So where does Alpena County go from here?

That is the question residents have been contemplating since last week, with the defeat — by just 129 votes — of a proposed property tax hike.

Perhaps adding salt to the wound of that bitter defeat was data reporter Steve Schulwitz discovered while putting together an election turnout story. While crunching numbers, Schulwitz found that, of the more than 17,000 ballots cast in Alpena County, nearly 9,000 were cast as a straight-ticket vote.

When you factor in 15,337 ballots were cast for the county millage request, that is roughly a difference of 2,000 fewer ballots than what were cast total in the county.

Schulwitz surmised a considerable portion of that 2,000 could have been from straight-party voting.

Often, in straight party voting, voters do not finish completing their ballots by voting on local issues and nonpartisan races.

If that occurred last week with only a small fraction of voters, it easily could account for the 129 votes by which the county request failed.

It is a premise not disputed by Alpena County Administrator Jesse Osmer, who agreed that often straight-ticket voting results in partially filled-out ballots.

“It’s unfortunate, but it absolutely could have changed things,” Osmer said in a post-election news story.

If that is true, it is unfortunate for county residents, who now face a number of cuts in service that no one would have chosen for themselves.

County officials have been very transparent in letting residents know before the vote that, should the millage request be defeated, tough cuts would need to be made, many of which would come in the county Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Erik Smith said that, when that day arrives, he would need to cut or eliminate a number of services from his department, including things like marine and trail patrols, 24-hour road patrol, and the number of deputies in the department.

While not happy with the results, Smith indicated in a story last week that the people of the county spoke via the ballot box and it is now the role of county officials to respect their position and begin making hard choices.

Certainly that is true.

In an editorial in The News on Tuesday, the newspaper urged county residents to get more involved in the financial decisions county commissioners now face.

Does it make sense, for instance, for the county to yet again seek the millage, or would that just be like Don Quixote tilting at windmills?

Certainly, I respect the vote of the people this past week. There is wisdom in just moving on and enacting the cuts.

As I write that, however, I am troubled by the fact it failed just by 129 votes, and I wonder: If people had to do it over again, would it make a difference?

One thing is for certain, and that is a decision as to how to proceed needs to be made quickly.

If you have an opinion on this topic, let the commissioners know now.

Bill Speer retired in 2021 as the publisher and editor of The News. He can be reached at bspeer@thealpenanews.com.