County Commissioners Hear Caustic Critiques

By DIANNE ALWARD-BIERY

Cleaver Senior Staff Writer

HARRISON – The Clare County Commissioners have come under some scathing rebuke of late, some of which surfaced at the Sept. 18 BOC meeting. After the motion to approve a stipend for the county clerk and her chief deputy clerk was discussed – which raised some derogatory comments from commissioners – then was denied, Clerk/Register Lori Mott rose to speak as a taxpayer during Public Comment. She had the following to say:

“I’m going to address you as a taxpayer of Clare County and not the clerk,” she said. “And express my utter dissatisfaction of you sending triple our tax dollars to an outside source instead of paying the county clerk to do the job that she’s been doing/that this office has been doing historically for years, that you chose to pay ElectionSource to do that job and couldn’t come to an agreement of a one-time payment for the November election, and then renegotiate in 2025.

“I find that you are very fiscally irresponsible with my tax dollars.”

Then, county employee Kaitlyn LaPorte rose to address the Board regarding staffing dissatisfaction and financial struggles at County. She made the following comments:

“I am currently an employee here, until tomorrow,” she said, explaining that she wanted to state some observations. “In this Board of Commissioners as a whole, I’ve noticed that women it seems are not being paid what they’re worth. I feel like some of the commissioners are making decisions on the employees, making decisions on a lot of things that I just don’t feel like you guys are taking everything into account.

“Not that anyone’s opinion of yourself or your character matters, but if you guys could walk these halls and hear what’s being said about the majority of you and how none of you care about us; how none of you care about our families. Constantly I hear people talk about how they want to leave because they can’t afford to work here and they can’t afford this and that. I am leaving not necessarily because of that. I’m very fortunate that my partner makes a lot of money so I don’t have to worry about that, but if I was a single mother there’s no way I could ever work for this county and make sure my kids are taken care of. In the summer, my two kids that are in day care, I’m negative $57 just to pay day care.

“As a single mother or a single parent, this county used to be [that] everybody wanted to work here. It was so hard to get in here because everybody wanted to work here. And now they’re not able to. If I got divorced or my husband died, I would not be able to work for this county.

“And I love this county. I grew up here, I graduated from here – I’m actually very sad to be leaving. I currently work in the Clerk’s Office; Lori is probably the best boss I’ve ever had. I think things don’t need to be ‘this is how things have always been done so we’re going to keep doing it.’  I think that times are changing.”

And while she was aware the commissioners were not supposed to be part of the day-to-day operations, she said she encouraged them to find out what people do.

“The inner workings of everything – because if you knew everything that she does [indicating Mott], everything that people in other departments do, I don’t believe that if you had good morals that you’d be making these decisions for these people. I just really don’t. I think if you knew the inner workings of everything and kind of how things went – what people were giving up and doing for zero compensation – that you would not be making the decisions you’re making, or the comments.”

LaPorte concluded with one last point.

“I think it’s interesting that I come into these meetings and I listen, or I’m on Zoom, and then I will hear the things that are being said by commissioners versus township meetings and what’s they’re being said in public. I would caution you all as commissioners to remember that the employees of this county hear what you say outside of here, so what you say in here doesn’t matter to us if we hear what you’re actually saying out there. Thank you.”

With that, the meeting was adjourned with a sound rap of the gavel.

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