By Karen Gould

George and Jo Ford, who founded Mackinac Animal Aid Association

MAAA), are resigning from the organization, but it will continue under new leadership. After locking horns with Mackinac County commissioners over the recent hire of an animal control officer for the county, the Fords say the county board's lack of regard for two other shelter workers last week has sparked their decision to walk away. At issue for those workers was the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) demand that the county pay its shelter assistants as county employees, rather than contracted workers, after one former shelter worker complained to the IRS.

Mrs. Ford, the secretary and treasurer of MAAA, said she will step down Sunday, February 28, but will help train a new treasurer. Her husband, George, the group's president, also is leaving the nonprofit organization, which cares for and seeks homes for animals at the county shelter after the 10-day limit the county has set. The group is in the process of filling the board seats, said Andy Valentine, who will step in as interim president durTurn ing the transition.

"My decision is well thought out and, after last night's meeting, the outcome was inevitable," wrote Mrs. Ford in a February 5 e-mail to some supporters, including one county commissioner.

Mrs. Ford attended a February 4 committee-of-the-whole meeting, offering no comments during the meeting when commissioners reviewed four applications they received for two part-time positions at the animal shelter.

At the meeting, commissioners said they would interview Vickie Patson and Donna DesJardins, both of St. Ignace and both now working at the shelter as independent contractors. Two other St. Ignace residents also applied for the jobs . The two interviews will be held Tuesday, February 16, beginning at 6 p.m. and will be open to the public. Commissioners are likely to vote on filling the positions at their regular meeting Thursday, February 25.

Ms. DesJardins is a MAAA board member.

Commissioner Carl Frazier was the only commissioner absent from the February 4 committee meeting, at which county board members may deliberate issues but may not take formal action.

Commissioners began reorganizing operations at the shelter last year on the advice of their attorneys and the IRS. In August, the county and MAAA had received a letter from the IRS requiring both to pay employment taxes on wages paid to former shelter worker Michele Pemble. Both MAAA and the county had paid Ms. Pemble to work at the shelter as an independent contractor, so they did not withhold taxes.

To meet the requirements, in January, the commission hired Ginger Valentine as manager and Lorie Thompson as animal control officer, and made them county employees instead of independent contractors. It is now in the process of making the two assistants at the shelter bona fide county employees and has been advertising for the positions as required by county policy.

If commissioners offer Ms. Patson and Ms. DesJardins the jobs, they would become county employees and their wages would be based on the county pay scale. Currently, the women each work about 24 hours a week and are paid $8 per hour.

Mrs. Ford told The St. Ignace News Monday, February 8, her resignation from MAAA was triggered by what she considers the county's lack of regard for the shelter employees. Before the meeting, they had asked to be put on the county payroll, and when their request was not granted at the county clerk's office, they said they would take the matter to the IRS. County Clerk Mary Kay Tamlyn told The St. Ignace News she has no authority to put someone on the county payroll without approval of the commission. Following the commission meeting Thursday night, Mrs. Ford said she learned that if the two women filed the tax request form, commissioners could consider them contentious and might not hire them.

"That's what prompted it," said Mrs. Ford of her resignation. "They broke a state law, they ignored a federal ruling, they just continuously get away with that stuff."

Also, Mrs. Ford said, a special meeting that the commission promised to set up to get this and other issues resolved still has not been scheduled. Mrs. Ford had brought her concerns about the hire of an uncertified animal control officer to the commission January 28, and commissioners agreed then to set up a special meeting.

"They absolutely kept putting up brick walls for me and I kept hitting them and I just got black and blue and decided to quit," she said Monday, although she plans to continue attending commission meetings.

The Fords started MAAA six years ago. In December 2008, county commissioners recognized the Fords and MAAA for their work in reducing the number of animals roaming freely around the county, lowering costs, and increasing pet licenses.

"I really hope that it continues to be the success that it has been," said Mrs. Ford of MAAA. "Otherwise, the animals are the ones who will pay for it."

Mrs. Ford's e-mail resignation last week suggested the future of MAAA could be in jeopardy.

"I will return all donations, pay bills accrued through February, and send a letter of explanation to the many dedicated supporters," wrote Mrs. Ford. "If no one takes my position by March 31, 2010, then I will start the dissolution process as required by law."

Now, as acting president of the group, Mr. Valentine said Monday, February 8, he is trying to get a board meeting together to fill the spots vacated by the Fords.

"George and JoAnn, all the work that they've done from the beginning of MAAA up until now, will be sorely missed," said Mr. Valentine. "They are both a tremendous asset to Mackinac Animal Aid."

The group is moving forward and will continue its annual fundraising efforts and to seek donations, he said. A Valentine's Day bake sale is scheduled for Sunday, February 14, at Glens Markets in St. Ignace.

"It's all about the animals, to keep them there until they are adopted," said Mr. Valentine. "That's what it's all about."

Mrs. Ford has expressed her disagreement with the board's decision to hire Ms. Thompson, who at that time was not certified as an animal control officer. Board members assured her January 28 they had verified the legality of the hire with their attorney, and the sheriff's office was handling emergency animal control calls instead of Mrs. Thompson until she became certified by the state. Since then, the Michigan Department of Agriculture has reported that Mrs. Thompson has met state requirements for certification.

During the January 28 county commission meeting, Mrs. Ford asked commissioners to visit the shelter with her and create an inventory of county property and items owned by MAAA that are used there. She shared her concerns that having Mrs. Thompson, who is a member of the Friends of the Animals, another animal care group, working there would force MAAA out of the shelter. The two groups don't get along. Friends of the Animals volunteered at the shelter prior to the formation of MAAA.

The county says its obligation is to provide care for stray, abandoned, or neglected animals and to give owners of recovered animals an opportunity to reclaim them. Under county ordinance, animals are euthanized if not claimed within 10 days.

In essence, the county is sharing its manager and the building with MAAA, whose mission is to rescue animals remaining after 10 days, raise funds for continued feeding and care while they remain at the shelter, and then find new homes for them, so they do not have to be killed. MAAA handles the adoption services at the shelter,, and through donations, pays the medical bills for shelter animals and pays to spay and neuter them.

Currently, there is no written agreement between MAAA and the county.

MAAA board members include Mr. Valentine, Donna DesJardins, Heidi Sposito, Kristine McDonald, Diane Huskey, and Keith Frosland.

Making the shelter employees and animal control officer county employees will increase the cost to operate the shelter. The county's 2010 budget for shelter operations is $113,872.

Commission Chair Dawn Nelson told The St. Ignace News Friday, February 5, the county board likely will discuss shelter operations at its next meeting Wednesday, February 10, at 4 p.m.