Coulter touts business, education, transit investments in state of Oakland Co. address

Farmington Hills — Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter vowed again Thursday to see that 80% of Oakland County residents receive a post-high school degree by 2030, establish a county-wide public transit system and support businesses.

Coulter delivered his fifth State of the County address Thursday evening at the Hawk Community Center, highlighting the county's investments and initiatives to help small businesses, support students in high school and post-secondary education, expand the routes and hours of public transit, and increase access to mental and physical health care.

Coulter touted the county's AAA bond rating, which Oakland has maintained since 1998.

"We’ve had remarkable success on a number of fronts in the past year, from transit to mental health care, affordable housing to sustainability, small business coaching to education and training," Coulter said.

Coulter, the first Democrat in 2020 to be elected county executive, announced his reelection campaign last fall. He was first appointed to the position by the Democratic-controlled County Board of Commissioners.

He credited the board of commissioners for approving initiatives in a bipartisan manner and said, "working across the aisle is how we do business."

County Commissioner and minority caucus chair Michael Spisz agreed.

"That’s one of the things that makes us different from most around the country, which also makes us, one of the reasons why we’re one of the top 10 counties in the country," Spisz said.

Coulter highlighted the Oakland Thrive nonprofit, which has provided consulting services to more than 7,600 local companies in the last two years. He also touted attracting businesses from out-of-state and abroad, referencing a recent trip to South Korea with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

"We were there to help open a new Michigan trade office in Taipei," Coulter said. "And we’re excited to welcome TYC, an automotive lighting supplier from Taiwan that is expanding its operations with a research and development facility in Wixom."

The Economic Development Department drew $387 million in investment last year by helping 20 companies move to or expand within Oakland County, Coulter said.

"The business community both here and abroad recognizes that Oakland County is a prime location for their future, filled with a talented workforce and an attractive quality of life," Coulter said.

Coulter also highlighted investments in education through initiatives like Oakland80, a drive to get 80% of the county's adult population a college or certified training degree by 2030.

"By the way, in just two years, we are getting closer, increasing educational attainment from 61% when we began, to 69% today," Coulter said.

The initiative helps remove barriers to college education or training, Coulter said.

"Student enrollment is one thing, but keeping them there through graduation is the real challenge," Coulter said. "We are the bridge for expenses like books and fees, computers and transportation, child care and even work clothing and equipment."

Coulter announced the hiring of 15 Oakland80 "navigators," who will work with high school students across the county, helping them explore educational opportunities.

The county has invested in affordable housing and public transit, including establishing a $20 million Housing Trust Fund using money from the American Rescue Plan. The fund provides incentives and gap financing for affordable housing developments.

"Projects have already been approved from these funds in Southfield, Royal Oak Township, Pontiac and Rochester Hills, filled with both market-rate and affordable homes that will create inclusive communities filled with the hard-working Michiganians who are looking for attractive and safe places to raise their families," Coulter said. "We just closed last month on a project in Rochester Hills to provide desperately needed housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It’s only the second such development in all of Michigan."

Spisz said he supports the Rochester Hills housing project and that most one-time projects funded by ARPA received bipartisan support.

Coulter also pushed for a countywide public transit system following the adoption of a county-wide transit millage in 2022. The tax generated $64.3 million in revenue for 2023.

"We’re expanding into the job-rich centers of Novi, Wixom, Bloomfield Hills and Rochester Hills, which is happening with the help of the SMART bus system," Coulter said. "And transit is on the move for the folks who live in the outer reaches of Oakland County, who may not have been sure that they would ever benefit from a public transportation system."

Oakland's local transit providers, the North Oakland and Western Oakland Transportation systems, the Older Persons Commission and the People’s Express, have reported double-digit increases in ridership since routes and hours were expanded last year, Coulter said.

Expanding access to affordable and quality health care continues to be a priority, Coulter said, highlighting a county collaboration with the RIP Medical Debt nonprofit to eliminate the medical debt of 80,000 people last year.

The county also plans to open Corktown Health clinic, an LGBTQ+ focused health center, in Hazel Park and an Urgent Care Clinic in Pontiac, Coulter said.

Coulter announced a $20 million investment into creating new public spaces and improving dozens of parks across the county. An additional $5 million will be distributed across 29 senior centers in the county and $61 million to upgrade the county’s public radio safety system, used by police, firefighters and EMTs, Coulter said.

Last spring, Coulter announced a $19.2 million plan to move several county operations back to downtown Pontiac, the traditional seat of Oakland County government. The county plans to demolish the Phoenix Center parking structure, refurbish a former General Motors Corp. building, and eventually move 500 employees to the city, Coulter said. The project was made possible by a $50 million from the state.

"The city has suffered through decades of disinvestment at the hands of government and industry and emergency managers," Coulter said Thursday evening. "That stops now."

The development in Pontiac has not received bipartisan support from the board, Spisz said.

"The project itself is going to be $150 million, we are yet to understand how the rest of those funds are going to be achieved to complete that project," Spisz said. "I’m still waiting for a business plan that shows it’s actually beneficial to the county overall."

After acknowledging the thousands of county employees who help the county's 1.2 million residents, Coulter remembered three employees who lost their lives in 2023: Oakland County Sheriff Deputy Nicholas Dotson, county Commissioner Gary McGillivray and County Health Officer Calandra Green.

Green was killed last spring by her husband before he died by suicide, according to law enforcement. She was an advocate for public health services across the country, especially in communities of color, Coulter said, before announcing a new scholarship fund in her honor at Oakland University.

"Her legacy of helping and connecting with people continues," Coulter said. "I am proud to announce tonight that, working with Oakland University, we’re creating a new scholarship fund in honor of Calandra that will be used to help nursing students at OU, and I intend to be the first donor to that fund."

hmackay@detroitnews.com