The Globe - Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

ONTONAGON — Ontonagon Village Manager William DuPont called the $3.1 million included in the recently approved state budget toward the debt the village of Ontonagon has to the Michigan Employees Retirement System a “huge step.”

The village has $8.17 million in unfunded liability to the MERS fund. DuPont emphasized it is a “first step” and the village will continue to right the ship.

The budget also includes an opportunity for entities, such as the village, to apply for grants to help communities with their MERS debt. “We expect to apply for such grants, but there is no guarante...