Nearly 1 year in, Washtenaw County already behind on climate plan, advocates say - MLive.com

Nearly 1 year in, Washtenaw County already behind on climate plan, advocates say - mlive.com

WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – In late 2022, Washtenaw County leaders put their stamp of approval on a sprawling plan to slash carbon emissions and prepare for the worsening effects of global climate change.

Nearly a year later, officials are already falling behind on that vision, a half-dozen environmental advocates say.

No staff have been hired to move the plan forward. A bevy of initiatives meant to be complete in 2023, from identifying methane capture possibilities to building a database of green energy providers, are behind, the county’s Environmental Council says.

And months ago, officials blew past their own March deadline to present implementation recommendations to elected leaders, who haven’t formally discussed the plan this year.

“We’ve really got about seven years to turn this around. There can be no more urgent priority,” said Lauren Sargent, co-founder of Washtenaw350, a local climate action group. “Yes, there are housing crises, yes there are all kinds of crises, food insecurity, all of these things. And those are only going to get exponentially worse as the impacts of the climate crisis roll down upon us.”

County officials are facing greater calls to act on the so-called Resilient Washtenaw plan, meant to achieve countywide carbon neutrality by 2035, as they craft a four-year budget at the end of this year.

Read more: 5 key takeaways from Washtenaw County’s draft plan to go carbon neutral by 2035

The current recommendation from county administration to the county board of commissioners is to include one year of funding to hire a single staff person, a county “resiliency officer” to create a “resiliency office” and tackle the plan.

That’s a far cry from the three positions recommended by the consultants who created the plan and endorsed by the county Environmental Council, an advisory body that has twice this year formally urged county leaders to make the hires, warning deadlines are slipping by and calling for more urgency.

“There wasn’t any implementation going on because there was no staff,” said Kris Olsson, a member of the council. “We need to see more staffing to implement this plan, and you only need to look as far as the city of Ann Arbor to see why this is so important.”

At least 17 employees staff Ann Arbor’s sustainability office, tackling similar carbon neutrality goals the city set, with the backing of money from a city climate-action tax.

Getting the beginnings of a similar foundation at the county has been the top priority this year, with the understanding that the county’s plan is “very aggressive” and will require moving “quickly and boldly,” said Andrew DeLeeuw, deputy Washtenaw County administrator.

“I think that’s what we’re trying to navigate here, is how to do something that all governments are struggling with — address a problem as large and as complex as climate change but do it with institutions that have traditionally been steady,” he said.

DeLeeuw said he submitted requests to hire the resiliency officer, a program manager and communications coordinator for the climate plan this budget cycle, but only one was recommended for funding because of competing priorities and limited resources.

Officials take adding new positions very seriously as they are expensive and affect the county’s ability to adequately compensate its employees, he said.

The other two jobs are to be held in “pending” status until a review of county positions in 2024, according budget documents.

That proposal has some observers worried.

“What kind of a person do you think you’re going to get for a single-year contract — might not even go beyond that?” asked Ian Robinson, president of the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation, which participated in the development of the climate plan with a particular eye toward uniting the climate action and labor movements. “(You’re) handed this massive plan and told you’re going to be the one responsible for making this happen. It’s already way behind schedule by the time you’re hired.”

A single position will also indicate to potential funders that the county isn’t really committed to putting its plan in motion, said John Mirsky, a member of Ann Arbor’s Energy and Environmental commissions who has advised city staff on sustainability.

“Not only that, it’s going to also be a signal — or a lack of a signal — to residents that the county really isn’t serious about it, and that it’s really not a priority,” he said.

What’s more, there is money available through the federal and state governments through bills like the Inflation Reduction Act and 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill that could juice climate action work, advocates say.

“The county is just kind of letting these potential billions of dollars pass by,” said Elizabeth Ratzloff, a member of the county Environmental Council and co-executive director of the nonprofit Labor Network for Sustainability.

Other communities, like Ypsilanti, where Ratzloff lives, are in some ways looking to the county as a guide as they aim to adapt to increasingly severe weather and transition to more sustainable forms of energy, among other climate-related actions, she said.
Cars travel down a flooded South State Street in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. County drain officials say the area will see increasingly severe storms, with two record-breaking rains in nearly two years, as a result of climate change. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com

“I believe it is the highest priority. It’s going to effect all of us, and already is, in incredibly dramatic ways, and Black and brown, low-income communities are going to continue to be hit the hardest, bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change and also the consequences of our inaction,” Ratzloff said.

Read more: Washtenaw County had 2 record rainstorms in 2 years. More will come, official says

What parts of the climate plan are already in motion? The answer is unclear.

DeLeeuw wasn’t able to provide a point-by-point breakdown ahead of publication, pointing MLive/The Ann Arbor News to the minutes of the Environmental Council, which for most of the year are only available in draft form online.

County facilities staff have worked to move to LED lighting, plan for a transition of the county’s fleet to electric vehicles and ensure major projects, like the expansion of a Saline courthouse, are all-electric, the documents show.

Officials are also planning to spend some federal COVID relief money on installing solar panels on county facilities, completing an energy and sustainability engineering study, and installing some solar car ports at county buildings, according to a county budget memo.

DeLeeuw also said some interns and temporary employees have worked to lay the groundwork for some county programs like a carbon offset market and a climate outreach plan to local municipalities and partners, though none of the initiatives are yet implemented.

The lack of a clear way to see and document progress troubles some observers. It’s key that there’s transparency in what parts of the plan are in the works and, critically, what outcomes they are producing, Mirsky said.

Without it, “there is maybe the sense that a lot of us have … that these plans and these targets don’t really carry any weight, and I really think they need to,” he said.

Ongoing budget talks at the county board may spur greater immediate investment in the climate action work.

One position funded for one year is “simply not enough” and the county won’t be able to live up to its commitments without hiring more staff, Ann Arbor Commissioner Yousef Rabhi said during a Nov. 1 work session, previewing a $400,000 amendment he proposes calling for all three hires to be made.
Rep. Yousef Rabhi speaks to the audience during the grand opening for the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning at the University of Michigan's Turner Senior Resource Center on Saturday, Mar. 5, 2022. Meg Potter | MLive.com

The proposal scored very highly in the budget evaluation process, yet wasn’t included when other low-scoring requests, like a recommendation to hire a labor relations attorney, were, said Rabhi, who also sits on the county Environmental Council.

The attorney hiring request was ultimately withdrawn during the meeting after some county commissioners labeled it “anti-worker,” saying they would not support it.

Most everyone at the board table endorsed the climate plan when it passed, Ann Arbor Commissioner Katie Scott said at the meeting, and none of it will happen without staffing.

“They’re just words unless we do something and get behind it,” she said.

A first reading of the budget was tabled on Nov. 1, with county Administrator Gregory Dill saying he had heard the feedback and would come back with a revised set of recommendations. The board meets next on Nov. 15 and must pass a budget by the end of the year.

In the meantime, many are urging county leaders to act on their climate commitments.

“We can’t just watch this plan go by,” Ratzloff said.

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