MENOMINEE, MICH. – Menominee County, Mich., earned $1 million on $29.3 million in county investment funds in fiscal year 2025, according to the Menominee County Treasurer Annual Report.
County Treasurer Barb Parrett presented the 2025 fiscal-year summary at the Oct. 28 County Board meeting, explaining the county’s goal is to not lose money.
About 36%, or $10.5 million of the county’s total investments, is held in termed funds, such as certificates of deposit and municipal bonds, generating an average annual return of 3.2%, according to the presentation.
About $7.7 million, or 26%, is held in checking accounts paying about 4.1% in interest annually. County roads hold $7.1 million, or 24% of the county’s total investments, generating a 2.4% annual return, followed by $3.9 million in pooled funds generating about 4.3% annually.
Dist. 5 Commissioner Zak Aubert asked if the treasurer’s office had any comparative data on how Menominee County is doing relative to its peers.
County Administrator Jason Carviou said municipalities are somewhat limited in how they can invest the funds. “We all tend to go to the same place. Municipalities invest in CDs, money markets, there are some bonds we can do,” he said.
Parrett explained how the county treasurer’s office assists the townships in collecting delinquent taxes.
In Menominee County, 13 of 16 local governments use the BS&A online system (bsaonline.com) to allow property owners to electronically retrieve data from the annual tax and assessing rolls, Parrett said. More townships are taking online tax payments as well, she said.
“Even if they don’t have a website, they can piggy-back on the county’s website,” she said.
“I’m happy to work with any of the townships that aren’t online.”
Each year in March, unit treasurers from the townships turn over their tax rolls to the county treasurer’s office. The county treasurer uses funds from a Delinquent Tax Revolving Fund to buy unpaid, or delinquent, taxes from the local units, providing them with the funds they’re entitled to collect. The county treasurer’s office then assumes the duty of collecting the delinquent taxes. It charges fees to cover the carrying costs related to the unpaid property taxes, which if uncollectible eventually can lead the county to sell the properties at auction. The process can take years to resolve.
Proceeds from delinquent-tax properties at auction in 2025 totaled $545,500, before losing bids were deducted. Estimated claims of $494,000 are expected to reduce $525,974 from auctioned parcels to a net gain of $31,974, according to the 2025 delinquent property-tax report. The county paid a retroactive $51,065 claim in October, Parrett said, and she expects two more to be resolved in November.
Board members of the Menominee County Board of Road Commissioners are set to receive a 27% raise in salary to $7,000 per year, starting on Jan. 1, 2026, as the county board approved their request for the increase.
The Road commission board chair’s annual stipend rises to $7,500, a 25% increase from the $6,000 received annually since 2021.
The commissioners also receive reimbursement for mileage to attend meetings. For attending conferences, the commissioners will receive $75 per day as a per diem stipend, plus be reimbursed up to $250 a night for hotel accommodations and $50 per day for meals. The county will pay the conference registration fees.
When the last increase took effect on Jan. 1, 2021, the lodging reimbursement for conferences was $80 a night.
During the administrator’s report, Carviou said with the state budget passed, the county’s requests for two grants were approved, including one for $53,946 and another for $349,864, so those funds will be coming. He also noted two townships were late in
The county board approved service agreements for fiscal 2026 with the following organizations: IXL Historical Museum, Disabled American Veterans, Mid County Rescue Squad, Menominee County Historical Society, Northpoint Behavioral Healthcare System and Rainbow House Domestic Abuse Services.
It approved Plutchak Fab LLC’s $29,840 bid for the Menominee Regional Airport Garage Door Modification Project, acting on the Airport Committee’s recommendation.
The board appointed Commissioners Patricia Mueller and Donald Park to the CASA of Menominee/Marinette Board of Directors.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here