By Iron Mountain Daily News Staff

STAMBAUGH TOWNSHIP — Iron County needs a new Friend of the Court.

Jesse Ammerman has submitted his resignation, effective Oct. 13, after about 2 1/2 years in the role, a state-mandated position that assists the court with handling custody, paternity, parenting time and support matters.

Ammerman plans to go into private practice, Iron County Chief Judge Donald Powell told the county board Sept. 19 during a meeting at Pentoga Park to mark the 100th anniversary of its founding.

While he noted it’s a tough time to look for a replacement, given the low unemployment rate and the job requiring a four-year degree, Powell said he’s already had inquiries. The position pays $45,000 a year, county officials said.

The board unanimously authorized moving to fill the position.

The board at the meeting also approved a job description for a building inspector/plan reviewer as this position goes from part-time to full time. It added into the description that the inspector will be required to file quarterly reports.

In other business, the board:

≤ Supported a resolution that rejects “unregulated private monies” being used to fund local elections. While Iron County did not accept such funding, “considering election irregularities across our nation, it is appropriate to implement a new county policy to eliminate any future possibility of private monies being used to skew elections in our county,” the resolution states. It did not detail these irregularities or how the elections were skewed. The resolution directs that county departments submit any proposed donation or grants to the county board for consideration, with the board’s default position being to not accept private money. The board’s vote was unanimous.

≤ Also backed resolutions that urged the state legislature to amend Michigan’s No Fault Auto Insurance Reform Act of 2019 to adjust the cap on catastrophic injury; and updated the county’s Hazard Mitigation Plan.

A special budget workshop will start at 8 a.m. Thursday.

The next regular board meeting will be 4 p.m. Oct. 11. The county courthouse will be closed Oct. 10 in observance of Columbus Day.