Kalamazoo County commissioners reviewed a plan to launch childcare millage funding by January, including a public application process for a 13-member task force.
The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners reviewed a proposed implementation framework for the county’s recently passed childcare millage during its August 18 meeting, working through governance structure, initial staffing and accountability measures before a formal resolution comes back to the board.
Health Director Deb Lenz told commissioners the millage language established the county’s Health and Community Services department as the administrative home for the funding but left governance and implementation structure to the board’s discretion. Lenz was joined by the department’s new Deputy Health Officer, Lauren Smith-Lewandowski, who previously worked in Calhoun County’s health department for seven years.
A two-phase governance structure
Staff proposed a two-phase approach. A temporary Community Implementation Task Force would operate for roughly six months, finalizing the millage’s implementation plan, informing budget decisions and drafting bylaws for a permanent successor body. That successor, a standing Childcare Advisory Council, would then recommend priority investment areas and help shape the county’s funding application process going forward. Staff emphasized that both bodies would make recommendations only and final authority over millage spending remains with the county board.
After discussion, commissioners reached consensus on a 13-member task force: 10 community members with childcare-sector or lived experience, plus three commissioners. Applications will be posted publicly for the county’s standard 30-day window. Commissioner Tami Rey and Chair Jen Strebs both pushed for commissioners to be seated on the task force directly, rather than reviewing and approving staff-selected applicants after the fact, a change staff agreed to incorporate.
Initial staffing and funding
The county’s initial staffing plan is intentionally lean: a Childcare Millage Supervisor to manage contracts and provider relationships, and a Community Health Worker to build connections between families and childcare providers. Staff said the supervisor position would be funded through the general fund for a partial year, from late September through January, at a salary in the $70,000 range, before shifting to millage revenue once collections begin. Commissioner Monteze Morales asked staff to ensure the position’s job description more heavily emphasized relationship-building work alongside its data and contract-compliance duties.
Accountability and reporting
Staff proposed contracting with an external evaluator — through a formal request-for-proposals process — to establish baseline data and track outcomes over the life of the millage, alongside quarterly financial reporting and a public-facing performance dashboard. Commissioners discussed possible metrics, including workforce participation among parents gaining access to childcare, and raised questions about how to coordinate data with existing initiatives like the Kalamazoo Promise. Vice Chair Pro Tem Jeff Heppler noted that several outlying communities, including Gobles, Galesburg, Augusta, Scotts and Vicksburg, don’t have access to a Promise-style program and cautioned against measuring success using city-centric data alone.
Commissioners leaned toward quarterly written reports to the full board, with the three commissioners serving on the task force providing more frequent informal updates. Commissioner John Gisler said he supports childcare access as a concept but had questioned the need for a new millage given the county’s roughly $325 million overall budget; he did not oppose the framework presented Monday.
Related action
Later in the meeting, the board voted 9-0 to approve new position creations within the maternal health division, with Vice Chair John Taylor confirming the funding is expected to be reimbursed by millage revenue once collection begins next year.
