October 7, 2009
LANSING - In a move to shave off approximately $600,000 from its budget, Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Don Koivisto today announced the permanent closure of the department's regional offices located in Detroit, Escanaba, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Saginaw, St. Joseph, and Traverse City and its district office in Marquette. MDA will still continue to have field staff working around the state using their homes as an office base. The main difference is customers no longer have a brick and mortar location to go to for service.
"MDA's regional offices are an important part of the department's ability to deliver its programs to our customers; however, budget realities are causing us to look at different ways of doing business," said Koivisto. "While we anticipate there will be some bumps in the road as we transition to this new business model, MDA will work hard to maintain the high level of customer service we have always provided."
Effective October 1, customers calling MDA's regional and district offices have been redirected to a toll-free number in Lansing: 800-292-3939. Additionally, staff are no longer available at those locations.
MDA's regional offices provided a variety of services to consumers and industry representatives such as:
· Serving as a base of operations for investigations, product sampling, plant pest and disease eradication, emergency incident management and response, foodborne illness outbreak response, staff training, field equipment, and evidence storage, etc.
· Accepting consumer complaints about food products, conditions of food establishments, nursery plants, insect pests, etc.
· Administering 16,000 pesticide applicator exams annually.
· Handling licensing and regulatory questions, including accepting fee and fine payments.
MDA's new regional contact information is as follows:
Ph: 800-292-3939
General mail: Michigan Dept. of Agriculture, PO Box 30017, Lansing, MI 48909
General email: mda-info@michigan.gov
Food and nursery licensing fees: Michigan Dept. of Agriculture, PO Box 30746,
Lansing, MI 48909
Other money: Michigan Dept. of Agriculture, PO Box 30776, Lansing, MI 48909
Online complaint form: www.michigan.gov/mdacomplaints
For information on licensing or starting a business in Michigan, you can visit http://www.michigan.gov/business.
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