Sabatini becomes county board chair

MOUNT CLEMENS — The Macomb County Board of Commissioners voted on Jan. 9 to appoint Joe Sabatini, R-District 4, as its new chair in a unanimous vote.

“I’m very thankful of my fellow commissioners and their trust and support to put me in the position,” Sabatini said. “I’m looking forward to working with all the countywide officials in a new way. We’re progressing here, we’ve had meetings all week, so it’s been a busy January to say the least.”

Originally elected to the board in 2010 for a tenure that lasted until 2016, voters in the Macomb Township District 4 elected him back to the board in November 2020. Sabatini was reelected in 2022 and 2024, and is now serving a term that will last until 2028. Sabatini has been serving as the Finance/Audit/Budget Committee chair, a role that had him managing the county budget.

Sabatini’s road to becoming chair began when former Chair Don Brown, R-District 1, resigned on Dec. 12, 2024, to work in the Macomb County Public Works Office. From there, Sabatini began working with commissioners to become the board’s leader.

“It starts with conversations with commissioners and working through what their concerns are and what they want to see from a chair,” Sabatini said. “Making yourself available to them and listening to them and seeing what their issues are and goals are and all those types of matters to secure their vote and trust in you leading the board.”

Sabatini says commissioners wanted someone with financial experience, especially ahead of the county’s anticipated hiring of a new financial director in the near future. The ability to manage the board’s staff on a day-to-day basis was another point commissioners wished to see in the next chair.

“Our staff supports 13 commissioners, so we’ve got a limited staff, but they do a great job,” Sabatini said. “There’s a lot of moving parts with their positions, so we want to make sure that our well-oiled machine is working in that manner. I’m big on process, I’m big on procedures. We’ll have some fine-tuning to do things that I think are important that will support the commissioners and make sure they get what they need from our staff.  But for what we do with the staff as large as we have, for the county the size that we are, is pretty remarkable in comparison to our neighboring communities.”

The third major point Sabatini heard from commissioners was that they wanted someone who would be available to help at any time as their new chair.

“It’s a 24/7-type scenario,” Sabatini said. “We don’t just work 9-5. It is calls on Saturdays, it’s calls on Sundays, it’s late nights. It’s whatever they need to be successful in their position, and I’m on their team to make sure they have all the tools in place to be successful and they can do what they need to support their community.”

Along with the unanimous support from trustees, Sabatini’s appointment as chair has found support from his district’s leadership as well.

“Joe has a track record of being a strong advocate for fiscal responsibility, but at the same time has shown the ability to work with people who have differing opinions,” Frank Viviano, Macomb Township supervisor, said via email. “I think he has shown he has the skills needed to keep our County Board moving in a positive direction.”

Brown, the man whose resignation cleared the way for Sabatini’s ascension, praised his successor’s appointment.

“Joe will be (an) outstanding Chairman, working with all the county commissioners and countywide officials to ensure the taxpayer interests are protected and the county remains in outstanding financial condition as they move our county forward,” Brown said.

Sabatini himself had high praise for Brown, both as his predecessor and as a mentor.

“I’ve been lucky to serve with so many experienced people that have helped me, and certainly Commissioner Brown,” Sabatini said. “(Brown) was the first person that called me when I got elected years ago. He’s mentored me over the years and I couldn’t have picked a better mentor than someone who’s been on the board for 30-plus years. We joke all the time about how Don came with the furniture, but speaking frankly, he was there before the building was even built. I’ve always had someone like that I could lean on and get good advice from … I’ve had a great pool of people that I’ve learned from and I couldn’t be any luckier.”

With a new chair selected — along with the reelections of Vice Chair Harold Haugh, D-District 10, and Sylvia Grot, R-District 3, as the board’s sergeant-at-arms — the next step is to appoint a new District 1 commissioner. The new commissioner, which Sabatini expects the board to appoint at its Thursday, Jan. 23 meeting, will serve until a special election is held next year.