Below are the 2022 Annual Reports from Calhoun County Offices. Please click the name of a department to explore its accomplishments and numbers at a glance from last year.
Communications  |  Broadband Task Force
Community Development  |  Senior Services  |  Solid Waste and Recycling
Consolidated Dispatch Authority
Sheriff's Office

BUILDING A BETTER COMMUNITY - 
Successes

• Managed the outreach regarding the 911 dispatch millage, including direct mail, live streamed Q&A, and social campaign, which was passed.
• Managed logo and name redesign and communications for the Calhoun County Youth Center, including designing business cards, presentations, and promotional campaign.
• Managed the Broadband Task Force, see 2022 Broadband Task Force Annual Report for highlights from that initiative.
• Began sending press releases on behalf of the Calhoun County Road Department, Dispatch, Land Bank, and the Calhoun County Clerk and Register of Deeds— new departments for Communications to provide support for.
• Partnered with HR to send redesigned internal newsletter to employees via Constant Contact, which increased the design and resource opportunities in the monthly email.

THROUGH RESPONSIVE LEADERSHIP - 
Obstacles

• Managed the successful implementation of a new agenda and meeting production software, which vastly expanded our agenda software’s capabilities, solving problems related to live streaming, electronic voting during meetings, and departments inputting items on agendas
• Assisted with emergency events for Calhoun County Government departments, including for the Sheriff’s Office. XX press releases were sent for the Sheriff’s Office, which are typically immediate needs to get information out to the public
• Due to confusion about which local apparel vendor to use, the Communications Office led the RFI/Qualified Vendor process for which local apparel vendors county departments should use, ensuring vendors have appropriate brand assets

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT/PUBLIC OUTREACH

• Created and applied decals and managed basic promotion of County’s initiative to offer period products in all women’s restrooms
• Designed billboard for Treasurer’s Office regarding initiative that ARPA funds impacted, and a direct mail for the hardship extension application (which is directly related to the Treasurer’s ARPA project)
• Developed printed annual reports for Sheriff’s Office (16-page) and Road Department (44-page)
• Assisted with Blufish development of Public Health Department logo
• Assisted with promotion of name announcement and event for new Albion park, Ménwabek Meadow Park
• Assisted with and sent communications for the countywide Joint Operations Center
• Pitched story to Second Wave about multi-county department effort related to tire removal on foreclosed property
• Developed Instagram account for CCSO to reach younger audiences during recruitment efforts
• Managed communications for launch of new emergency text notification platform, Rave Alerts
• Captured partnership between Youth Center and Youth Arts Alliance, which provided Youth Center residents an opportunity to create mosaics
• Branded and oversaw display screen on the first floor of the County Building
• Designed emergency management logo and assisted Emergency Manager with communications goals related to emergency preparedness
• Designed print park guide, as well as branded flyers for each park
• Designed Domestic Violence Intervention Court brochure to communicate objectives of the program
• Redesigned elections website to meet goals of the department and better organize information on the site
• Assisted departments with communication plans for projects such as recycling mobile trailer, recycling events and promotion, landfill changes, disc golf additional 9 holes, Project Green Lights
• Assisted every department with any website changes needed
  
  

Presentations developed for other departments/initiatives:

• State of the Community w/ other cities in Calhoun County
• County overview for Marshall and Battle Creek Rotaries
• Detectives case overview for nationwide conference
• Youth Center construction overview for Battle Creek Rotary
• Winter weather preparedness presentation for Emergency Management
• Broadband initiative overview for statewide conference (presented by Comms staff)
• Broadband overview for townships for Local Government Leaders Forum (presented by Comms staff)

INTERDEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION

• Assisted with JEDI Committee, Lunch and Learn Subcommittee, and United Way Workplace Campaign events and efforts
• Assisted Administration and Veterans effort to light county buildings in green to recognize Veterans Day and services available to veterans

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

BUILDING A BETTER COMMUNITY - 
Successes

• Results from the broadband survey conducted by Merit were shared with the community.
• The county engaged CTC Technology and Energy to assist with feasibility and cost study for a county-wide solution.
• Telecom lawyer Mike Watza, from Kitch Law Firm was brought on to advise the Task Force and staff on the Broadband Initiative. He also advocated for the County’s rights and interests regarding State and Federal legislation.
• Every other Monday meetings were set with the broadband executive team, Mac McCullough, Kitch Law Firm, CTC, and staff.
• Staff was in discussions with the Michigan High Speed Internet Office, Connected Michigan, the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, as well as the Michigan Association of Counties to further the County’s initiative.
• Staff worked with the Merit Broadband Data Collection Workgroup on the broadband availability challenge for FCC map data.
  
  

THROUGH RESPONSIVE LEADERSHIP - 
Obstacles

• By referring back to the Task Force’s identified strategic goals—accessibility, affordability, adoption, and digital literacy—County had ongoing conversations about how to best engage with Internet Service Providers to increase service in Calhoun County. The outcomes of that discussion are reflected in the recommendations in the CTC report, which will be presented to the Task Force in January 2023.
• The deadline for submitting location challenges and availability challenges was an obstacle in 2022. Staff worked with GIS Manager, Brent Thelen and Merit to be able to submit in the timely manner.
  
  

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT/PUBLIC OUTREACH

• Lucy Blair and Lynn Meikle presented at the Merit Broadband Summit.
• Lucy Blair presented on the Broadband Initiative at the Local Government Leaders Forum held in December.
• The Broadband Task Force encouraged county residents to participate in the process to review national Internet maps and challenge information about their individual coverage with an educational campaign.
• Results from the broadband survey conducted by Merit were shared with the community.
• Broadband informational emails were sent regarding Task Force updates and how municipalities can engage in broadband process, to keep stakeholders informed.
  
  

PROJECTS

• Merit Broadband Survey
• Feasibility and Cost Analysis Report, which included conversations with ISPs, utility companies, local municipalities, and ongoing discussion of county capacity
• FCC Map Challenge educational campaign
  
  

2022 BROADBAND TASK FORCE

Michael “Mac” McCullough, Task Force Chair	Willard Library
Angela Stewart	Battle Creek Community Foundation
Kathy Szenda Wilson	BC Pulse
Jim Haadsma	Michigan House of Representatives
Lee Adams	W.E. Upjohn Institute
Dr. Paul Watson	Kellogg Community College
Gary Tompkins	Calhoun County Commissioner
Jake Smith	Calhoun County Commissioner
Lorie Upright	Calhoun County ISD
Art Kale	Village of Homer
Ben Tenney	Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi
Stacy Wines	CareWell Services
Ray Barclay	Albion College
Paul Egnatuk	Michigan House of Representatives
Jeff Albaugh	Marshall Township
Shadi Makahleh	City of Battle Creek
Mike Nofs	City of Battle Creek

 

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE

 

INTERDEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION

• Communications staff worked with GIS to submit location challenges of the FCC Broadband Data Maps.
• Staff from IT, Roads, and GIS were brought onto the task force to assist with internal coordination as projects are identified for this initiative.

The Community Development Office is made up of six departments—Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Parks and Recreation, Planning and Economic Development, Recycling and Solid Waste, Senior Services, and Veterans Affairs.  Our departments are unique because we don’t serve from the office; rather, we are out in the communities of Calhoun County sharing information, assisting with local initiatives, and interacting with the public in ways that foster community pride. The Community Development 2022 Annual Report highlights the excellent work accomplished in 2022. Read full report here.

2022 was a busy year for the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority. Internally, technology upgrades allowed us to increase efficiencies in hiring, scheduling, training, and document management. We worked collaboratively with the County and emergency management to deploy the latest emergency alerting technology, utilizing Rave Alerts. In August, voters approved a 911 millage which will stabilize funding for 911 operations and allowed for a historic $17 million investment for radios and radio infrastructure. Learn more on the 2022 Consolidated Dispatch Authority Annual Report. Read full report here.

In 2020, voters renewed the Calhoun County Senior Millage for an additional ten years. Calhoun County Senior Services administers Senior Millage tax dollars funding 21 programs through 9 trusted, non-profit community organizations. Staff provide certified Medicare counseling, information and referral, program development and plan special events for older adults. In 2022, Senior Services spent $4.1 million and served 6,760 seniors through 21 Millage-funded programs, thus fully recovering from decreases in persons served in 2020 and 2021. More people were served in 2022 than in 2019, which is a great sign of reaching more people than pre-pandemic. Learn more on the 2022 Senior Services Annual Report. Read full report here.

2022 was a tremendous year. The Sheriff's Office accomplished so many things from retention and recruitment to numerous equipment updates and long-term strategic planning. Learn more about staff retirees and awards as well as relevant statistics from each division in the 2022 Annual Report. Read full report here.

After being closed most of the pandemic, 2022 was a year of rebuilding the flow of material into the Marshall Recycling Center. As the year progressed , recyclers returned to the center, and new recyclers arrived in November and December after the closure of the GFL material recovery facility in Battle Creek. Calhoun County offered 4 household hazardous waste (HHW) collections. These events moved to weekday afternoons and new locations in 2022. Recycling material was collected at the new recycling center trailer locations in September. Pilot locations for this program are Athens Township and Tekonsha Township, and during our first four months, 167 visits were made to our new recycling trailer. Learn more on the 2022 Solid Waste and Recycling Annual Report. Read full report here.