ACCOMPLISHMENTS | Betsy Coffia

Betsy voted to save Grand Traverse County taxpayers millions by bonding its pension debt.

Following two suicides at the Grand Traverse County Jail, Betsy pushed for jail reforms that were largely responsible for the hiring of a new firm to provide integrated medical and mental health services at the jail in 2022.

Betsy cast a dissenting vote when fellow Commissioners awarded themselves with 70% raises while county workers were left out of the discussion. She parlayed the resulting public criticism into persuading commissioners to launch a wage and compensation study that resulted in county employees receiving raises of up to 9.5% in 2022.

Betsy's negotiations in her first term yielded the county’s 2020 scientific community survey; she was able to secure funding for it from a county commission that hadn't surveyed its residents in recent memory. This brought vital direct feedback from constituents to the board’s decision making process and is now informing such activities as long term strategic planning on how to spend the $18.2 million allocated to Grand Traverse County thru the American Rescue Plan.

In the case of $18.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds that Grand Traverse County was awarded in 2021, Betsy’s lobbying for robust public engagement led to the appointment of an ARPA advisory committee.

Betsy voted to modernize Grand Traverse County building codes permitting systems.

Betsy brokered a series of meetings between the county sheriff and BIPOC community justice groups resulting in an unanimous vote to buy body cameras and institute anti-bias training for sheriff’s deputies.

Recognizing that Grand Traverse County is experiencing marked growth, Betsy lobbied for more than 3 years for the county to undertake long term strategic planning. In April 2022, the county commission held its first strategic planning session since 2015 and identified housing, mental health and childcare among top priorities.

Betsy was able to work across the aisle to persuade the board to pass a Resolution in Support of a Free Press after a local reporter was assaulted at an anti-mask rally attended by three Republicans on the commission. Betsy worked to advocate for local constituents impacted by auto accidents, and passed a resolution urging the Michigan legislature to amend the Michigan No Fault Auto Insurance Reform Act to raise the reimbursement cap for auto accident victims.

After Republicans resisted Betsy's calls for hazard pay for frontline workers, Betsy coaxed the commission into awarding hazard pay to first responders and, later, overworked Health Department employees.