Podcast 83

Derek
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  • Government

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 Legislative Update LIVE September 15, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guests: Deena Bosworth, Davis Grimm and Maci Main of MAC Topics: County commissioners attending the 2026 Annual Conference were urged to contact their legislators regarding key court funding in a special “live” episode of Podcast 83 taped on Sept. 11, 2026. The MAC team of Executive Director Stephan Currie, Governmental Affairs director Deena Bosworth and governmental affairs staffers Davis Grimm and Maci Main reviewed House Bill 5452, which would extend the court-fee funding sunset through Dec. 31, 2028. Without action, fee authority expires Dec. 31 of this year, creating a $50 million funding cliff. Other issues covered in the Legislative Update included: HB 6105, which would correct a legislative error on lake level assessment payments from the state to counties. Senate Bill 947 and HB 5485, which would increase dam rehabilitation costs and reporting requirements for approximately 530 county-owned dams. While MAC secured $20 million for publicly owned high-risk dams, further funding may be required. SB 1136, a potential fix to the Public Employee Health Care Act (Public Act 152) that now contains outdated inflationary mechanisms for hard cap limits on health insurance premium payments. SB 81, enacted in August, which expands Michigan Indigent Defense Commission responsibilities to indigent youth on Oct. 1, 2027. 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 Legislative Update LIVE September 15, 2026

  2. Sep 1

    Podcast 83 Special Episode on Rehmann's Work on Minimum Wage September 1, 2026

    Host: Stephan Currie Guests: Bill Burke and Richard Carpenter of Rehmann Topic: MAC’s Podcast 83 hosted staff from Premier Partner Rehmann to discuss how Michigan’s changing minimum wage could affect mental health services in a new episode. “The minimum wage is changing in 2027,” noted host Stephan Currie. “So, tell us a little bit about what's happening, why it matters to counties, and what they should be maybe doing to prepare for that.” “There was a judgment, finally, about 2 years ago,” said Richard Carpenter, Rehmann’s director of public sector industries, “that the minimum wage that was passed and repealed a few years ago was required to go into place. What we're starting to see is those minimum wage adjustments. We saw the first big one in February of 2025. We saw another minimum wage adjustment in January of 2026, and then our next scheduled adjustment is in January of 2027. “And over that course of time, the minimum wage has really gone from about $10 to be settling in at $15 an hour on Jan. 1,” he continued. “And the issue that we want to bring to people's attention is the consideration of what does that look like from a budgetary perspective? “What we're seeing, is community mental health is impacted by this, because there are services that community mental health entities provide in people's homes, whose costs tend to sit right about, or just slightly above, the minimum wage, so as that moves, you know, that cost is going to move as well. “The state has acknowledged that to some extent. There was a total of $351 million in the state budget that was identified for minimum wage. About $70 million of that is related to the January 1st increase that we're anticipating. The question is, is that enough?” 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. Aug 18

    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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  • 8 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
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Podcast 83
  • Show Website
    Podcast 83

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