Shelby Township Loses $1.2 Million and Skip Maccarone Is Not "Shocked"

Politicians never cease to amaze us and Shelby Township is no different. Our Supervisor has become a master creator of political spin.

Instead of telling things like they are, Skip Maccarone has made political spin a priority. And when it comes to spending money, the spinning has gotten so out of control that we have all grown very dizzy.

Why does he do it? For political gain, of course. After all, if Skip were to tell the truth, that our township is facing tough times, that the township spends more than it collects, that financial management experts are weary about the future, and that we are taking from our township's reserve fund (savings) to balance the yearly budget, how would that look? What do you think taxpayers would say then about Skip's plans to expand township spending even further, with a massive new $50 million township "campus"?

• Whenever Skip is confronted with financial information showing the township is teetering on serious financial trouble, he always replies that he has different numbers which tell a different story. He even complains that the township's financial experts are using "phantom" numbers.
• Whenever Skip is challenged about the overgrowth of township spending, he shrugs off questions and says the township has a good bond rating and is in "sound financial shape."
• Whenever residents voice concerns about spending more than $23 million for a police/court building, and $50 million for Skip's "campus" (especially without a public vote), Skip says he can bond for the entire project and not raise taxes. He then goes on to tell us that HE was elected to make decisions like this, and we shouldn't worry because he has it all figured out.
• And whenever television and newspaper reports constantly report that Michigan, and local communities, are suffering a foreclosure crisis, Skip tells us not to worry because he believes things will improve later this year. (NOTE - experts dispute Skip's feel-good theory about Michigan's economic recovery).

What really amazed us was an article from the March 26, 2008 issue of the Macomb Daily. Inside this story, about how Shelby Township is going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars when the ACH (former Visteon) plant closes this year, we find a smiling Skip Maccarone unfazed by the news. When asked about the closing of the Visteon plant, and the resulting lost tax revenue to our township, Skip answered:

"There will be no major shock to the system."

The article went on to report that over the last three years, the plant "has paid nearly $300,000 in real and personal property taxes to Shelby Township." So, in Skip's world, the loss of $300,000 is not a big deal.

FYI...Here is a link to the Wednesday, March 26th issue of the Macomb Daily.

Titled "Shelby officials ponder future of Ford plant", this article reports that the closing of the ACH (formerly Ford/Visteon) plant this year will have, in Skip's view, no major negative impact on our township, or on Macomb County in general. After reading this article, we wondered how our township could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue, and not suffer any impact? What concerned us even more was the fact that Skip Maccarone did not seem bothered by this plant closing, the lost jobs, and the lost revenue to our township.

Then, at the Tuesday, April 1st Shelby Township Board of Trustees meeting, the issue surfaced. This time, however, Shelby Township taxpayers got a much different perspective on this plant closing and the resulting financial loss to our township.

Township Treasurer Paul Viar used the meeting to set the record straight about the situation with ACH. As it turns out, Treasurer Viar reported that over the last three years our township did not lose $300,000, as Skip and the Macomb Daily said. In actuality, our township lost $1,289,859 million dollars.

REPEAT — $1,289,859 IN TAX REVENUE LOST TO OUR TOWNSHIP!

We may not be math wizards, but isn't there a significant difference between $1,289,859 and $300,000? This news is shocking to us! What about you?

During the meeting, Treasurer Viar correctly said that a loss of such magnitude should be a shock to every elected official. He went on to describe, in detail, what the loss would be and how it would impact our township, the county and our schools. Thank you Treasurer Viar for telling it like it is and not using political spin (as Skip does) to try and disguise the truth.

Then, a few days ago, Treasurer Viar surprised us by sending an e-mail about this very same situation. We are posting it here for your reading pleasure...

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TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

As Treasurer, I believe Shelby Township residents deserve truthful information about their taxes. At the April 1st Board of Trustees meeting, I spoke about an article from the March 26th Macomb Daily.

This article was written subsequent to a meeting that Supervisor Maccarone held with Automotive Components Holdings (ACH) to discuss the future of the property at 23 Mile and Mound. For the record, the future of this property is important to every member of the Board of Trustees — not just Mr. Maccarone.

In that article, the reporter erroneously said that during the past three years, the ACH (former Visteon) plant “has paid nearly $300,000 in real and personal property taxes to Shelby Township.” Mr. Maccarone was asked his opinion about this loss of revenue and responded “there will be no major shock to the system.”

Let’s examine the facts closely to see just how shocking they are.

Personal property taxes alone paid to Shelby Township by ACH (formerly Visteon), money for our township’s general fund, police fund, fire fund, and the police and fire pension fund, during the last three years was not $300,000, as stated in the article.

Instead, it was $1,289,859. The Supervisor may have a different take on this, but a loss off $1,289,859 to Shelby Township is certainly a shock to my system.

During that same three-year time period, ACH paid our schools $4,453,565. That included $2,970,000 to the Utica Community Schools, $407,854 to the Macomb Intermediate School District (MISD) and $196,954 to Macomb Community College, and state education taxes totaled $878,651. In addition, ACH paid Macomb County $516,000 in taxes, not including thousands of dollars for the SMART bus tax and a County Park tax.

All combined, during the past three years ACH has paid more than $6 million dollars in combined taxes to local and county government. Yet, the Supervisor tells us losing this amount will not shock our system? Using $100,000 per teacher as a basis, ACH paid the salaries and benefits for 16 teachers. Ask officials at the Utica Community Schools if they can afford to lose 16 teachers without a shock to their system?

Although the Supervisor tried to challenge the accuracy of these amounts at the April 1, 2008 Board of Trustees meeting, I want you to know that these figures were taken directly from the tax rolls. The Supervisor claimed at that meeting that the numbers that he has are different than what I reported.

When it comes to spending township tax money, when it comes to concerns about expanding township budgets, and when we discuss spending upwards of $50 million for a new township “campus”, the Supervisor never shows a concern. He always has his own independent set of financial figures that he uses to support whatever political issue serves his agenda. He even discounts official figures compiled by our township’s Financial Management experts.

This is not the first time I have raised concerns about the ACH plant. I don’t know whom the Supervisor thinks will make up this $6 million shortfall. Shelby Township taxpayers and homeowners should be worried when a loss of this magnitude is brushed off as “no major shock to the system.”

The ACH plant is scheduled to close later this year, and when it does, we will all be shocked.

A loss of over a million dollars to the township, more than $4 million lost to schools, and hundreds of thousands of lost tax dollars to Macomb County, should be a shock to the systems of every elected official.

Paul Viar, Shelby Township Treasurer
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What should we make of this? An industrial plant closes and working men and women lose jobs. Beyond that, however, our township loses valuable tax money, our County loses tax money, our schools lose resources and our parks lose money. Through it all, Skip's attitude seems to be "don't worry, be happy" as he keeps on spending...and spending...and spending.

QUESTION: When will this madness stop?
ANSWER: When we kick out Madman Maccarone and elect a new Supervisor who will put OUR priorities ahead of personal ambition.

So what should the future of this vital piece of property be?

That is a very good question, and one which our ENTIRE BOARD OF TRUSTEES should be involved in helping find the answer. Skip has tried to paint himself as the savior here, but given his past performance Skip Maccarone is the LAST PERSON taxpayers want involved in making these key decisions. Therefore, we strongly encourage all Trustees to get involved to help find a realistic and workable solution for this valuable property.

As Skip told told the Detroit News on Saturday, December 16, 2006, the property where the Visteon plant is now needs to remain industrial to help with our township's financial base. We agree with this sentiment, and hope the township does everything possible, working with officials from Macomb County and the State of Michigan, to keep it industrial.

Truthfully, the last thing Shelby Township needs right now is for some private developer to purchase the land and rezone it from industrial to residential. Look around. There are more than enough homes in that area of the township (Van Dyke and Mound from 22 Mile to 23 Mile) right now. We don't need a whole bunch of more homes glutting an already overbuilt housing market ... homes that would likely go unsold, adding little value to our township.

Check out this link from MSNBC which highlights the ongoing housing slump, and how it does not appear that this crisis will end any time soon. There is a message here for Skip Maccarone, but we doubt very much that he is listening ... or that he even cares.

The fact is that the closing of the ACH plant will have a shocking impact on our township. The mere fact that Skip Maccarone does not see it this way should alarm all of us.

This is also why, when given the chance to vote on Tuesday, August 5th, we need to send Skip Maccarone packing.

Maybe THIS will shock Skip’s system!