And another one bites the dust

As the old theme song of the Detroit Lions back in the 80's goes. Another one bites the dust!

In honor of the 2nd Amendment movement, a third democrat senator who voted against freedom is now out of office.

From a Colorado news station. KDVR-Denver

DENVER — State Sen. Evie Hudak has decided to resign rather than risk facing a recall election that, should she lose, would flip control of the senate to Republicans, FOX31 Denver was first to report Wednesday.
Later Wednesday morning, Hudak made her resignation letter public.
“In the interest of preserving the progress made over the last year, I am resigning as State Senator for District 19, effective immediately,” Hudak wrote.
Hudak, D-Westminster, could have been the third Democratic lawmaker to face a recall over a package of gun control bills they helped pass earlier this year.
Sens. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, and Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, both decided to fight recall elections against them, but were ousted in September in favor of Republican replacements.
Knowing that Morse and Giron lost every legal challenge in the run-up to those elections, Hudak and Democrats generally appear to recognize the likelihood of the third recall’s success — as long as the group of gun rights activists behind the recall effort got enough signatures to put it on the ballot.

The lesson here is simple. Don't vote against freedom. Don't vote against the 2nd Amendment. It's cause for dismissal. She resigned instead of being fired.  The last two recalls weren't in Republican parts of Colorado. Pueblo is strongly democrat, and while Colorado Springs is republican, John Morse's district was 58% Obama (Pueblo's district about the same). For a Michigan partisan level comparison, think Muskegon County.

Hudak's district was much closer, along with a few others.

Don't vote against the 2nd Amendment if you want to keep your job. It's not a threat. It's a promise.

A tale of two road millage proposals

Hamburg Township is strongly considering putting a road millage on the ballot. That got my attention because half of Cunningham Lake road is in Hamburg Township. Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods will be keeping an eye out to see what the plans are regarding the road list.

I am cautiously optimistic however that we won't see the same mistakes made by Hamburg Township as we had in Genoa. Smart officials learn from the past. Hamburg has had its share of drama over the years, but things have been much quieter there the past couple of years. That's a very good thing. They also saw what happened in Genoa Township just recently. I don't think they want a "Protect Hamburg Township Neighborhoods" committee to be formed there.

I'm not going to argue here whether Townships should jump in and fix county roads here in their area. That's up to the voters. Whether taxes in Hamburg should be increased for roads in Hamburg to be fixed is also up to the voters there. Whether about 1/2 of the people in Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods gets involved with a highly organized campaign will be based on the road list. What I am going to do here is compare the process that I've seen so far.

Three differences I've seen are timing, community involvement, and road list.

Timing - This is being discussed now in different focus groups. If Hamburg is going to go through with the millage, it will be in November 2014 according to their Supervisor Pat Hohl. This isn't a rush job, or something pushed under the radar by Gary McCririe. There's been three meetings already, and there's more meetings scheduled. This is one year before the election, and it's not going to be in a (usually) low turnout off year. Hamburg's so far doing this right.

Community Involvement. -  In Genoa, all involvement I saw was after the road list was picked. There were three meetings after the fact, with at least one (probably two)  of them well after the absentee voters were out. The attitude from Genoa Township was "all or nothing" regarding the road list. They got their wish. Nothing. I attended the last meeting (3rd) in Hamburg. Hamburg is prepared for a Genoa situation (as something to avoid). County Road Commissioner Mike Craine was there. That got my attention as he wasn't at any of the Genoa meetings I attended. Craine gave his presentation and it was informative. He didn't try and steer anyone in a direction, although his presentation focused on repairing paved roads instead of new projects on gravel roads. There was also a packet to inform the attendees with estimated costs of repairs of each segment and traffic counts on most roads. There were ideas for a road list that varied but all were fixing currently paved roads. There was a little talk about gravel roads, but only maintenance and not paving.

Road List - The three most important factors in a road millage are in reverse order, how long, how much, and the road list (where is the money going). In the Genoa Township plan, there were several questions to the manager in how the road list was picked. The manager said he picked the list. We can't unelect a manager, but his boss can be fired. Most thought that list didn't make any sense and the results showed election time. Hamburg doesn't have a road list yet. That will be largely picked by people at the meetings. The preliminary ideas there tend to be towards main roads you would expect. While Genoa strongly implied that Hamburg would pave Bauer road if Genoa paved their side, that turned out to be wishful thinking at best, and lying at worst. The road list in Genoa sealed the fate of the millage proposal. Hamburg is being careful in the road list, and it's a smart move learning from the bad decisions from the powers that be in Genoa.

I don't know whether a Hamburg millage will pass, but based on the process I'm seeing, it has a better chance than Genoa's did. There's certainly plenty of arguments on tax issues length of the millage, but I haven't seen the gamesmanship there so far that I saw with Genoa. Granted, I've been at one meeting there (compared to 3 with Genoa) but the process seems much better in Hamburg.

Howell Mayor Phil Campbell jumps into 47th District race

Phil Campbell is the 5th candidate to jump into the 47th District race. He's currently mayor of Howell and recently was unopposed for a 2nd term.

From WHMI:

11/11/13 - Howell Mayor Phil Campbell has announced that he plans to run for the 47th District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives in 2014. The seat is currently held by Cindy Denby, who is term-limited. Campbell says along with continuing his business-focused policies at the state level, he wants to promote limited government and give more power to local municipalities. He joins a growing list of local Republicans interested in the position, including Handy Township Supervisor Hank Vaupel, former Howell School Board Trustee Wendy Day, Hartland School Board Treasurer Charlie Aberasturi, and local business owner Karl Kling. The only Democrat to seek the position so far has been Jordan Genso, who is a member of the FlexTech High School Board of Directors. Campbell was first elected Mayor of Howell in 2011, and this month he ran unopposed for his second term. The 47th House District includes eleven townships in Livingston County as well as the City of Howell. (TD)

Kling dropped out to become head baseball coach of Cleary University. Harold Melton wasn't mentioned and he's running.

I'll have to confirm this, but I'm fairly certain that if Phil wins,  Mayor Pro Tem Allen Schlittler will be the next mayor of Howell and there will be an appointment by the current council for the remaining spot on the city council. There won't be any May/August special election, as there was for county commissioner.

In a 5+ candidate race, anything can happen. Usually the most organized campaign wins. One good thing about this many candidates is that there are plenty of choices in the primary. Hopefully everything stays clean and positive this primary as we have some good candidates.

Elections Report - Livingston County 2013

I didn't follow out county closely, so I'll just mention the winners of those. 

South Lyon Millage Renewal passed easily.

Webberville School millage renewal passed easily.

Byron Schools proposal failed.

Mott Community College Bond passed (lost in Livingston)

Fenton Schools Headlee Override passed.

The other elections went as follows:

Howell Mayor - Phil Campbell was unopposed.

Howell City Council Member (Top 3 win)
Daria W. Devantier 183
Richard Grimes 241
Jeff Hansen 378 
Nikolas Hertrich 264
Scott Niblock 437 
Nick Proctor 384 
Write-in Votes 4

Both incumbents win, along with Nick Proctor who ran probably the most active campaign of the challengers. 

Howell City Board of Review (Top 2 win)
William J. Flattery 378 
Bob Parker 309
David Teggerdine 529 
Write-in Votes 2

Incumbents win there as well. 

Brighton City Council Member  (Top 4 win)
Ricci Bandkau 795 
Shawn Pipoly 791 
Kristoffer L. Tobbe 811 
Susan L. Walters-Steinaker 469
Shanda Willis 738
Write-in Votes 10

Both incumbents win there, along with newcomers Tobbe and Willis. Willis is a democrat (replacing another dem) so we'll have to keep an eye out there if she wants to run for another office in the future. I'd rather not deal with another Tipton situation.

Brighton City Proposal 13-01
Shall the City of Brighton, for the purpose of improvement, repair and maintenance of public streets, public sidewalks and public storm drainage facilities, levy up to 1.2500 mills ($1.2500 per thousand dollars of taxable value on all real and personal property) for a period of ten (10) years, 2014-2023, inclusive?  If this new millage is approved and levied in December 2013, the estimated amount of revenue that would be collected in the first year would be approximately $487,061.21.

YES 541
NO 736

Brighton City Proposal 13-02
Shall the City of Brighton, for the purpose of purchasing and maintaining public safety equipment, which may include patrol vehicles, body armor, weapons and law enforcement-related technology, levy up to 0.3800 mills ($0.3800 per thousand dollars of taxable value on all real and personal property) for a period of ten (10) years, 2014-2023, inclusive?  If this new millage is approved and levied in December 2013, the estimated amount of revenue that would be collected in the first year would be approximately $148,066.61.
YES 690
NO 590

Brighton City Proposal 13-03

Shall the City of Brighton, for the purpose of improvement, repair and maintenance of public buildings and public parks, levy up to 0.3700 mills ($0.3700 per thousand dollars of taxable value on all real and personal property) for a period of ten (10) years, 2014-2023, inclusive?  If this new millage is approved and levied in December 2013, the estimated amount of revenue that would be collected in the first year would be approximately $144,170.12.

YES 452
NO 825

Brighton City Proposal 13-04
Shall the City of Brighton, for the purpose of replacing the existing residential rubbish collection fee, levy up to 1.1580 mills ($1.1580 per thousand dollars of taxable value on all real and personal property) for a period of ten (10) years, 2014-2023, inclusive?  If this new millage is approved and levied in December 2013, the estimated amount of revenue that would be collected in the first year would be approximately $451,213.51.
YES 562
NO 708

Lastly, the Genoa Township Millage. Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods has the whole run down there. Here's the results.

	Turnout	Yes	No	Total	Yes%	No%
Genoa 1 & 9	17.71%	186	378	564	32.98%	67.02%
Genoa 2 & 10	16.82%	117	249	366	31.97%	68.03%
Genoa 3 & 11	19.58%	92	374	466	19.74%	80.26%
Genoa 4 & 8	33.91%	181	698	879	20.59%	79.41%
Genoa 5 & 12	31.62%	161	417	578	27.85%	72.15%
Genoa 6 & 7	36.14%	291	778	1069	27.22%	72.78%
Total	25.93%	1028	2894	3922	26.21%	73.79%

I got involved in this for family reasons. I didn't ask the GOP to get involved in this partly because of family, and partly because I didn't want to be a distraction and didn't want this to turn into R vs D, especially as County Dems aren't the problem with this turkey of a proposal and its master plan. I was a consultant and the blogger. I was not and am not the face of the group. Others can wear that hat better than I can there. .  Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods had support from Republicans, Democrats, Independents, non-political, establishments, tea parties, and all those in between. The 73.79% results with higher turnout than an August primary election showed that.

This was an old school grass roots campaign. It didn't have a lot of money, but enough for a campaign if it wasn't wasted and smart decisions were made. The committee knew if people had the facts and saw through the company line horse manure that this would lose. The postcards came out, as did the stories in the Argus, Brighton Patch, and WHMI. Word of mouth and old fashion small town and neighborhood politics did the rest and the people went out to vote. The Southern half of the township (South of Crooked Lake) all had 30%+ turnout. They all not only were impacted by taxes, but by the roads to be widened and paved. They didn't want to pay for it. They didn't want the property tax increase, increased assessments (and more taxes), reduced property from the widening of the roads, trees cut down, infringement of rural character, more speeding cars, and the waste of tax money.

If there's a massive projects plan, it would be more prudent to run these by the people in those neighborhoods long before putting this on the ballot and then claiming public support based on a survey of 450 people. If you claim that Mountain, and Prairie View want to widen and pave Cunningham Lake, you better be damn sure that's the case. That was either a bad read or an outright lie, I don't know which. Precincts 7 and 8 sure didn't support this or even run close to 50-50. A couple of outspoken individuals does not make a majority.

This goes beyond Cunningham Lake as well. Most didn't want southern Bauer, Beck, Conrad or Herbst roads widened and paved either. Crooked Lake was mixed, but a lot of people didn't want that widened and paved either. There was also jurisdictional issues between the road commission and the township. The roundabout wasn't popular either. Most important of all, this millage didn't fix the main roads.
 
This roads millage was bad all around, and the results showed that. Other things are in the works as well, but that's down the road. 

Elections Report - Outside the County

There are lots to cover with elections. First outside the county.

1. Detroit Mayor. Mike Duggan is the first whitey to be mayor there since Roman Gribbs. As far as my opinion on Duggan. This song from The Who comes to mind.

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." I have very little expectations for Ed McNamara cronies, white or black. Napoleon was the lesser of two evils.

2. Virginia. Wasn't surprised. Dems won a close race for governor 48-45-7. There's plenty of blame on all sides. This was decided when the cowardly consultant class didn't contest the race and conceded this before a late push. There was too many unforced errors and too much infighting with the Republicans, along with more and more government workers in Northern Virginia. There has long been a "primary" vs "convention" debate regarding nominations in different states. The "Vote for me I'm a true conservative which automatically qualifies me" crowd got an unelectable LG (lost by 10 pts) which dragged down the ticket. That wing gets blame too. That one wasn't on the establishment.  Ken Cuccinelli was a flawed candidate, but he didn't quit and almost pulled off the upset despite dealing with a fractured party over the convention. Virginia used to have primaries for governor. This year it was a convention. The current LG, Bolling didn't have a chance in the convention. On the same note, he wasn't a team player when the results were in and kept threatening to run as an independent (so screw him too). The biggest lesson here is to be careful with conventions and which candidate you nominate. It has to be electable. That doesn't mean moderate. That doesn't mean liberal. that doesn't mean conservative. Electable is who can win. Which candidate limits unforced errors (foot in mouth disease, laziness), inspires people to go to the polls, is competent and can appeal to independents, and doesn't kick the base in the teeth. It's not an easy decision and doesn't have an easy answer.

3. New Jersey. Chris Christie was uncontested and won big. I think he's good to have in a place like Jersey, but I'd have a tough time voting for him for president. 2nd Amendment concerns, along with a bit of an ego streak that reminds me a bit of Graham. I don't put him in that category yet. Pragmatism is good. Look at me egoism is not good. Does he want to be the guy that gets things done, or does he want to be the guy that goes on TV and bash Republicans to make himself look good.

There isn't a lot of coattails. The media is spinning this as conservative vs moderate crap, but it is and was way more complicated than that as it always is.

Livingston County Elections - Nov 5th

The November 5, 2013 Ballot:

Here is a list of the following races on the ballot. We encourage all of our readers to find out as much information about the ballot measure or people running and make an informed decision.

City of Brighton:

City Council: (Vote for up to FOUR)

Ricci Bandkau

Shawn Pipoly

Kristoffer L. Tobbe

Susan L Walters-Steinaker

Shanda Willis

Note - Shanda Willis ran against Rep. Bill Rogers in 2012 as a democrat.

Ballot Proposals:

CITY OF BRIGHTON

PROPOSAL 13-01

Shall the City of Brighton, for the purpose of improvement, repair and maintenance of public streets, public sidewalks and public storm drainage facilities, levy up to 1.2500 mills ($1.2500 per thousand dollars of taxable value on all real and personal property) for a period of ten (10) years, 2014-2023, inclusive?  If this new millage is approved and levied in December 2013, the estimated amount of revenue that would be collected in the first year would be approximately $487,061.21.

CITY OF BRIGHTON

PROPOSAL 13-02

Shall the City of Brighton, for the purpose of purchasing and maintaining public safety equipment, which may include patrol vehicles, body armor, weapons and law enforcement-related technology, levy up to 0.3800 mills ($0.3800 per thousand dollars of taxable value on all real and personal property) for a period of ten (10) years, 2014-2023, inclusive?  If this new millage is approved and levied in December 2013, the estimated amount of revenue that would be collected in the first year would be approximately $148,066.61.

CITY OF BRIGHTON

PROPOSAL 13-03

Shall the City of Brighton, for the purpose of improvement, repair and maintenance of public buildings and public parks, levy up to 0.3700 mills ($0.3700 per thousand dollars of taxable value on all real and personal property) for a period of ten (10) years, 2014-2023, inclusive?  If this new millage is approved and levied in December 2013, the estimated amount of revenue that would be collected in the first year would be approximately $144,170.12.

CITY OF BRIGHTON

PROPOSAL 13-04

Shall the City of Brighton, for the purpose of replacing the existing residential rubbish collection fee, levy up to 1.1580 mills ($1.1580 per thousand dollars of taxable value on all real and personal property) for a period of ten (10) years, 2014-2023, inclusive?  If this new millage is approved and levied in December 2013, the estimated amount of revenue that would be collected in the first year would be approximately $451,213.51.

City of Howell:

Mayor:

Phillip Campbell (Unopposed)

City Council: (Vote for up to THREE)

Daria W. Devantier (Note - SEIU Democrat)

Richard Grimes

Jeff Hansen

Nikolas Hertrich

Scott Niblock

Nick Proctor

Board of Review (Vote for up to TWO)

William J Flattery

Bob Parker

David Teggerdine

Genoa Township Road Millage

 Note - Information on the Genoa Millage can be found at Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods

GENOA CHARTER TOWNSHIP

ROAD IMPROVEMENT MILLAGE PROPOSAL

Shall the limitation upon the amount of taxes which may be levied by Genoa Charter Township on all property within the Township be increased by 1.5 mills ($1.50 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) for a period of fifteen (15) years, for the years 2013 through 2027 inclusive, for the purpose of raising funds for road improvement projects in Genoa Charter Township, including paying debt service on bonds to be issued for the purpose of financing road improvement projects.  If approved and levied in full, this millage will raise an estimated $1,492,003 in the first year the millage is levied.

Byron Area Schools

(Covers parts of Cohoctah, Conway, and Deerfield Townshipa)

BONDING PROPOSAL

Shall Byron Area Schools, Shiawassee, Livingston and Genesee Counties, Michigan, borrow the sum of not to exceed Five Million Three Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($5,350,000) and issue its general obligation unlimited tax bonds therefor, for the purpose of:

partially remodeling, furnishing and refurnishing, equipping and re-equipping school facilities; acquiring, installing and equipping educational technology for school facilities; resurfacing and re-equipping the existing running track; purchasing school buses; and developing and improving sites?

The following is for informational purposes only:

The estimated millage that will be levied for the proposed bonds in 2014, under current law, is 1.87 mills ($1.87 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation).  The maximum number of years the bonds may be outstanding, exclusive of any refunding, is twenty-five (25) years.  The estimated simple average annual millage anticipated to be required to retire this bond debt is 1.84 mills ($1.84 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation).

The school district does not expect to borrow from the State to pay debt service on the bonds.  The total amount of qualified bonds currently outstanding is $-0-.  The total amount of qualified loans currently outstanding is $-0-.  The estimated computed millage rate may change based on changes in certain circumstances.

(Pursuant to State law, expenditure of bond proceeds must be audited, and the proceeds cannot be used for repair or maintenance costs, teacher, administrator or employee salaries, or other operating expenses.)

Mott Community College

Covers parts of Deerfield and Tyrone Townships

Shall Charles Stewart Mott Community College, Genesee County, Michigan, borrow the sum of not to exceed Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000) and issue its bonds therefor in one or more series for the purpose of making permanent improvements to, renovating, remodeling, improving, equipping and reequipping College buildings and sites and other buildings to be used by the College for instructional purposes; acquiring buildings and sites for buildings; and constructing buildings and additions to buildings?

The maximum number of years each series of bonds may be outstanding, exclusive of refunding, is 20 years; the estimated millage that will be levied to pay the proposed bonds in the first year that the levy is authorized is 0.08 mills (which is equal to 08 cents per $1,000.00 of taxable value of real and tangible personal property in the College District); and the estimated simple average annual millage that will be required to retire the bonds is 0.25 mills (which is equal to 25 cents per $1,000.00 of taxable value of real and tangible personal property in the College District).

Fenton Area Public Schools

Covers part of Tyrone Township

This proposal will allow the school district to levy the statutory rate of 18 mills on all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, required for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance and renews millage that will expire with the 2014 tax levy.

Shall the currently authorized millage rate limitation of 21 mills ($21.00 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, in Fenton Area Public Schools, Genesee, Livingston and Oakland Counties, Michigan, be renewed for a period of 7 years, 2015 to 2021, inclusive, to provide funds for operating purposes; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect if the millage is approved and levied in 2015 is approximately $4,269,734 (this is a renewal of millage which will expire with the 2014 tax levy and will be levied only to the extent necessary for the school district to receive its full revenue per pupil foundation allowance)?

 South Lyon Community Schools

Covers part of Green Oak Township

This proposal will allow the school district to levy the statutory rate of 18 mills on all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, required for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance and renews millage that will expire with the 2014 tax levy.

Shall the currently authorized millage rate limitation of 19.9720 mills ($19.9720 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation) on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, in South Lyon Community Schools, Oakland, Washtenaw and Livingston Counties, Michigan, be renewed for a period of 10 years, 2015 to 2024, inclusive, to provide funds for operating purposes; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect if the millage is approved and levied in 2015 is approximately $7,617,568 (this is a renewal of millage which will expire with the 2014 tax levy)?

Webberville Community Schools

Covers part of Handy and Conway Townships

Shall the currently authorized millage rate limitation of .9807 mill ($0.9807 on each $1000 of taxable valuation) on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property in Webberville Community Schools, Ingham and Livingston Counties, Michigan, be renewed for a period of 10 years, 2014 to 2023, inclusive, to continue to provide for a sinking fund for the construction or repair of school buildings and all other purposes authorized by law; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect if the millage is approved and levied in 2014 is approximately $111,483 (this is a renewal of millage which will expire with the 2013 levy)?

Dems run a candidate for 47th

The 47th District is going to be an active battle in 2014. The dems announce their first candidate, to go along with the four candidates (Karl Kling dropped out to be Cleary University's first baseball coach - LCRP wishes him well) that have announced on the Republican side.

From the Argus

Former Livingston County Democratic Party chairman Jordan Genso today announced his candidacy for the state House seat currently held by state Rep. Cindy Denby, R-Handy Township.
Denby is term-limited, which has ushered in several potential Republican candidates for the House seat in the highly conservative district.
Genso is the first Democrat to announce candidacy for the seat, which represents the townships of Conway, Cohoctah, Deerfield, Hartland, Howell, Handy, Iosco, Unadilla, Oceola, Marian, and Tyrone; and the city of Howell and part of the city of Fenton.
Genso, a local real estate agent, filed his paperwork this week to form his candidate committee. He said his campaign will promote increasing public education funding; creating a "more sustainable" tax policy; legalizing gay marriage in Michigan; and legalizing marijuana.
“I want to restore a little sanity to our irrational political culture, and I believe we need more politicians that exhibit intellectual honesty. I know that it is cliché, but I am trying to be the change that I want to see in the world," Genso said in a statement.

I've met Jordan a couple of times but I can't say I know him. From what I can see, Jordan strikes me as ambitious and I'm going to take him seriously as a candidate. I don't think he's going to run a lazy campaign. That said, Jordan's got a tough road ahead of him. This district is even more republican than it was for Joe or Cindy with more marginal Putnam and Hamburg now in the 42nd in exchange for base areas in Marion and Oceola Townships. Is it impossible for him to win? Anything can happen if our nominee is a disaster and doesn't work on the campaign trail, and Jordan runs the campaign of his life. Scott Brown's happened in reverse as well. Ask Don Sherwood who lost a solid R district due to having a less than upstanding personal life. If the dems can lose occasionally in a Hawaii congressional district, Massachusetts statewide, and a New Orleans based congressional district, then we can not afford to be arrogant, even in a 63%+ R district. Note to Dr Hank Vaupel, Wendy Day, Harold Melton, and Charlie Aberasturi - we can't get caught looking. If we all do our part and don't badly blunder, we will win. Never underestimate the ability of politicians to badly blunder however. I don't need to rehash history there.

I've heard rumors of more candidates jumping in on the R side. This could easily be another 2002 style of primary here.

Argus opposes Genoa Road Millage

When you lose the Argus with a millage proposal, that's bad.

For starters, the survey supposedly showing the township that it had a green light to ask for road money had fewer than 500 respondents. Genoa has more than 8,000 households.
Just weighing those numbers against each other, we cannot agree with those who would suggest that a few hundred survey responses from about 20,000 residents constitutes a clarion call to raise $23 million in property taxes for roads.

It was generic question anyway on the lines of "Would you pay more in taxes if it fixed the roads?". That's a whole different ballgame than this. 

Indeed, we are swayed more by the ongoing, turbocharged negative response from community residents who have voiced concerns about the road millage. Some have said they are concerned about speeding on paved roads instead of gravel roads. Others have said they are worried about widening roads and taking out natural features in their community.



Surely, nobody wants to pay extra taxes. Frankly, the tax tab isn’t really even the issue with this proposal. When a proposal like this is going to sock everybody in the township with a tax increase for a perceived public gain such as better roads, and the people along those roads — who are in line for what is perceived to be a $23 million public benefit — are crying foul, there needs to be a reassessment of the plan itself. The road projects very well may not be a benefit, in light of their concerns.
We can’t endorse a proposal that has generated such a swirl of controversy. Voters should say NO to the road millage proposal on the ballot Tuesday.

The residents on these streets to be paved are the supposed beneficiaries. That's news to them. There's nothing wrong with a perfectly good dirt road. Most don't want it paved. Some would accept it if the roads aren't widened as well. The widening of the roads  really piss off the residents. Most of us didn't like it when they did it to Bauer around Hamburg Road. It was bad.  The road was widened and a large number of trees were clearcut along the rural country road for no good reason whatsoever. That was on state land however (bad but less of a property rights issue). This here is on private land. That's worse.

If this was simply a proposal to fix existing roads, "Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods" would not have been formed. There would have been no votes and yes votes, but there would not have been a full blown ballot question campaign. Widening and paving the roads changed the ballgame. You're now messing with people's castles. These are just trees, but their trees, their land, in some cases their farms. This isn't just rural character, but their rural character. Everyone is also paying for it in the township, something that isn't needed, nor wanted by the residents. $5000-10000 in taxes for some homes. This is not only a tax increase, but a wasteful one. Other subdivisions would receive a lot of cut through traffic with this widening and paving which would increase speeding traffic in that sub. That's messing with their safety. Most of this plan is bad all around.

This needs to get knocked out, preferably by a 3-1 margin so it doesn't come back for another 25 years.