Gratiot County courts (civic items only)
This page follows only civic items about the courts: budgets and contracts the county board votes on, and public-record cases that involve a public body. It does not follow cases about private individuals.
- When it meets
- We do not yet read a meeting calendar for this body. Ask the office, or watch the official pages linked below.
- Our reports
- 3 since Sept. 18, 2026. Latest: County Board Agenda Leaves Dollar Amounts Blank on Two Service Agreements (Oct. 2, 2026).
What our reports have found
Our one court explainer so far concerns a public-records lawsuit against the county; the county's own minutes are the only public record we found of it (What We Know So Far: “Simmons vs Gratiot County”).
How to speak
You may attend any meeting; Michigan's Open Meetings Act requires meetings of a public body to be open. Michigan's Open Meetings Act says a person must be permitted to address a meeting of a public body under rules the body establishes and records (MCL 15.263(5)). We have not found posted public-comment rules for this body, so ask its clerk or office. See also how to speak at any meeting we list.
Our latest reports
- County Board Agenda Leaves Dollar Amounts Blank on Two Service AgreementsAmong seven new-business items for Oct. 6, a $176,202 extension contract is complete. Resolutions for the Conservation District and for court clinical services are not.
- What We Know So Far: “Simmons vs Gratiot County”One sentence in the county's own minutes is the entire public record we could find. Here is exactly what it says, and what an extensive search did not turn up.
- County Board Denies Records Requester’s Appeal Over GIS Data FeeA requester sought digital parcel, zoning and address data and argued the county used the wrong fee formula. Commissioners disagreed, 5-0, citing a different state law that governs bulk mapping data.
Terms you will hear
- FOIA
Michigan's Freedom of Information Act says all persons, except those held in state or local correctional facilities, are entitled to full and complete information about the affairs of government.
Source: Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231(2)
- Public record, exemption
Under FOIA, a public record is a writing prepared, owned, used, possessed or retained by a public body in performing an official function. Section 15.243 lists information a body may exempt from disclosure.
Source: Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.232; MCL 15.243