Keweenaw County residents will get a say on whether the county keeps managing zoning or hands enforcement to individual townships at a public hearing set for Sept. 14.

The Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners scheduled the hearing at its Wednesday, Aug. 19 meeting after County Treasurer Eric Hermanson warned that expiring federal pandemic relief funds are forcing budget cuts that could reshape county services.

"We are faced with cuts for 2027," Hermanson told the board. "(Next year) cannot continue like 2026 because of the ARPA funds drying up to cover that deputy and some additional expenses we have coming."

The county used American Rescue Plan Act dollars to fund a deputy position at the sheriff's office, according to WLUC's reporting. Those funds are running out. Hermanson said the position won't be affordable in 2027 and added that the county's zoning program was originally expected to generate revenue to offset expenses, but that plan never materialized.

The county's zoning ordinance, which dates to 2007, currently covers Grant, Sherman, Houghton and Allouez townships and Ahmeek Village, according to the county's zoning department. Eagle Harbor Township administers its own zoning separately.

If the board votes to drop county-level zoning, those four townships and Ahmeek Village would need to decide individually whether to adopt their own ordinances or go without.

During public comment at the Aug. 19 meeting, Lexi Tater, a Western Upper Peninsula organizer for UP North Advocacy, urged the board to keep zoning protections in place. Tater warned that data center and big tech companies target small municipalities without zoning ordinances. UP North Advocacy has organized community meetings across the U.P. about data center development, including sessions in Sault Ste. Marie, Marquette and Hancock as of January.

Eagle Harbor Township Board Trustee Bryce Holden raised broader fiscal concerns at the same meeting, telling commissioners the sheriff's department budget will need to double within 10 years and that relying on volunteers for medical, fire and search-and-rescue calls is unsustainable.

A location for the Sept. 14 hearing has not been announced. Residents can contact the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners for updates on the venue.