St. Clair County Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Affairs Millage

The St. Clair County Department of Veterans Affairs (SCCVA) is the county's department of veterans affairs (see the Michigan entry on county departments). Its office is at 200 Grand River Avenue, Suite 104, Port Huron, 810-989-6945, [email protected], open to the public Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m., the Friday afternoon being staff administration. The department says it has served the county's veterans for over 75 years and reaches more than 13,000 veterans and their family members a year. The Director, County Veterans Service Officer and Michigan Veterans Trust Fund agent is Ryan McCann; the accredited service officers are Angela Chumbler, Brandon Green and Heidi Slossar. Who oversees it. The St. Clair County Veterans Affairs Committee, appointed by the Board of Commissioners, administratively oversees the department under 1953 PA 192 (MCL 35.621 to 35.624). Its by-laws, adopted in 2014 and revised August 15, 2019, allow three to seven members, all county residents who served honorably on active duty, one recommended by the congressionally chartered organizations and one independent, and meet on the second Tuesday unless posted otherwise. The 2026 roster in the March 5, 2026 Human Services packet (scans read by OCR on 2026-10-13) lists Michelle Kantz (Navy; term to December 31, 2026), Paul McIvor (Army; to December 30, 2027) as chair, Jim Leslie (Army; to December 31, 2028), Jeremy Watt (Marine Corps; to December 31, 2028) as vice chair, and Commissioner David Rushing as the Board's representative, meeting at 5 p.m. at the Administration Building. The Board fills its own vacancies after a Times Herald notice and department screening: seven veterans applied in March 2026 - Daniel Crocker, David K. Hoffman, William G. Symington, Patricia J. Thompson, Robert M. Vandawaker, Steward A. Wenino and Justin L. Westmiller - and on March 19, 2026 the Board appointed Crocker, a former VFW State Director of Veterans Services and county committee member of 20 years, to the remainder of a four-year term expiring December 31, 2029. A separate three-member County Trust Fund Committee, Robert Durkee (Navy), Nick Lucas (Army) and Ronald Amend (Air Force), hears Michigan Veterans Trust Fund applications at 8:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday (see the Michigan entry on the Trust Fund). The millage. County voters approved a 0.1 mill Veterans Affairs millage at the August 6, 2024 primary for six years, 2024 through 2029, estimated at $756,476 the first year, on Resolution 24-02. It replaced a millage that had expired with the 2022 levy: an earlier Veterans Affairs millage had been renewed on August 2, 2016 for 2017 through 2022 at about $562,824 a year. Headlee rolls the levy under its authorization: the 2026 winter L-4029 requests 0.0998 mills and carries the December 31, 2029 expiration. The 2025 levy brought in $800,459, and the 2026 budget is $839,689. The millage fund pays the department, a veterans burial line and a veteran emergency relief line (each its own entry), and the department's own website. State and private grants. The Board approved the FY2026 County Veteran Service Fund grant of $70,130 on January 8, 2026 and the FY2027 grant of $102,162 on October 1, 2026, both under MCL 35.623a with no local match, deposited in the millage fund; administration moved from the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for FY2027. In October 2026 the department also sought a $10,000 Community Foundation of St. Clair County grant for its Donation and Contribution fund, so that "any veteran with an other than dishonorable discharge in the County" can qualify for aid. What else the office runs. Volunteer drivers take veterans to the VA medical centers in Detroit and Ann Arbor, booked at 810-989-6945; the office runs the annual Veterans Golf Outing that raises the crisis-aid money, the Port Huron Memorial Day parade and the Blue Water Area Fallen Heroes banner programme with the Allied Veterans Council, and keeps a veterans discounts list of local merchants.