Shelby Trustee Lisa Manzella Becomes the “Great Obstructor” As She Puts Political Friends and Special Interests Ahead of Taxpayers

Residents who watched the regular Tuesday, December 20th Board of Trustees meeting got a full and clear perspective of how some people will do anything to try and intimidate Shelby’s elected officials.  Viewers also saw, quite clearly, how a majority of Shelby Trustees understand that they work for the people — and not special interests pushing their own political agenda.

You knew it was going to be an interesting night when the issue of the township towing contract was placed on the agenda.  But before we talk about that, let’s discuss another issue that took center stage at the meeting:  the appointment of a temporary township clerk.

When clerk Terri Kowal announced she would be resigning to take a new job in Auburn Hills, it became incumbent on the Board to try and pick a successor.  According to township ordinance, the Board must vote UNANIMOUSLY to pick a replacement for vacancies on the Board.  This procedure was followed years ago following the death of long-time Trustee Kirby Holmes, Jr.  Failure to reach a unanimous agreement, the decision on a replacement must go to the voters.

The Clerk performs some valuable duties, not just at election time but all the time.  The one that impacts the most people directly is signing paychecks and overseeing the department to make sure it is being run properly.  This is why it is important that someone be selected to fill this position for the remainder of Kowal’s term.

The Board reviewed five candidates who were interested in becoming township clerk.  The Board conducted public interviews, which were televised on Shelby television.  One of those candidates, Richard Batchelder, is a familiar name to readers of the Inside Out.  Batchelder is the spokesperson for the “Save Shelby, Status Quo, Liberal Spending Liars Society”, also known as Save Shelby.  We have written that Batchelder is interested in a position on the township board, and would become a candidate on a forthcoming Save Shelby slate  in 2012.  Little did we know that Batchelder would show his hand early and throw his name into contention now.

When we watched the clerk interviews, we were shocked to learn that Batchelder, who was the first candidate interviewed, admitted that he received the questions early.  This gave him the opportunity to prepare for his “interview” early and read his answers.  When he was asked where he got the questions, he responded (evasively) that they were e-mailed to him.  Treasurer Paul Viar then asked where the e-mail came from, and it was obvious that Batchelder didn’t want to answer Mr. Viar’s question.  It was at that time that Trustee Lisa Manzella chimed in that she sent the questions to him.

So Mrs. Manzella gave her Save Shelby associate the questions ahead of time, hoping to improve his chances.  Even with this preparation, Batchelder gave the worst performance of all the interviewees.  Mr. Batchelder didn’t do himself any favors by reading scripted answers to questions. Besides, even with time to prepare, his answers were hollow, meaningless and mundane.

Perhaps this is why a few days later Mr. Batchelder withdrew his name from consideration as a Township Clerk candidate.  Nevertheless, look for Save Shelby spokesman Richard Batchelder to be among the candidates who will form a forthcoming Save Shelby slate for township offices in 2012.

So the five prospective clerk candidates were reduced to four.  Three of those candidates were put forth for consideration as a replacement for the resigning Terri Kowal at the Tuesday, December 20th meeting.

• One candidate, Fran Gillett, was nominated but failed to get a second.

• A second candidate, Stan Grot, was nominated and seconded, but the final vote for him was 5-to-1 (Clerk Kowal did not vote).  The lone dissenter was Trustee Lisa Manzella.

• The Board was presented with a third choice, Raquel Moore.  Mrs. Moore was nominated and seconded, but the vote for her was, once again, 5-to-1 (again, Kowal did not vote).  Once again, the lone dissenter was Trustee Lisa Manzella.

By ordinance, if the Board cannot come to a unanimous decision on a Board vacancy, the decision goes to the voters in a special election.  This election will cost our township $30,000, not to mention the additional strain and burden this needless election will place on the clerk’s staff during what is already expected to be a busy and tough election year ahead.

Trustee Paula Filar then recommended that Supervisor Stathakis be appointed to fill the clerk’s position, and perform statutory duties, until the Board developed a permanent solution.  This motion passed, opposed by (as expected) Trustee Manzella and Clerk Kowal.

Despite the expense on taxpayers and the time strain it will put on township employees, Trustee Manzella could care less.  Apparently, since her choice (Batchelder) was no longer in the race, she felt a need to try and obstruct the process.  So she was the lone voice against bringing closure to this decision.

So why did Manzella decide to become Shelby’s Great Obstructor?  Politics?  Did she carefully interview the candidates for clerk and make her decision based on the merits of the individuals?  Did she act out of concern for the township’s greater good?  Or did she have another more personal, and political, reason for voting against the prospective clerk nominees?

Immediately after the Board meeting, Mrs. Manzella posted the following comment on the Save Shelby Facebook page:

So, THAT is the reason!  Mrs. Manzella was upset that the Board was going to discuss terminating the towing contract with the Nightingales and so she was determined to hold up her vote on the issue of a replacement clerk in order protect the interests of the Nightingale’s and their coveted towing contract.

Instead of looking at the clerk candidates carefully, doing her research and then voting based on their qualifications and abilities, Manzella linked the vote for a clerk replacement to the township towing contract.  So Lisa Manzella, the person who always complains about politics,  played political games with her vote.  Was she saying that her vote is for sale — if the price is right?  Was the right price in this instance helping her Save Shelby associates by preserving a towing contract for the Nightingales?

So much for Lisa Manzella taking her responsibilities as Trustee seriously and making every decision independently based on the facts and merits of the case.  If this doesn’t stink of political paybacks and favoritism, we don’t know what does!

We also find it interesting that Mrs. Kowal would prefer an election to a Board temporary appointment.  She has always complained about the stress that elections put on her department.  Maybe she doesn’t care about the additional workload of another election since she is resigning.

THE ATTACK OF THE SPECIAL INTERESTS

Now, moving on to the other big decision that was made at the Tuesday, December 20th Board meeting: the township’s towing contract.

Supervisor Rick Stathakis put the towing contract on the meeting agenda after sending the Nightingales a letter stating four reasons why they were in violation of their contract.  As outlined by an article in the December 22nd issue of the Source newspaper the four allegations included:
• Failure to complete site improvements as described during the big process before the township contract was awarded.
• Failure to prominently display a list of towing charges, a list of storage charges and hours of operation.
• Failure to appropriately charge for services pursuant to the terms of the township contract.
• Failure to adequately screen all employees so as to minimize risk to the public receiving services.

These allegations were detailed in a report given to the Board by Russ Weipert, a former police officer with the City of Troy. Weipert was hired as a consultant too examine the police auction process and the township towing contract.  Following a report by Mark Nottely that the township needed to improve its car auction process, overseen by the Nightingales.

As expected, the Nightingales fanned out to attack.  To try and pack the meeting hall, they made phone calls, posted on Facebook, paid for political robo-calls to residents, distributed flyers and sent around e-mails to try and boost attendance.  They figured that the larger the crowd they could get, the better chance they would have of intimidating the Board.

Anyway, the meeting day came.  It was one of the longest meetings we have seen in a while, and yet it was a very well-run meeting — despite the rude and angry protests of those in the audience. When the facts against the Nightingales were presented, no one of their group came forth to explain what they did, or failed to do.  Overcharge the people?  No comment from the Nightingales.  Failure to improve the appearance of their site, which John Nightingale agreed to (on television) when receiving the contract?  No explanation.  Failure to charge according to the terms of the contract?  The Nightingales said nothing.  There was literally no effort by them to explain the contract, other than a family member asking why they don ’t have the right to charge customers whatever they want if they are called for a tow?

The list of those who supported the Nightingales was comprised of family members, friends, business associates and Save Shelby cohorts.  Despite their time and money trying to stack the room, they only managed to muster those with a personal or financial interest in the Nightingales keeping the contract.

The mud started flying, and the person who receives the “Bonehead Award” for the most rude behavior at the December 20th meeting was Marsha Nightingale.  Mrs. Nightingale yelled at the Board, calling them names and claiming that Supervisor Stathakis is not a Christian.  Really?  Mr. Stathakis is not a Christian?  We understand he is a Lutheran, and yet Mrs. Nightingale doesn’t consider that one of the many Christian faiths?

Mrs. Nightingale then went on to claim, without supporting evidence, that the Supervisor has been slapped with a sexual harassment complaint by a female township police officer.  Supervisor Stathakis said, emphatically, that Mrs. Nightingale’s accusation was totally untrue, yet Mrs. Nightingale persisted.  Obviously, taking a page from McCarthy’s book of dirty tricks, Mrs. Nightingale tried to change the subject from her family’s blatant contract violations to unfounded claims of sexual harassment.  Mrs. Nightingale has the right to her opinion, but she does not have the right to make up stories to support her personal views!

We have since learned that the so-called “sexual harassment” that Mrs. Nightingale raised is actually is a workplace complaint of unfair treatment by Supervisor Stathakis.  Apparently, Mr. Stathakis’s oversight (or perhaps failure to purchase enough baking supplies) resulted in more home-made treats being given to the fire department than the police department.  Since some police officers somehow thought that they were being treated unfairly by the shortage of desserts, they filed a “harassment” complaint against Mr. Stathakis.

When pressed by Mrs. Nightingale about this so-called “sexual harassment investigation”, Supervisor Stathakis said emphatically that there was no sexual harassment complaint and that “there would not be.”  Quite frankly, we believe Mr. Stathakis.  He then told Mrs. Nightingale that he was not going to tolerate her making such blatantly false statements, adding that he was not going to comment further.

Given the truth of what this “harassment” actually entails, we can understand why Mr. Stathakis did the right thing by not engaging.

Claiming, as some police officers have, that you are being unfairly treated because the fire department got more desserts than you did sounds extremely petty, and quite frankly makes the whole Shelby Township police department look stupid.  Apparently, by refusing to comment on the specifics of this incident, Mr. Stathakis recognized the ridiculousness of this claim and decided that he was not going to whitewash the entire police department because of the hurt feelings of a few who didn’t get enough desserts to satisfy their sweet tooth.

In the end, the Board of Trustees, and attorney Rob Huth, laid out four valid reasons why the towing contract with the Nightingales should be revoked.  Their attorney, Paul Kowal (husband of clerk Terri Kowal) tried to paint a picture that the Board was doing something improper by voiding the contract, but his legal charade was overridden by township attorney Rob Huth who said the township has the authority to determine whether or not a vendor has violated a contract.

Given the Nightingale’s failure to abide by the contract, the Board had no choice but to terminate the contract.  Trustee Doug Wozniak did a fantastic job of summarizing why the contract had been violated in terms that everyone could easily understand.

The vote to terminate the contract was 5-to-2.  The only two Board members who supported the Nightingales were Trustee Lisa Manzella, a long-time Nightingale/Save Shelby associate, and Clerk Terri Kowal, another Nightingale/Save Shelby associate whose husband has been hired as the Nightingale attorney.  It is clear that while Supervisor Stathakis, Treasurer Viar and Trustees Filar, Flynn and Wozniak understand their duties to stand up for the township, Mrs. Manzella and Mrs. Kowal see their duties as standing up for special interest groups.

Shame on Mrs. Kowal and Mrs. Manzella for turning a blind eye to contract violations in order to protect their political friends.  Their actions in this instance clearly show that, for Manzella and Kowal, political paybacks trump the greater good for Shelby Township taxpayers.

Until next time...

Shelby Clerk Terri Kowal’s Paranoia Goes Too Far As She Hires A Private Investigator to Check the Township Hall for Electronic Listening Devices (Taxpayers End Up Paying the Bill)

Paranoia [ˌpar.rəˈnoɪ.ə] (adjective: paranoid [ˈpar.rə.noɪd]) is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself. False accusations and the distrust of others also frequently accompany paranoia.
_________

Generally, people who suffer from a paranoia complex have a mental state where they think everyone is out to get them.  In their view, everyone is an enemy and no one is to be trusted.  So these people act irrationally, and at times do things that make you question their sanity.

Recently the Shelby-Utica News ran a story about an electronic sweep of Shelby’s municipal offices that was conducted recently.  Apparently, believing the place was bugged, Shelby Township Clerk Terri Kowal authorized an outside private investigator (Ricco Investigations) to come in and check the municipal hall for listening devices - or BUGS as they are called by people outside the industry.

WTF?  Hiring a private investigator to sweep for bugs??????  Mrs. Kowal really has become weird over the last few weeks.

Mrs. Kowal said she has evidence that her office was bugged?  Really?  Where is the evidence?  She said ceiling tiles were moved and duct tape was hanging down from the ceiling.  Oh really?  Were any photos take of this security breach?  If so, where are the photos?  Footprints on the wall?  Really?  What was the shoe size?  More importantly, why weren’t the Shelby Township police notified and called in to investigate this bizarre event?

If Mrs. Kowal thinks that her office was bugged, does she really believe the culprit/culprits would be so sloppy as to leave ceiling tiles moved, footprints on walls, or duct tape hanging?  And just who does Mrs. Kowal believe in her own mind bugged her office, and for what reason?

Furthermore, just how would someone go about planting listening devices in the police department?  Isn’t there someone in the department 24/7 — and wouldn’t the police notice a strange person walking around the department?

This listening device incident, coming on the heels of Kowal’s “banker box” stupidity, reinforces why Kowal’s decision to hit the trail for Auburn Hills is the right decision for taxpayers.  The sooner the better!

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

When you read the Shelby-Utica News article, you will likely be shocked at what the newspaper has reported.


Documents obtained from Freedom of Information Act requests show the sweep was conducted under the request of Shelby Township Clerk Terri Kowal.  


“Kowal said it would be authorized and on behalf of whoever,” Riccobono said.


Kowal said she commissioned Riccobono to do the sweep after discussions with now-former Police Chief Robert Leman about security concerns.


While Kowal discussed with him that she was having a sweep done of her office, Leman said, he did not give his official authorization for the sweep prior to being placed on administrative leave Sept. 21.


“There was a discussion but no authorization from me,” Leman said.

Okay, we we have documented proof that Kowal and former Chief Leman tag-teamed this electronic sweep over security concerns?  Really.  More paranoia?  Sure, there may have been no formal authorization from Leman about the sweep (wink-wink...plausible deniability?) but ask yourself this question: Do you think anyone could get access to roam around the police department, planting bugs of all things, without approval from the Chief?

Continuing on:

Joe Riccobono Sr., founder of Ricco Investigations in Utica, performed a search for electronic listening devices in the township clerk’s office, the office of Human Resources Director Lisa Suida and Shelby Township Police Department offices without the authorization of Acting Chief of Police Roland Woelkers or Township Supervisor Richard Stathakis, which Stathakis and Woelkers said would have been proper protocol for the sweeps of the latter two.


“I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” Riccobono said when asked how he gained access to the Police Department without official authorization from the acting police chief or township supervisor.
“I was received and allowed entry,” Riccobono said of the sweep, which occurred Sept. 23.  “I can tell you  it was an uneventful situation.  Nothing was found.”


The $300 charge for the sweep — originally $200, according to Riccobono, but raised to $300 because it was paid by check rather than case — was in the bill run approved by the Board of Trustees Dec. 6.

Okay, so if you are a vendor providing a service to Shelby Township, Terri Kowal has an offer that you can’t refuse.  First get approval for $200 and then raise your fee by 100% because the township has to pay the bill by check instead of cash?  Does this mean if a contractor does road work for $600,000 they will get the same opportunity to double the bill to $1.2 million if you pay by check instead of cash?

This cash for services arrangement that Mrs. Kowal made with her P.I. friend Joe Riccobono stinks!!!

Here is more from the story:
Along with the police offices, a sweep of human resources was done without the authorization of the supervisor, who is the top executive overseeing that department.


“I didn’t know anything about human resources,” Kowal said.  “(Human Resources Director Lisa Suida) asked if she could have her phone checked because it wasn’t working properly.”


There was no police supervision of the sweep in the Human Resources Department, and Stathakis said he did not know about it until the Oct. 8 email that Kowal sent to Woelkers.


“My concern is that this was not done in an upfront manner,” Stathakis said.  “This was something that should have been communicated to me by the chief of police [Leman] or by those with whom he discussed this matter.”


Stemming from his interviews with Kowal after the sweep, Woelkers submitted a memo Nov. 18 to Stathakis that stated the reason Kowal had not informed the supervisor was that “the supervisor would be the last person she would tell about the electronic sweep that was conducted on September 23.”


Kowal said she did not recall making the statement.


“I’ve tried to get as many answers as I could from the clerk’s office, and I’m not having much success,” Stathakis said.

So Mrs. Kowal doesn’t think she has to inform the top elected official of the township about a security breach?  The former police chief concurs with Kowal and does not communicate a possible breach to the Supervisor either?  Does this make any sense?  Kowal said she does not recall making the statement about not needing to tell the Supervisor.  So is Terri Kowal calling Acting Chief Woelkers a liar?

Furthermore, we wonder what Mrs. Kowal would be telling the newspapers had Mr. Stathakis, or even Treasurer Paul Viar, conducted an electronic sweep of the Financial Management offices without Kowal’s knowledge.  Since Mrs. Kowal supervises this department, and given her eagerness to trash people in the press, it is likely that she would have an entirely different spin on this entire weird incident.

Interestingly, just a few weeks ago, when she was asked about this electronic sweep by Shelby This Week’s host Phil Nye, Kowal implied that there was nothing wrong with it.  Just a simple request.  Further, she tried to brush all the concerns about this off as no big deal, since she has the authority (by Board edict) to spend up to a specific amount of tax dollars without Board approval anyway.

Mrs. Kowal thinks she can spend our precious tax dollars on any frivolous item she thinks that she “needs” as long as the amount stays below the threshold of Board approval?  Even if that means our tax dollars are wasted because someone has a paranoia complex and thinks people are listening to her in her township office?

We find it amusing that those in our township who oppose democracy — the “Save Shelby, Status Quo, Liberal Spending Liars Society” have tried to say that the Board has forced Mrs. Kowal to leave.  That is a lie.   Mrs. Kowal voluntarily sought another taxpayer-funded job in another community, taking advantage of her lifetime health care benefits paid for by Shelby taxpayers.  Nobody is forcing Mrs. Kowal to leave.  This is a decision she made, voluntarily, because she has said the new job is a great career move.

The Save Shelby crew could really give a damn what the taxpayers think — and have showed great contempt for the taxpayers in all their ridiculous outbursts and nasty attacks for three years.  Save Shelby associates Trustee Lisa Manzella and Clerk Terri Kowal have fed this group’s hunger for attacks upon our Board of Trustees.  This group claims that they care about the township, but we all know that the only thing the Save Shelby crew cares about is power, power and more power.  The Save Shelby message can be summarized as follows: “To hell with Shelby taxpayers, we are more important!”

Well, as a majority of residents have proven, the Save Shelby vision for Shelby Township is NOT one shared by a majority of residents.  The Save Shelby agenda will result in sweetheart contracts, higher union pensions, and grossly higher spending all paid for by Shelby Township taxpayers.  The Save Shelby gang will deny all this, of course, but when you look at what they want to do, the end result will always be higher spending and higher taxes.

Getting back to Terri Kowal, we hope that she curtails much of the stupidity which has tainted her last few months in office.  Chances are her new employer will see no value in obsessed paranoia and will consider some of Kowal’s follies unsuitable for the taxpayers of Auburn Hills.

We also have this final piece of advice (warning) for our friends who live and work in Auburn Hills:  Beware of Terri Kowal.  Because what you see is definitely NOT what you get!

Until next time...

Trustee Lisa Manzella Fights to Keep the (Money-Losing) 41-A District Court In Shelby Township — At All Costs!

The 20-year long debate and discussion concerning the 41-A District Court building is back in the headlines once again.

Shelby Township’s Board of Trustees voted on Wednesday, December 14th to put a question on the February, 2012 ballot giving Shelby taxpayers a direct say (through our public vote) in deciding whether the 41-A District Court should stay in Shelby Township or relocate to Macomb Township.

This decision by the Board is greatly appreciated, and very welcome news to residents who firmly believe that taxpayers, those who will be paying to build and operate a new Court, should have a voice, and a vote, on this crucial decision.

This has indeed gone on for way too long - primarily because the politicians didn’t bother asking the people their thoughts on this.  Now, we will finally get our opportunity to tell Shelby’s Trustees how we feel about the Court.  Should it stay or should it go?

If Shelby residents want to keep the court in our township then we need to let our Board of Trustees know at the ballot box so that we can then understand the total costs involved for bonding/taxing to build a new facility.  If we don’t want to pay for the court, and if the 41-A District Court is a financially-losing proposition for our township (as it appears to be based on financial reports), then we owe it to ourselves to vote NO and let them move to neighboring Macomb Township.

Either way, the people will decide — and for that the INSIDE OUT says “thank you” to the Board of Trustees for voting to give Shelby taxpayers a voice in this decision through the power of the ballot box in February, 2012!

By now, we all have seen that whenever the Board of Trustees discusses the 41-A District Court issue, Trustee Lisa Manzella gets on her soapbox in defense of the Court.  This is obviously a very touchy issue for her.  She has publicly that the $20 million figure cited by Supervisor Stathakis and others as the cost for the “justice center” is incorrect.  She then goes on a rampage about how the Supervisor, Treasurer and others are misleading people about the Court.  Actually, it is Lisa Manzella who has been misleading people.  She has been the chief cheerleader for the court, going so far as to openly support higher taxes to build and operate the Court.

Check out this e-mail that Trustee Manzella sent to resident Ed Young back in 2006.  We are reprinting the e-mail in its entirety so there is absolutely no confusion about what Lisa Manzella’s position is:

We find it extremely interesting that Manzella actually says “no one knows better than I about the financial predicament Michigan is in right now.”  Really?  No one in the entire State of Michigan understands the complexities of the economic picture except Lisa Manzella?

Manzella then wrote:
“I predicted these economic time back in the early '90s.”  
Really?  Lisa Manzella, Shelby’s economic gypsy, gazed into her magical crystal ball (probably paid for by taxpayers) and predicted the tough times Michigan is now facing a full 15 years before the recession actually happened?  That Manzella Snake Oil really does impact the brain, doesn’t it?

Manzella also wrote:
“I took the justice center under my wing because I firmly believe it is a necessity.  I’d love to see a new library and a rec center, but the police/court facility is a necessity.”  
Manzella has tried to rewrite history, saying that she never supported Skip Maccarone’s $50 million campus project.  However, since building a new library and recreation center (two ideas Manzella supports) were elements of the campus idea that was defeated, this proves that Manzella DID support the campus, and once again is not being honest with township taxpayers.

Also, take note that her “justice center” would have cost taxpayers $20 million dollars that we do not have and would be taxed to the max to pay for!

We also find this statement by Manzella to be truly bizarre:
“I believe the time is now to complete this project.  I was elected by the people to make decisions, and I believe it is an act of cowardace [stet] to throw this back at the people.  Only a self-serving official who has only their own interest, would be coward enough not to act on the police and court building.”

COWARDICE!!  True political cowards are arrogant politicians, like Lisa Manzella, who believe that they were elected for some higher purpose, have all the answers to all the problems, and should just be trusted by us to make the right decisions.  Lisa Manzella’s die hard support for both the unaffordable justice center and the unneeded Maccarone “campus” proves, without question, that she is incapable of being trusted by anyone to make the right decisions for Shelby taxpayers.

At the Tuesday, September 6, 2011 Board meeting, Manzella announced that she was never in favor of a $20 million court building.  This was a lie.  Not only did she champion it, but also chaired the committee which proposed this massive structure.  Check it out yourself by reading the September 8th Inside Out.  She was called out for her revisionist lie and immediately went on the attack against those who dared point out the truth.  Typical Manzellian behavior.

Interestingly, while Lisa Manzella is busy condemning people for using the $23 million figure (or even a $20 million number), as you can see from the letter to resident Ed Young, Manzella readily admits that the “justice center”, which she fully embraced, was projected to cost $24 million.

What the heck .... a million here, a million there, millions of our tax dollars being spent everywhere (nods to Dr. Seuss).  Manzella’s taxing and spending agenda was, and is, a path to financial destruction for Shelby Township.

Trustee Manzella enjoys attacking people who question the logic of spending $20 million (or $24 million) for a justice center.  Actually, she attacks anyone who questions any decision she makes, and loves using Facebook to promote her political bullying.  She is bitter and angry that the people rejected her justice center concept, and is on a revenge mission against those who oppose her big spending, liberal views of government.

Today, Lisa Manzella is still lobbying for the 41-A District Court to remain in Shelby Township.  She still does not want the people to vote on whether to build a new court or let the facility move to Macomb Township, as evidenced by her December 14th vote against a ballot question.  She further says that she has not changed her mind, and that the township can support and fund the Court.  In other words, Shelby Township has plenty of money to keep the 41-A District Court in Shelby Township.

Or ... do we?

Check out this e-mail that Manzella sent around on April 8, 2010.  She was responding to a request from Supervisor Rick Stathakis, on behalf of officials in Macomb Township, to schedule a meeting to discuss the 41-A District Court’s future:

Okay, so on April 8, 2010 Shelby Township, by Manzella’s own admission, Shelby Township “can not afford the court.”   However, she has repeatedly that nothing that she has seen or read has changed her mind about the Court staying in Shelby.

So let’s dissect this logic.  Since Shelby Township can’t afford the Court under current funding arrangements (and financial forecasts say we cannot), and since Manzella has said she does not want the court to leave, does Lisa Manzella then support higher taxes and fees to keep the court in Shelby Township?  Based on her public statements and actions, what do you think?

Manzella is on record as wanting to increase fees to pay for a new court — raising them higher than what the 41-A Court judges even wanted.  Consider the following that was first reported in our October 10, 2010 Inside Out detailing Lisa Manzella’s track record in her own words:

Macomb Daily - April 23, 2006

Sierawski and Chief Judge Maceroni agree to increase fines for traffic tickets an additional $5 per ticket.  That money then would go into the Court's building fund.  Trustee Lisa Manzella said she would have preferred a 100% increase above what the judges recommended.

“I thought $5 was a little light,” Manzella said. “If we get to June and make some plans to break ground, maybe we can think about $10.”

NOTE: WAS MANZELLA LOOKING FOR AN EASY WAY TO PAD THE BANK ACCOUNT FOR HER JUSTICE CENTER?  TAKE MONEY FROM TAXPAYERS TO BUILD SOMETHING WE CAN'T AFFORD SO THAT WE ARE THEN ARE FORCED TO PAY EVEN MORE MONEY TO OPERATE?

Given that the “Save Shelby, Status Quo, Liberal Spending Liars Society” (also known as Save Shelby), has already gone on record as saying the Board should raise taxes to deal with financial issues, is this Manzella’s true secret agenda? Raise taxes in order to keep the 41-A District Court in Shelby Township at all costs?  Do we really need a new Court building that taxpayers must pay higher taxes to construct and operate?  Should we just let politicians, like Manzella, decide — or should taxpayers be involved in helping make this important pocketbook decision?

Trustee Lisa Manzella opposes a public vote on the 41-A District Court.  However, an overwhelming majority of taxpayers believe a public vote is the proper and prudent thing to do.  Lisa Manzella has much to be ashamed of given her conduct in office — and depriving the people of a public vote is just one of the many reasons (her Facebook posts being another) why she does NOT deserve another term on the Board of Trustees in 2012.

Now that Shelby’s Board of Trustees has approved this advisory ballot language about the 41-A District Court, it is up to us, the voters of Shelby Township, to get to the polls and make our voices heard.  We predict that informed voters will make an informed choice in February, 2012— and this will finally put to rest a discussion that has been dragging on in this township for FAR TOO LONG.

Thanks to the current Board of Trustees, the people will finally get a chance to speak on this.  When we do, everyone will know where Shelby taxpayers stand on the 41-A District Court once and for all.

Until next time...

Effectively Patrolling Shelby Township’s Police Budget Requires New Departmental Leadership Who Will Put Taxpayers’ Interests First

Everywhere you look these days people, businesses and governmental bodies are changing, reforming, modifying, and improving the way things get done.  Why?  Because they MUST or face the reality of service cuts, layoffs, bankruptcy, higher taxes or being taken over by a state-run Emergency Manager.  Those who support the old ways of doing business are trying desperately to prevent change, but are increasingly finding themselves losing as the power of the people has become more power than the demand of special interests.

Recently, the Shelby Township Board of Trustees conducted an independent review of the police department.  This comes on the heels of similar reports done for both the Fire Department and for the Parks, Recreation and Maintenance Departments.  In both the Fire and PRM the reports outlined effective ways to trim costs, hundreds of thousands of dollars to be exact, in each department.  As a result, our elected officials now have a tool they can use to help make sure the departments get the resources they need, while taxpayers get the cost reductions we demand.

Given the success of the two studies, a review of the police department made perfect sense. Since the police department faces a serious budget deficit in a few years, and since the department was disinterested in making any changes, why not act now to fend off such deficit.  So the Board voted to conduct the study, a move that was immediately blasted and condemned by those associated with the “Save Shelby, Status Quo, Liberal Spending Liars Society” or more commonly called “Save Shelby.”

One man in particular, named Tim Orbacki, went to the mat opposed to any review of police operations. When the Board initiated a study of the police department, seeking an expert review of how and where to reduce costs without hurting police protection, Orbacki protested.  As reported by Frank DeFrank in the Monday, December 22, 2010 issue of the Macomb Daily, Orbacki declared the study a waste of time.  
“You can do a review, but I don't really see what you're going to get out of it.”


For your information, this is the same Tim Orbacki who once said that if taxes need to be raised to deal with the township budget, then the Board should do it.  On September 22, 2010, at 10:07 a.m., Orbacki sent an e-mail to township officials stating the following: 
“The budget is the board’s problem to raises taxes if needed.”

Criticism by Orbacki and Save Shelby aside, the township got quite a bit out of the review of the police department.  The report outlined some ways to save costs long-term, without impacting the protection we deserve as township residents.  Trustees who supported this review did the right thing.

The Save Shelby group tried to stop the study, but failed.  Trustee Lisa Manzella made plenty of noise, along with a few of her political cronies, protesting the study.  Manzella has never wanted to change anything - especially if it means saving taxpayers money.  She has always believed that the best way to keep Shelby Township strong is to continue the same policies of the past.  This includes high spending, high pensions, high payrolls and higher taxes to support this high-life agenda.

We must never forget that Manzella wanted to raise $50 million in new bonds for a campus of new buildings.  Her claim was that taxpayers could easily afford such spending without impacting their pocketbooks.  Financial reports show that the township could not, and still cannot, afford the Manzella spending plan.  Nevertheless, she presses on in full big liberal form.

Manzella made lots of noise, once again, when the Board decided to move on and not renew the contract of the township police chief.  Even though Manzella may think otherwise, he was NOT entitled to his position for as long as he wanted it.  Our understanding is that the police chief is an at-will employee.  He worked for the Board and at any time if the Board felt they wanted a new chief, they have the legal authority to hire one.  On September 20, 2011 by a vote of 5-2 the Board of Trustees decided to move on and hire a new chief.

Oh sure, Manzella (and Kowal) tried to stir up a hornet’s nest of trouble.  However, outside the circle that these two speak to this is not a big deal.  Okay, so Shelby Township will have a new police chief.  Sure, the previous chief did a pretty good job in the past, and as we understand it that was not the point.  The Shelby police department is facing financial challenges that will require serious leadership to correct.

Angry that her friend did not get his [entitled?] contract renewed, Manzella and her close associates logged onto Facebook to once again trash the Board of Trustees.  This has become pretty standard way for Mrs. Manzella to air her political frustrations and show her true unprofessional conduct.

Check out this exchange:

Trustee Manzella needs to understand that public posts made on Facebook are public record, and as such you will be open to criticism for your comments especially if you are a public official.  So in the interests of transparency we urge Mrs. Manzella to PLEASE keep posting stupid and ill-conceived rants on Facebook for everyone to read!

In the private sector, there is a thing called “constant improvement.”  You either have it, or you don’t.  Those who understand this concept, and work to implement it, are successful.  Those who don’t are not. It is that simple.  Clearly, from what we have seen and read, the police department needs improvement.  Oh sure, the police officers provide quality protection.  That is not the issue, as far as we are concerned.  Finances, projected deficits and bloated pensions are.

According to the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Shelby Township police officers are paid substantially more than the average law enforcement salary.  In fact, a recent Mackinac Center study showed that 30 percent of Shelby Township police officers are paid more than $90,000 a year.  Some will argue that the police officers deserve every penny they get.  Fine, but does this mean they are worth tens of thousands of pennies more than police officers in other communities — many with higher crime rates and population than Shelby Township?

Here is just some of what the Mackinac Center report shows:

• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data from May of 2009, police and sheriff patrol officers made $51,270 (not including overtime) on average in the state of Michigan. All but five of the Shelby Township patrol officers surpassed that average salary in 2009. The average gross pay of the 50 Shelby Township patrol officers was $78,402.

• According to a Freedom of Information Act Request, the Shelby Township Police Department has 72 employees, of which nine made six-figure gross salaries last year, and another 13 made $90,000 to $99,000. Thirty percent of the police force was paid at least $90,000 for 2009.

• Also, according to the “all fund” 2010 budget information online, Shelby Township's expenses exceeded revenue by $2 million.

Shelby Township is one of many municipalities that are paying lucrative salaries while in red ink.  So the operational review was done, and the results made public at the September 6th meeting.

We are most certainly not experts, just casual observers and longtime township taxpayers.  However, the outlined changes seem to make sense.  Will they work?  On the surface they look reasonable and prudent, but this is for people much smarter than us to decide.  However, at least the Board is now finally having a discussion about cutting costs instead of just kicking the can down the road and doing nothing until the day comes when the only course of action will be higher taxes or drastic cuts to police protection.

We thank Supervisor Stathakis and the Board for showing leadership on this issue and doing what is right for taxpayers.

When the Board voted not to renew the police chief’s contract, Trustee Manzella and her crowd rebelled.  They made all sorts of outrageous claims against the five informed Board members who did not believe the chief deserved a new contract.  Moreover, the Board’s refusal to award a new contract resulted in the former chief filing a lawsuit against the township.  It certainly looks as if some people don’t like change and will go to great lengths to try and stop it.

Those who watched the Board meeting where the vote on the chief’s contract took place will recall how people came up to complain that there was no justification for this decision.  Well, as it now turns out, recently released documents show that this 5-to-2 decision by the Board of Trustees was based on performance.

The Monday, December 12th Shelby-Utica Patch included a story which contained some very interesting information concerning the former police chief.  As it turns out, there was a basis for the decision not to rehire the former chief.  As the Patch reported, Supervisor Rick Stathakis, Trustee Paula Filar and Trustee Lisa Manzella all submitted memos with their opinion of the situation.  We encourage all taxpayers to read the Patch (click on the link) and pay special attention to the letters from Mr. Stathakis and Mrs. Filar.

You can also access each of these documents at the following links:

Letter from Supervisor Stathakis explaining why he voted not to renew Leman’s contract.

Letter from Trustee Paula Filar explaining why she voted not to renew Leman’s contract.

As for the nasty personal rant from Trustee Manzella, which (among other things) calls into question Supevisor Stathakis’ Christianity, you probably should take it for what it’s worth.  Is this shameful religious attack upon Mr. Stathakis something you would want, or expect, from a township elected official who also teaches catechism to our young boys and girls?

Until next time...