Steve Dougan

For Ingham County Commissioner

Where I stand:

It’s been a tough six years, for sure. It’s been made tougher when the 10 county
commissioners who represent Lansing and East Lansing show time and time again that
they want your taxes and then run roughshod over the issues which impact suburban and
rural Ingham County. You all know I have a six-year history of opposing cuts to the
county sheriff’s staffing levels over many, many votes. Here are some other votes you
may or may not have seen:

Nov. 8, 2005 – I voted against the four-year series of pay increases for county commissioners
(2007-2009). The vote was 12-2 (two absent); the urban commissioners voted for this 9-0.

April 25, 2006 – I voted against the so-called “point of sale” ordinance that imposes mandatory
fees at the time of sale of a home with a well or septic system. This was a cost burden
exclusively on rural homes. The vote was 13-2 (one absent); the urban commissioners voted for
this 10-0.

May 22, 2007 – I voted against the fee increases to the “point of sale” requirements. The vote to
increase fees was approved 9-7; the urban commissioners voted for these fee increases 9-1.

July 17, 2007 – I opposed the controller’s recommendation to add AXA Advisors, on a “no bid”
basis, for county employee deferred comp investments, thus effectively precluding companies
such as Jackson National Life, Wachovia and Edward Jones from even being able to make
proposals. I was out-voted in county services 1-4, then won a “back to the drawing board”
decision the next night at finance committee to force a request for proposals process to give all
companies an opportunity to participate.

Nov. 20, 2007 – I made the motion at county services committee to roll back commissioners’
2009 pay increase from 2 ½% to 0%. It was approved at the 0% level by the full board on Nov.
27, 2007, by a 14-2 vote.

Sept. 24, 2008 – I made a motion at finance committee to reduce the general fund contingency
account from $600,000 to $500,000 for the 2009 budget. It failed in committee. By the 2010
budget, the controller recommended a contingency account at the $500,000 level I had proposed
a year earlier.

Nov. 25, 2008 – I opposed the proposal to expand the board of road commissioners from three
members to five members, effectively taking $15,000 out of annual road maintenance money
each year to put it into salaries for the two new appointees. It was approved by the full board 11-
2 (three absent); the urban commissioners voted for this proposal 7-1.
Dec. 9, 2008 – I opposed the roughly 30% reduction in outbound (collect) telephone calls made
by prisoners at the Ingham County Jail, which resulted in the county voluntarily giving up
$156,000 in annual telephone commissions on prisoner phone calls. This gift to our prisoners
was approved by the full board 12-2 (two absent); it was approved by the urban commissioners
8-0.

Jan. 27, 2009 – I opposed 2% pay raises for 2009 for the six county-wide elected officials (clerk,
drain commissioner, prosecutor, register of deeds, sheriff, treasurer). It was approved by the full
board 12-3 (one absent); the urban commissioners approved the pay raises 9-0.

Sept. 23, 2009 – I made the motion in finance committee to continue operations at Rayner Park,
the only significant out-county park, at a $20,000 annual level. It failed in finance 4-2; the urban
commissioners voted 4-0 against that motion, thereby ending Rayner Park as a county operation.

Feb. 23, 2010 – I opposed the proposal to close a wing of the Ingham County Jail for local
prisoner use, effective Jan. 1, 2011, thereby reducing the number of beds for county inmates
from 475 to 410, or 16%. The board approved the closure of the jail wing by a 9-7 vote; the
urban commissioners voted in favor 8-2.

June 8, 2010 – I opposed the Fair Board’s proposal to allow a beer tent at the Ingham County
Fair. The beer tent was approved by the full board 11-5; the urban commissioners voted in favor
8-2.

July 27, 2010 – I made the motion to reduce the Potter Park Zoo millage renewal from .41 to .39
for the November ballot, roughly a 5% millage rollback. I was out-voted by the board 13-3; the
urban commissioners voted to keep the millage at the higher rate by a 10-0 vote.

This is where I stand. It’s all public record. I hope you stand with me on Nov. 2.

Steve Dougan

Paid for by Citizens for Steve Dougan, 2455 Pine Tree Rd, Holt, MI 48842