Hackel looks back on new charter’s impact

MACOMB COUNTY — Though the usual “state of” address focuses on events and achievements within the past year, the 2025 State of Macomb County speech celebrated 15 years of having a county executive.

Delivered Dec. 3 at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts by Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, the 15th annual speech focused on how the adoption of the county charter in 2010 allowed Macomb County to transform itself over the following decade and a half.

“We are marking a milestone here in Macomb County,” Hackel said. “Fifteen years ago, the residents of Macomb County voted for a new direction. They asked for fairer leadership and greater accountability, (a direction) that would provide us with the opportunity to act quickly, think long term and speak with a unified voice. This new structure, our structure, has allowed us to challenge ourselves, seize opportunities and plan for the future. And because of that, I believe Macomb County is stronger today than ever. We’re stronger because we have built this movement with everybody.”

These improvements over the past 15 years were attributed as much to the county’s partners as they were to the county itself with the tagline of “Macomb With Everybody” — a play on the “Vs Everybody” clothing line. The results of these partnerships were discussed in terms of economics, protecting its quality of life, infrastructure investment, promoting the county, and prioritizing issues of public safety, health and education.

On the topic of economics, Hackel began by championing the county’s ability to end the $13.5 million budget deficit and fulfill the $260 million retiree health care funding obligations that were outstanding in 2010.

“Working together with the Board of Commissioners, those deficits were immediately resolved and set the tone for sound fiscal management and transparency here in the county,” Hackel said. “Today, we can proudly say that we have delivered balanced budgets every year since, we have fully funded our retiree health care and pension systems, we continue to add to our healthy fund balance, and we maintain a strong AA+ credit rating.”

Hackel’s optimism about the 2010 charter’s role in resolving the county’s woes from the start of the last decade was matched by another veteran of the era, Macomb County Board of Commissioners Chair Joe Sabatini.

“Finances (resonated the most) with me just because I’m an accountant at heart,” Sabatini said after the address. “When I was initially elected a commissioner, what Mark was talking about, we were in dire straits. The economy was going in a different direction, our finances were upside down, we didn’t have pensions funded correctly. You name it, we had a problem. Now we’re sitting on $130 million in our fund balance. I’m proud to say that I was part of that solution, and that did not just happen overnight, obviously. It took a lot of strategic actions and planning … I was here and I’ve seen where it’s gone to today, and it’s literally been a 180 whirlwind to where we’re at today.”

Speaking about the county’s economy, Hackel highlighted its strong ties with the defense and manufacturing industries. While much time was given to showcasing the new F-15EX fighter and KC-46 refueling missions at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Hackel drew significant applause by highlighting that the county now had its strongest production level in 200 years at $56.4 billion. The county’s gross production totaled $33 billion when the 2010 charter went into effect.

Hackel’s remarks related to quality of life in the county dealt with managing natural resources and supporting projects in its communities. Among the projects highlighted were Mount Clemens’ multifaceted downtown and riverfront overhaul project; Macomb Township’s expansion of Broughton Road into a north-south, mixed-used boulevard; Sterling Heights’ ongoing work to convert the Lakeside Mall site into a community; and Utica’s new headquarters for United Shore Professional Baseball League owners General Sports and the LegaSea Aquarium & The Reptarium. The highlighted environmental projects included the Green Macomb tree canopy campaign responsible for 200,000 new trees since 2015, and various efforts to improve the health and quality of waterways like Lake St. Clair and the Clinton River, which make up a $1.7 billion “blue economy.” Hackel also highlighted the revival of Freedom Hill as an event venue, which hosted 31 shows and 161,000 attendees in the past year.

The final points of the address focused on public safety, public health and education. The COMTEC dispatch center, the year-old Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division headquarters, the under-construction Central Intake and Assessment Center of the Macomb County Jail and Macomb County Community Mental Health all received shout-outs from Hackel. Progress at Macomb County Animal Control was given a particular emphasis, with Hackel highlighting the shift from its past as a high-kill-rate facility to one with a 95% “save rate.”

In October, Hackel discussed moving or improving Macomb County Animal Control’s facility. Sabatini said one of the biggest issues facing the county government is the age and maintenance of its buildings.

“Our infrastructure is a challenge for us right now because all of our buildings are 50-plus years old,” Sabatini said. “We have to make investments again into our infrastructure. It’s challenging because when you have a building that’s 50 years old, a lot of the parts don’t exist anymore. The specialists that built that or the boiler operators and specific people (for operations and maintenance), there’s a shortage of those workers … Today when we look at the big picture, what we’re trying to do is work more efficiently and bring that infrastructure closer to our core. It’s a lot easier to manage. We’ve got 2 million square-feet right now of actual real estate that we manage and have to maintain.”

Possible building projects Sabatini discussed included moving the Macomb County Health Department’s southern facilities to the Robert A. Verkulien Building in Clinton Township and consolidating the county’s Mount Clemens footprint, possibly into a single building on the former parking garage site at the 16th Circuit Court. The county has contracted with professional services firm Plante Moran for a space assessment of its facilities.

As far as promoting the county, Hackel praised the “Make Macomb Your Home” brand for bringing outside eyes to the county and showcasing life across its communities.

He also focused on infrastructure investments, including work to improve the county’s roadways and the rehabilitation of the Chapaton Pump Station and canal in St. Clair Shores.