By JOHN EBY
Dowagiac Daily News

CASSOPOLIS – It was supposed to be a housekeeping item to clarify a motion passed June 17 changing criminal investigator Scott Wellman of Calvin Township to full-time status in the Prosecutor’s Office for the three-month balance of the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

Revoting provided an opening to rekindle discussion.

Commissioner Debbie Johnson, D-Niles, moved to approve the part-time special investigator position for an additional 24 hours per week from July 1 to Sept. 30, since cost of these additional hours can be reimbursed up to 66 percent from the child support grant, leaving 33 percent to be paid from Prosecutor Victor Fitz’s current general fund budget.

Commissioner Robert Wagel, R-Wayne Township, commented he “had a few problems” with the proposal.

“The difficulty I have is it’s like switching horses in midstream. We only have three months to go. Maybe we shouldn’t be adding to a halftime employee and taking away from the sheriff. For the next budget year we’re going to be $136,000 short on property tax. Then lo and behold today, in the Dowagiac Daily News, and I’m aware of this because I was in Lansing last Thursday, the governor is saying there’s going to be a $560 million shortfall next year because the federal government did not pass legislation. All states are getting cut … It’s really going to affect us in the future and I don’t want the sheriff coming to us next meeting needing 24 hours. When Pat Fetherston died we didn’t replace him, so Animal Control is one short. Besides that, our jails are full anyway.”

Sheriff Joseph Underwood, who felt “blindsided” by Wagel’s remarks, said, “No, I will not be coming to the board asking for additional hours.”

Fitz said, “The bottom line is this will cost the county $3,000 that will come out of my existing budget. Last week, after the meeting, in response to some of your thoughts and concerns that were brought up, we sat down with the administration and went through our budget with a fine-tooth comb.

“Two really positive things came out of that. Originally, we expected it to be about $8,000. Turns out it’s only $6,090. Commissioner Wagel, you know I’ve got the greatest respect for you, but our jail is not full. Robust, but not entirely full. And the focus on this is not putting people in jail.

“As I said (June 17), you’ve got 41 percent of kids in this nation born into unmarried situations. Many, no father is identified, so taxpayers pay  hundreds of thousands of dollars every year for their upkeep. What we do with this position is, in a positive fashion, we contact the mother and she tells us who she feels the father is.

“We then contact the father to come in voluntarily for a DNA test. If he’s established as the father, he begins paying child support, which reimburses our taxpayers. This $3,000 is really a drop in the bucket for the amount of money returned. This gives us a three-month window to see if those numbers will increase as indicated. If they don’t, I’ll be back. But I think we’ll find the opposite,” Fitz said.

“I agree with this motion and I’m going to support it,” Johnson said. “Being a parent who depends on child support. It would be very hard to make ends meet. Usually, once a father or mother starts paying child support, then they want to have a relationship with that child. They figure if they’re going to pay for it, they might as well be part of that child’s life. Down the road, they figure out they really wanted to be part of it anyway. It’s very valuable to have this person (Wellman) out there because a mother or father can’t go out on their own and start tracking people down and contact Friend of the Court to get this situated. It’s a win-win for everybody – for the child, for the other parent. As Victor said, it’s not coming out of the general fund, but from money that’s already in his budget. We’ve got three months to see how this pans out. I say we give it a chance.”

Added Commissioner Bill Steele, D-Calvin Township, “If the state’s willing to put up that kind of money, they think there’s some progress to be had also. If it helps one child find a parent, it will be well worth it for the kind of money we’re talking about.”