From Washington’s debt to county realities
A conversation with Mark Piotrowski, Saginaw County Board of Commissioners
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Saginaw County Commissioner Mark Piotrowski has spent decades in manufacturing and engineering and now helps govern at the level of government closest to residents’ day-to-day lives. In this interview, Piotrowski talks about why federal debt alarms him, how county budgeting differs from Washington, and how federal and state funding choices ripple down to local services. He also shares an unexpected source of civic wisdom: insights from the sport of curling. He spoke with American Habits Editor Ray Nothstine.
As a county commissioner, you manage budgets with real constraints, unlike the federal government. When you look at the national debt and the rising cost of interest payments, how does that shape your thinking as both a local official and a citizen?
Mark Piotrowski: The level of the national debt is at an obscene level. I’m a relatively smart guy, and I can’t wrap my mind around $38 trillion and how you even manage to pay that back. I read the other day that interest on the debt exceeds $1 trillion. I’m an engineer; I like to think I’m a logical guy. I don’t understand how you can even pay that back.
In the past, you either tried to grow the economy or inflate it away. Neither of those things, at this point, seem very realistic. You read stories where a company is going to invest another $18 billion in the country, and that’s great, but $18 billion compared to $38 trillion is nothing. It’s scary.
From your perspective at the county level, what are some of the federal or state rules on funding decisions that most affect your ability to govern and make decisions?
Piotrowski: I’ll take you back to COVID. The federal government put out something called American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. In Saginaw County’s case, it was about $35 million we could use to fix holes in the budget. We’ve only recently stopped utilizing those funds as the last day of spending was December 2025.
Right or wrong, the county used that money to patch shortfalls in income so we could keep paying the bills and keep the lights on. Some went to capital improvements—HVAC in the county building. Some money went to the city of Saginaw for the medical diamond project, which provides more development space down by our riverfront.
I’ve told our treasurer that we should be looking at cutting 0.5% or 1% in our budget. Because when that money goes away, there’s going to be a real shortfall that impacts people. Our leverage is limited. We end up having to cut positions, and nobody wants to see that, but you have to be proactive. You’ve got to fire a shot across the bow and say, “We have a potential problem.”
By law, we have to balance our budget. What I’ve seen is spending has increased; it’s not really held steady. I don’t know that we can “grow our way” out of the ARPA money. Like any short-term fix, you can become dependent on it. When it goes away, there are consequences, and unfortunately that means people potentially losing jobs.
Counties often end up administering or supporting programs that originate in Washington, even when the state is the formal recipient. How do you think about that flow of dollars and responsibility, especially when rules change or funding declines?
Piotrowski: Here’s a little background. Our county budget has two portions. We can levy taxes or millages that have to be spent on the purpose voters approved. For example, last year we put a tax on ourselves—two millages—to fund roads. That money can only be used for roads.
If you look at our budget it is about $300 million total. About $250 million is tied up in mandatory spending or dedicated millages. About $50 million is everything else: courts, the sheriff’s office, things like that.
From those discretionary funds, we typically plug holes with grants, either state or federal. Michigan finalized the state budget and in parts of that there’s revenue sharing back to counties.
What we’ve seen is grants for the Council on Aging that went away. A sheriff grant was dramatically reduced. Then people are trying to figure out how to plug the holes because we’ve become dependent on a certain level of spending, whether right or wrong.
What are the biggest challenges facing Saginaw County right now, and what can county government realistically do about them?
Piotrowski: Saginaw County kind of mirrors the state. The population is older. That reflects two things.
Historically, this area’s job base was manufacturing, particularly General Motors. I worked 39 years for a company that made car parts. Since the ’80s, a lot of that manufacturing is gone. People who stayed, especially hourly folks, often retired with a fixed income. If you retired years ago and your income is fixed, you feel it when costs rise.
The biggest complaint I get is property taxes going sky high. But the county doesn’t control school millages or local township millages, those are on top of county taxes. There’s a core group of retirees who tell me they’re getting to the point where they can’t afford their house because they’re on fixed income.
When we put the road tax on, two mills are a lot. If you’re an older person who owns a farm, you get a double whammy because you have more taxable property. Most farmers trend older too and there aren’t a lot of younger people getting into it. Those folks feel it.
What gives you optimism about Saginaw County. What’s the bright spot on your radar?
Piotrowski: Corning has built a brand-new plant to make a chip-related product. In Hemlock there’s a company called Hemlock Semiconductor and they’ve been around since the ’60s and make an early precursor for chips. Corning built a plant directly across the street to take that material to the next step.
What amazed me is how fast it happened. In the auto industry, setting up a plant is a three to five-year adventure from planning to scraping dirt to producing parts. Corning scraped dirt in April of last year and made product in January of last year. Something was driving them to be producing by January 2025, and they did it.
At first, the plant was supposed to hire 1,000 people. I believe the goal is now around 1,500. For Saginaw County, that’s a big deal because for a long-time job flow has been out. These are good technical jobs that are needed for this area of the state.
Maybe this question is as important as any, I heard you’re into curling. What attracted you to the sport and what has it taught you about life?
Piotrowski: I’m a newbie, only curling a few years, but my interest goes way back to college.
One thing you learn quickly is that the people involved are generally very friendly. It’s not really “me versus you” even though it’s competitive. If you’re struggling, people offer advice. They try to help you.
The other part is you can throw a stone exactly how you want, and something insignificant—a piece of lint—can get caught on the bottom and make it stop dead. Sweepers can direct it a little, but things happen.
When you throw a bad stone, it’s not “you messed up.” The attitude is: “Okay—on to plan B,” or “I can work with that.” It’s about looking at what’s in front of you and asking, “How can I make something out of this? How do we adjust?”
It’s a team sport, and after the game, both teams usually sit down, share an adult beverage, and talk about the game. It’s all very friendly.
Does your engineering background help?
Piotrowski: I don’t know if it gives me an advantage, but it helps with consistency. Hand position, coming out of the blocks, the release and then it’s timing and how much spin you put on the stone depending on what you’re trying to do.
And the ice changes. Outside sheets play different than middle sheets; walls get frosty; stones do weird things. You try to play to your strengths and stay away from trouble spots.
In life, you can control some things, but some things are out of your hands. If there’s garbage on the ice and it catches the stone, there’s nothing you can do. You adapt. You rely on teammates. Sometimes your sweepers make you look a lot better than you are. That’s true in curling and in life.
