Oakland County Executive, David Coulter, delivered his fifth annual State of the County Address to an in-person audience at The Hawk in Farmington Hills Thursday night. The speech emphasized the theme “Our Strength. Our Purpose. Our People.”
Watch the full address here:
Kicking off the speech, Coulter took time to reflect on wins from the past year and provide updates on other programs that were introduced during the 2023 State of the County Address.
Oakland Saves
In partnership with Michigan Saves, $5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funding was invested to provide eligible residents with an Oakland SAVES (Simple Actions for Valuable Energy Savings) grant. These grants were used to make home renovations, producing savings in energy consumption and utility bills and improving a home’s health, safety and comfort. In less than five days, the $5 million in funding was spoken for and 1,100 people received grants.
Housing
Working with the Board of Commissioners and using federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, a $20 million Housing Trust Fund was established to provide more affordable housing options in the county through incentives and gap financing.
Projects have already been approved from these funds in Southfield, Royal Oak Township, Pontiac and Rochester Hills, filled with both market-rate and affordable homes that will create inclusive communities filled with the hard-working Michiganians who are looking for attractive and safe places to raise their families. And we just closed last month on a project in Rochester Hills to provide desperately needed housing for adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. It’s only the second such development in all of Michigan.
County Executive, Dave Coulter.
Job Growth and Retention
With the help of Oakland County Michigan Works!, 8,500 people have entered the workplace in recent years while more than 6,300 businesses have benefitted from the services we offered, from matching interns and apprenticeships to workplaces to learning the best ways to attract and retain employees.
Oakland80
The county’s transformational effort to ensure that 80% of adult residents have a post-secondary degree or industry-recognized certificate by 2030. Residents with a degree or certificate have gone from 61% when we began to 69% today.
Oakland Thrive
A nonprofit organization that provides support for entrepreneurs and small businesses in Oakland County with a special focus on businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans has connected with more than 7,600 companies.
Business Development
Our Economic Development team has helped 20 companies to either locate or expand here in Oakland County over the last year. Their presence represents $387 million in new investments and more than 3,300 new and retained jobs.
Transit
Coulter also talked about how Oakland County is implementing a countywide public transit system. Thanks to the help of the SMART bus system rides are expanding into areas like Novi, Wixom, Bloomfield Hills and Rochester Hills. And local providers – WOTA, NOTA, Older Person’s Commission and People’s Express – have expanded routes and hours, resulting in double-digit increases in ridership.
Here are a few Health Division initiatives that Coulter introduced during the speech:
- RIP Medical Debt: A program that will wipe out the medical debt for up to 80,000 residents, which will help individuals and families pay off their debt, rehabilitate their credit scores and relieve the stress that comes from worrying about a medical condition and the financial burden that comes along with it.
- Mental Health Investments: In partnership with Corktown Health and other community partners, a 24/7 emergency mental health care clinic will open later this year in Pontiac.
Other initiatives that Dave spoke on included our county seat, Pontiac. The plan to reinvest in the city, in collaboration with Mayor Tim Greimel and the city council, is taking shape. The deteriorating parking deck, Phoenix Center, will be demolished, refurbish a long-vacant building and move at least 500 county employees into the heart of the city.
To promote sustainable and walkable neighborhoods, $2 million of ARPA funds was invested for Micah 6, a community-based organization that is transforming the former Webster Elementary School into a center that will provide much-needed services and a community garden to the neighborhood. In addition, Oakland County is investing $15 million to expand and improve Oakland County Parks.
Because every person deserves clean drinking water, Oakland County is helping communities upgrade their water infrastructure by offering $14 million in grants.
Coulter took time to remember three county employees who are no longer with us. Oakland County Sheriff Deputy Nicholas Dotson from Holly, County Commissioner Gary McGillivray, who both lost battles to cancer late last year, and the tragic loss of Dr. Calandra Green, our county health officer, almost a year ago.
Because Dr. Green was a passionate advocate for public health services across the country, especially in communities of color, Coulter announced that in collaboration with Oakland University, a new scholarship fund has been created in her honor to support nursing students.
To read more about what Oakland County is doing to drive our strength, our purpose, and our people, go to OakGov.com/SOTC.
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