “I will say this,” Bosworth said. “I think that they're talking better now than they have been talking in years past. Don't forget, for everyone out there, this is a discussion between the House, the Senate and the administration. Sometimes. conversations are great between two of those entities; sometimes, they are not great at all; and very rarely is it a good discussion between all three at the same time.” See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

  8. Jun 10

    Podcast 83 Legislative Update June 10, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guest: Deena Bosworth of MAC Topics: In a brief episode this week, MAC’s Podcast 83 team reviewed the state of play in Lansing on a variety of county issues, including a bid for statewide septic code, issues with a new marijuana wholesale tax and distribution of dollars used for substance abuse prevention. Host Stephan Currie, who was traveling to the Upper Peninsula to visit several member counties, asked Deena Bosworth about a troubling report on marijuana taxes. “There was a portion of some new money for roads coming from a marijuana tax, but we've got some problems there. What are the problems with the new marijuana tax money for roads?” “The revenues are coming in, but they're coming in significantly lower than what was anticipated,” Bosworth replied. “So, the first quarter payment came in, and I want to say it was $30 million shy of what they actually anticipated. “And that makes a big difference for our county road departments and our county road commissions, who are anticipating this huge influx of dollars,” she continued, “Now, whether that is just because it's the beginning of (tax collections), because there was so much controversy, or if it is something else. I don't really know. … (B)ut I do know that there is a shortfall, and our members need to keep their eyes on that.” Bosworth and Currie also discussed: House Bills 5099-5100, which would streamline an existing process in which dollars are shared with counties for substance abuse work and with the Huntington Place convention facility in Wayne County. “(The bills) basically get away with the legislative sunset (expiration) and allows them to continue doing their thing at Huntington Place and continues our revenue for our substance use disorder programs through the liquor tax. And that's now into perpetuity, if that gets enacted, so that's a good sign.”Legislation to alter mental health treatment protocols, which MAC and the Community Mental Health Association oppose.A bid by UP legislators to create the peninsula’s own Natural Resources Commission: “(The hearing on legislation) was really interesting conversation,” Bosworth said. “Of course, DNR is opposed to it, but the proponents argued that things are just very unique in that peninsula, and they're not like the rest of the state.” See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

  9. Jun 2

    Podcast 83 Special Episode on MAC Opioid Services June 2, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guest: Amy Dolinky of MAC Topics: The release of a long-awaited state list on unallowed spending items and the expansion of MAC’s consulting services for opioid settlements highlight comments from MAC’s opioid services leader in a special Podcast 83 episode. “We have the new document that was released by the (Attorney General’s Office) which is really what we would call an ‘unallowable use’ list. So, items or services that are not considered opioid remediation and really do put counties at risk if they are purchasing those types of items,” explained Amy Dolinky, MAC’s director of opioid services. “But just because an item is not on the list does not make it necessarily allowable,” she added. “So, the guidance that's been put out is really more about how to think about expenditures.” “What if they spent something that is now showing up on a list. Is there going to be a clawback?” asked host Stephan Currie. “Should there be concerns there?” “We haven't heard anything from the AG’s Office that explicitly states what will happen if a county has already purchased something that's on the unallowable use list, but I would imagine they would be looking at all expenditures moving forward, and not necessarily be looking back, as that guidance did not previously exist.” In the episode, Dolinky also discussed how a new partnership with the state Department of Health and Human Services provides a major boost to MAC’s assistance to members. “We were able to onboard Dan (Kelly), our new technical assistance specialist. And with that role, we're able to start some key projects. The first of those will be regional cohorts, where counties will have an opportunity to connect not just with each other but also with townships and cities … and really look at what are some regional needs that may exist.” For more details about MAC’s opioid services, visit the Opioid Settlement Resource Center on MAC’s website at micounties.org. See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

    Podcast 83 Special Episode on MAC Opioid Services June 2, 2026

  10. May 27

    Podcast 83 Legislative Update May 27, 2026

    Massive changes to Michigan’s property tax system continue to create concern among MAC’s policy advocates in a new Podcast 83 episode. “Deena, we are coming off of a week last week where we had a lot of session days, some committee meetings, but some pretty significant legislation passed that we've been following and tracking and have some concerns about. The property tax legislation passed last week. Let's talk a little bit about that, what passed and where things are at,” said host Stephan Currie. “Yeah, it was pretty tough,” replied MAC’s Deena Bosworth, “So, the House was not in session on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they came in and they posted for a Government Operations Committee meeting for Wednesday at 1 p.m. with nothing on the agenda. “Now, in Lansing, you hear rumors ahead of time, so we knew exactly what that was: the ‘property tax reform package,’ that they call it. … “And then … They voted it out within 5 minutes.” Learn more details about the huge problems this legislation would create for counties and why House actions last week make the prospect of trouble greater in coming days in this episode. See video versions of all Podcast 83 episodes on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@michiganassociationofcount2606 Visit the Podcast 83 page at www.micounties.org

  • 10 Episodes

About

Podcast 83 is a regular look at the news, stories and trends related to Michigan’s 83 counties from Keweenaw to Monroe, Chippewa to Berrien.

Information

  • Creator
    Derek
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    10
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Podcast 83
  • Show Website
    Podcast 83