By Chad Selweski, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

As it prepares to wrap up its six months of work, the Macomb County Charter Commission has remained 70 percent under budget.

The latest balance sheet presented to the 26-member Charter Commission shows they have spent just $149,000 since forming last December. Assistance provided by the Macomb County Clerk's Office has amounted to $9,700. That compares with an overall budget of $533,000.

The largest expense for the 26-member panel is legal services, at $70,000. When the Charter Commission chose to hire two law firms and two legal consultants, some critics viewed it as the first step toward runaway spending by the panel.

In reality, legal expenses are running 64 percent below budget. Charter Commission Executive Director Ralph "Skip" Maccarone said more legal bills are in the pipeline, but the total cost should remain well below the $160,000 cap on the attorneys' contracts.

When the budget for the panel was first debated last year by the Board of Commissioners, some commissioners said the group could never stay within the spending limits proposed. Those criticisms came after the Charter Commission budget was trimmed by requiring the panel to take a frugal approach, using county equipment, employees and office space to limit costs.

The budget called for $50-per-meeting payments for the 26 charter commissioners but three of them — Rick Flynn of Sterling Heights, Donna Cangemi of Sterling Heights and Gary Anthony of Bruce Township — have declined the "per diem" pay. Some other charter commissioners are donating their per diems to charitable organizations.

With three meetings remaining, the overall pay stands at $46,000, 57 percent less than anticipated.

Most of the Clerk's Office expenses amount to overtime pay for employees who are assisting with the evening meetings held by the Charter Commission.

About $1,900 has been incurred to cover expenses for the Charter Commission Web site, which offers detailed written material, digital audio recordings of commission meetings, and live video streaming of the sessions.

It appears the Web site is becoming the new standard, with some county officials calling for the Board of Commissioners to provide the public with an identical format.

The only Charter Commission staffers are Maccarone, who is paid $1,000 per week on a contractual basis, and Edie Switalski, a part-time secretary who is paid $20 per hour.

They work out of a bare-bones office in the old County Building in downtown Mount Clemens.

In contrast, the only Michigan county that has drafted and adopted a charter, Wayne County, began the process by relying on 12 staff members. The Wayne County Charter Commission was supplied with a $2 million budget in 1981. Though the commission did not spend all of the funds, Maccarone points out that an identical budget today, adjusted for inflation, would amount to $5.5 million.

In addition, the Wayne County document later suffered through numerous court challenges.

"When it comes to the Wayne County charter," Maccarone said, "we've kind of viewed it as a 'how not to' approach to writing a charter document."