On Oct. 11, the Dickinson County Board of Commissioners voted to send a letter to our state representatives detailing the financial impact from Governor Whitmer’s vetoes.

The results of these vetoes to Dickinson County are devastating. The reduction in funding will necessitate layoffs of essential personnel. Vital services to our residents will be reduced or eliminated. Additional fiscal hardships will also be imposed on our townships, cities and school districts because of these vetoes. Effects on the private sector have yet to be determined.

Dickinson County had $584,750 eliminated from its state allocations. Losses to our residents are as follows:

— Veterans grant, $25,000;

— Child care fund, courts, $25,000;

— Township road patrol, sheriff — $41,000;

— Jail reimbursement, $25,000.

Fifty-one percent of Dickinson County land is state-owned. These vetoes directly affect our townships that already have limited tax revenue. Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, for state-owned land in Dickinson County that have been eliminated are:

— Commercial forest payments, $15,000;

— Department of Natural Resources-owned land, $33,150;

— Tax-reverted properties, $420,000.

The Dickinson County Board of Commissioners has strongly encouraged our all of our state legislators to work together to approve a Secondary Budget Amendment to restore local funding that was vetoed from the state budget.

I respectfully ask our county residents to take action to contact state legislators Sen. Ed McBroom and state Rep. Beau LaFave, along with Gov. Whitmer, to insist that funding be restored to Dickinson County.