LANSING – State Representatives Andy Coulouris (D-Saginaw) and Kathy Angerer (D-Dundee) today announced that they have called on Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land to provide a full accounting of the process used in determining which Secretary of State branch office locations to close. Planned closures announced in June include offices in Buena VistaCharterTownship in SaginawCounty and Milan in MonroeCounty.
"By closing the Buena VistaTownship branch, Secretary of StateLand is sending the message that she does not care about providing our community with fair and equal access to the most basic state services," Coulouris said. "The Secretary of State closed the City of Saginaw's branch office more than five years ago, and this planned closure in Buena Vista would mean that an urban population largely comprised of those living at or near the poverty line would be forced to travel greater distances. Under this plan, branch offices will be open for suburban communities where, ironically, availability of Web-based access to services is highest. I call on the Secretary of State to reverse this poorly planned decision."
More than 200 people rallied this week at the Buena VistaCommunity Center to call on Land to reverse her decision to transfer resources from the Buena Vista branch to the SaginawTownship branch.
Coulouris and Angerer have sent a request to State Representative George Cushingberry (D-Detroit), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, to convene a meeting of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Investigations and conduct a hearing to have Land account for her decision.
Angerer called on the Secretary of State to reconsider her decision to close the Milan office, which is strategically located to serve residents from Wayne, Washtenaw, Monroe and Lenawee counties.
"Secretary of State branch offices provide important services in our communities," Angerer said. "I am hopeful a public meeting will help to reconcile SecretaryLand's decision to close the Milan office with data her office provided that suggests doing so would be a disservice to area residents."