Oakland County Clerk Bill Bullard Jr. (R, Highland) and Oakland County Commissioner Mattie McKinney Hatchett (D, Pontiac) conudcted a press conference yesterday to answer questions about a resolution, passed unanimously 24-0 by the County Board of Commissioners Wednesday night, concerning birth and death records services in Pontiac.
They also assured the residents of Pontiac that their rights would be protected in the upcoming election, and that vital records services--namely, birth and death records--would be available to them in just as timely a manner and at no additional cost.
The County Commission resolution, co-sponsored by Hatchett and Board Vice-Chair Jeff Matis (R, Rochester Hills) was necessary to allow the County Clerk's office to become the registrar of record for Pontiac for birth and death records in Pontiac hospitals following the termination of the City Clerk by the Emergency Manager last Friday, Oct. 29, and the decision that the City of Pontiac would no longer be providing vital records services.
The County Clerk already keeps birth and death records for the county as a whole, but in six communities who have more than 40,000 residents and one or more hospitals in their jurisdiction, the local city or township clerk is the primary registrar of births and deaths in those hospitals. That means births and deaths at Pontiac hospitals have had no local registrar since last Friday.
The resolution by the County Board is necessary by state law to allow the County Clerk to do for Pontiac what the office already does for 55 other cities, townships and villages in Oakland County.
"The County Clerk's office has been serving the people of Pontiac for 178 years," Bullard said yesterday, "and we will continue to serve them. That will not change."
Hatchett lauded the bi-partisan support for the plan in the County Commission, and the speed in which Bullard moved to bring birth and death records services to residents residents served by Pontiac Hospitals.
"Bill Bullard called me pretty early in the morning," she joked, before outlining the commitment and full attention paid by Bullard and his staff to solving what she termed "a crisis." She especially pointed out the trauma for families going through grief having the additional burden of not being able to obtain a death certificate. "That's a big deal. You need that to get anything done."
The City of Pontiac is still in charge of the election on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Deputy Emergency Manager Joe Sabota is acting as City Clerk, and all precincts will be open and procedures will be followed as in previous elections. Bullard said his office is ready to provide any assistance the city needs to make sure the election runs smoothly and according to the law.
"We will protect the voting rights of the people of Pontiac and the integrity of the ballot," Bullard said. "That is our constitutional duty, and no one should doubt that."
Published: Fri, Nov 4, 2011
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