After watching the Tuesday, November 20th Shelby Township Board of Trustees Meeting, that is the big question taxpayers are asking themselves. Why is our township continuing to spend, while other communities are cutting back?Let's face it...Michigan's economy is lousy and won't get better any time soon. Given the economic times we are living in, cutting spending makes perfect sense. Everybody is cutting back. Families are spending less for holiday gifts. Corporations, big and small, are spending less, and cutting their payroll. But here in good old Shelby Township, under the "guidance" of Supervisor $kip Maccarone, our government just keeps on spending and spending and spending -- more and more and more.
The township's 2008 budget has been adopted. At the Tuesday, November 20th Board of Trustees meeting, there was a great deal of discussion concerning the budget. Remember, while $kip Maccarone constantly brags about being a "conservative" he spends our tax money like a liberal. The Supervisor is responsible for preparing the budget. Spending falls directly in the Supervisor's lap, even though he has tried to pawn this off on the "Board."
Once again, our township will spend more money in 2008 than we did in 2007. In fact, hundreds of thousands of dollars more! Why? Well, if you listen to $kip, he makes it sound like there is nothing that he can do about it. "The spending is contractual," $kip has always said. To our amazement, he said it again at the November 20th meeting, adding that the cost of paying for township government is what it is.
If that is the case (and we seriously doubt it) then it is time to cut the township's contractual spending. If this is just another one of $kip's long-running excuses for doing nothing about spending, then it is seriously time to cut $kip Maccarone off the township payroll.
What was truly unbelievable is that when another Trustee brought up a simple point of not being able to support the Supervisor's continuous spending, $kip got snippy. His face got bright red. He stupidly called the concerns about spending a baseless political attack, which he "resents."
Poor $kip. The truth is that $kip Maccarone is the one who has been attacking our collective pocketbooks ever since he was elected. What's worse, there is no indication that he intends to change course. Taxpayers rightfully resent what $kip has done to EXPAND township spending at our expense.
Since $kip's first election in 2000, there has been a dramatic upward spiral of spending. Whenever he is challenged about spending, $kip brushes off any and all concerns. Township property assessments and fees (paid for by taxpayers and businesses) have been increasing just enough to cover $kip's increased spending. "Our finances are strong," $kip has told the newspapers in the past. So, as far as he is concerned, the township can just keep on spending?
The problem is that while the spending keeps going up, the past growth which was the basis for Maccarone's spending has stalled. Property values are stagnant. Home foreclosures are at historic highs. Families are losing jobs, health care and hope. New homes are going unsold, while existing homes are taking more than a year to sell. That is the reality of life in 2007.
Hey $kip, do us a favor, look around. Other more responsible communities are not just raising spending because they can, as you have done. They are cutting spending because they must. These other elected officials understand their fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers. Maybe you could learn a thing or two by talking (or more importantly, LISTENING) to them?
We thank Treasurer Paul Viar for reminding the Supervisor about what is going on in other communities. Based upon $kip's body language (some not visible on television but clearly apparent to those in the audience) we could tell that $kip didn't want to be bothered by the Treasurer's very pointed comments about spending and the troubles facing other communities.
Once again, $kip has shown that he does not want to be distracted by facts when it comes to spending our hard-earned tax money. As Ronald Reagan would say: "there you go again!"
Shelby Township is a great community. But our township's greatness is seriously threatened by $kip Maccarone's spending. Whether it is for political reasons, or that $kip doesn't understand the realities of life, his spending threatens to do seriously long-term damage to our township.
QUESTION: Is our township government spending tax money because it CAN, or is it spending money because it SHOULD?
There is a HUGE difference between these two words -- a difference that, for whatever reason, $kip Maccarone fails to understand.
Maccarone's motto is that since the township has the money in the budget, why not spend it? If we have so much money that the township looks for ways to spend, why not trim the budget?
One prime example of this is the recent purchase of police riot gear. Sure, $kip says we need the helmets and shields. Okay, so when is the last time you read or saw a TV news report about a riot in our township????? Yet, $kip says we need to be "prepared" for such an event in our township????
Before you go off and scream that we are anti-police, you need to understand that we are fully supportive of our township law enforcement officers. In fact, we have family and friends in law enforcement — in Shelby Township, at the Macomb County Sheriff's office, and in other police agencies across Michigan. We also have family and friends employed as firefighters — both full-time and paid-call. So don't listen to $kip's rants about how we don't care about public safety, and how $kip is the only one who does. When he says this, $kip is LYING. Just because we ask questions, does not mean we don't care. In fact, we care more than those who don't ask any questions at all, and just rubber stamp $kip's spending!
The issue is SPENDING. Township police purchased the riot gear because they COULD - they have the money in their budget. Never mind that this equipment will remain locked in a closet, likely unused. The point is $kip thinks we need the equipment "just in case" we have a riot, or are called to assist a neighboring community with an out-of-control crowd. The only community we can think of where this would apply would be the City of Detroit.
Yes, our police must be fully equipped and trained. But this should be to meet the daily needs of law enforcement as they work to serve and protect township families. Shelby is a safe community. Do we really need riot gear? $kip's excuse for this expenditure was because of a labor strike more than ten years ago. As $kip said, when Shelby Township police were called to back up our fellow officers in Sterling Heights, Shelby didn't have riot gear.
Why not?
BECAUSE SHELBY TOWNSHIP IS A SAFE COMMUNITY!
We never felt we needed riot gear...that is until $kip Maccarone moved to town.
Hey $kip, guess what...this isn't Detroit. Back in the days when you were a Detroit beat cop working under Mayor Coleman Young, Detroit probably needed riot gear. Detroit was (and is) a violent city. In fact, a just-released FBI crime report ranks Detroit as the most violent city in the country. No wonder police officers in Detroit need heavy artillery, including riot gear, SWAT teams, armored vehicles, bomb squad, etc.
$kip's experience in the back alleys of Detroit has NOTHING to do with life in the neighborhoods of Shelby Township. His continuous effort to compare Shelby with Detroit is just plain stupid! Okay $kip, we all get the point that you were a police officer. So can you now stop throwing it in our face already!
This is the same lame excuse $kip gave when he wanted a one-horse mounted division. Remember, how excited $kip got when he said how the mounted horse division worked while he was on the beat in Detroit? So $kip thought it would be great to spend our tax money to start his own. He went sprinting to his friends at local newspapers to promote the "township police horse." The name of the horse was Gunner. Since, as we were told, it wouldn't make sense to go up and pet a township police car, $kip figured taxpayers would want to pet a police horse. Yah, right!!!!
Did it work? Of course not! The township horse is gone, and so is all the money $kip spent to train and equip the horse. $kip desperately wants the issue and image of the police horse to go away, because he knows it was an embarrassing waste of money. However, we intend to keep bringing this up, because the horse is a great example of needless and wasteful spending.
Shelby Township taxpayers must take note about what is going on in our community. Unless the budget priorities of the township are adjusted to represent modern times, $kip Maccarone will spend our township broke.
Add to that $kip's plan to spend in excess of $50 million ADDITIONAL tax dollars for his enormous township "campus" and we all better start ordering new checks from our bank now to pay for this spending. The bills are piling up every day, and Shelby Township taxpayers will be paying more and more for $kip Maccarone's budget-busting spending priorities.
That is, unless we make a change in 2008!
If you have something to share with us, send us a note. Our e-mail address is stopskip08@aol.com.
Don't be afraid to speak your mind. Remember -- the only thing we have to fear from $kip Maccarone is FEAR itself.
Don't be fooled by $kip's blah-blah-blah bluster and threats of FBI investigations. We've heard it all before, and we know better! Don't let $kip Maccarone deny us our democratic rights. This is still America. Power to the people!
We must be doing something right, because Shelby Township residents are taking notice and sending us comments. Most of the e-mails we have received so far have been complimentary, and for that we say "thanks." Our intent with this blog is to inform...and entertain.
