Washtenaw County, Michigan

Washtenaw County is a in the  of. As of the, the population was 322,895. Its is. The defines the county as part of the.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 723 s (1,871 ), of which, 710 square miles (1,839 km²) of it is land and 13 square miles (33 km²) or 1.74% of it is water.

Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (northwest)
 * (east)
 * (west)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 322,895 people, 125,327 households, and 73,692 families residing in the county. The was 455 people per square mile (176/km²). There were 131,069 housing units at an average density of 185 per square mile (71/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.40%, 12.29% or , 0.36% , 6.30% , 0.04% , 1.04% from , and 2.57% from two or more races. 2.74% of the population were or  of any race. 87.1% spoke, 2.7% and 1.7%  or  as their first language.

By 2005 non-Hispanic whites were 74.5% of the county population; African-Americans 12.2%; Native Americans 0.4%; Asians 7.8%; and Hispanic or Latinos 3.1% of the population.

There were 125,327 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.40% were living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.20% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.10% under the age of 18, 17.10% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 8.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,990, and the median income for a family was $70,393. Males had a median income of $49,304 versus $33,598 for females. The for the county was $27,173. About 5.10% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the, including 8.60% of those under age 18 and 5.80% of those age 65 or over.

In 2006 the population was 344,047.

Cities, villages, and townships
There are also a number of unincorporated communities, such as, , , , , , , , , and.

Also see: Official Washtenaw County website page listing localities

Government
The county government operates the, maintains rural roads, operates the major local courts, keeps files of deeds and mortgages, maintains , administers regulations, and participates with the state in the provision of welfare and other social services. The controls the budget but has only limited authority to make laws or ordinances. In Michigan, most local government functions &mdash; police and fire, building and zoning, tax assessment, street maintenance, etc. &mdash; are the responsibility of individual cities and townships.

Police services and jail controversy
The provision and funding of sheriff's department police services has been a point of conflict in county politics in recent years. Three townships within the county (Augusta, Salem, and Ypsilanti) are suing the county government and the Sheriff over a controversial increase in service fees for police services. Currently local communities pay approximately $90,000 per year for one Deputy Sheriff officer per 36-38 hours of coverage per week, which is projected to double to approximately $180,000 per year in the next few years. County officials claim that the increase is necessary to be fair to county residents in communities that run their own police departments, who have effectively also been paying for patrols in other areas. The townships contend that the county government reneged on an earlier agreement to maintain a higher level of county funding for police services.

In the 2006 election, three (of eleven) incumbent county commissioners were defeated by opponents who campaigned on the police services issue.

The Sheriff, Dan Minzey, is suing the Board of Commissioners, the County, and the County Administrator Bob Guenzel.

Much of this controversy originated from Washtenaw County's desperate need for a larger correctional facility. The "ousted" commissioners were allegedly "doing what was right" for the county by making budget changes. The current county jail system has suffered from overcrowding, which has been managed by reducing some prisoners' sentences and by contracting other counties to house inmates. Raising police contract rates will help pay for the construction of an expanded jail facility. Voters rejected proposals to raise taxes for this purpose in 1998, 2000, and 2005.

Washtenaw County elected officials

 * : Brian L. Mackie (Democrat)
 * : Dan Minzey (Democrat)
 * /: (Democrat)
 * : Catherine McClary (Democrat)
 * : Janis A. Bobrin (Democrat)

The Board of Commissioners has eleven members, elected from single member districts, on a partisan ballot, in November of even-numbered years. The term is two years.

Information as of January 2007

Parks and Recreation
Washtenaw county operates 10 parks, and 1 recreation center. These parks include one with a water sprinkler area for children to splash through, one park with a substantial component, and one golf course. The recreation center has a swimming pool, indoor track, courts, complete set of, a weight room, and several multipurpose rooms.

Washtenaw county is in the process of acquiring land for natural preservation. The program started in and will end in. Eight parcels of land had been purchased as of the. These parcels are of special ecological, recreational, and educational benefits. They are preserved in a natural unimproved state and are open to the public during dayllight hours.