9/17/13 - The County Board of Commissioners made policy changes to accommodate a new financial system last night, but two board members were against the changes. The county government's various departments are currently adopting the Enterprise Resource Planning system for their finances. Proponents, including Commission Chairwoman Carol Griffith, say the new system will eliminate redundancies, save the county money, and allow the departments to work together more closely. She also says the changes are due since the county's financial system has not been updated in about 15 years. The changes approved last night include an increase in the size of the grants department heads can apply for without approval from the county commission from $10,000 to $25,000. Department heads will also be allowed to move funding from one line item of their budget to another if necessary as long as the bottom line of the budget remains the same. Two commissioners, Dave Domas and Don Parker, voted against the changes. Domas tells WHMI the changes take power away from the elected board and put it in the hands of unelected officials. He says this reduces the ability of the board to provide financial oversight and makes it easier for department heads to potentially abuse their power. The majority of the board was in favor of the new policies and approved them. (TD)
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