Skip's Real Problem: He Doesn't Follow Advice...Not Even From HIMSELF!

Good leaders listen, take advice to heart, and implement prudent policies and decisions based on that advice. No politician has all the answers, and quite frankly we don't trust any politician who claims to have all the answers to all the questions - even before they are asked.

Such is the case with Skip Maccarone.

We couldn't help but chuckle loudly when we received the graphic above sent by e-mail from a regular blog reader. On this graphic (we are trying to locate the original source) Skip outlines the best advice he ever received. The ironic thing about this is that although Skip received the advice, and admits it is the best that he has ever received, he has refused to take such advice to heart. Not only that, but a female reader pointed out how Skip is smirking at the camera, almost as if he is saying: "See how great I am!"

When asked this question: "What is the best professional advice that you have ever received?" here is what Skip said:

"The best professional advice I have ever received was to always remember that every decision made in governing a community is one that will affect people for years to come. Whether deciding on a new hire, a change in budget strategy, a request for rezoning, or a capital improvement project, the work we do as local government officials will often touch the lives and livelihood of more people than we can imagine and have consequences far beyond the time frame that we may think."

Sounds good. In fact, we wholeheartedly agree! The problem is that Skip has failed to take this advice in governing our township. His blind ambition about a "campus" is a capital improvement project which will have long-term consequences for all taxpayers. That is where Skip fumbled the football, and it time for us to grab it and run for a touchdown.

For example, let's look at the township police/court building debate.

Skip failed to heed advice about the long-term impact of this massive $23 million project. He didn't listen to people who asked NOT to clear cut trees on the land where Skip wants to build this building. Instead of considering the long-term impact on our pocketbooks, Skip refused to even let us vote on this. Skip said that he was elected to make this decision and that (in his opinion) spending $23 million for this project, and $50 million (or more) on the entire “Campus Skippus" plan, was a completely proper decision which Skip claims the people elected him to do.

Despite concerns from his fellow Board of Trustees members, complaints from residents, and warnings about massive $4.5 million budget deficits ($5.4 million deficits if the building goes up), Skip still thinks spending millions and millions of our tax dollars now is right.

Well...Skip is WRONG!

In fact, at the June 17th Board meeting, after receiving horrible financial news about the stability of our township, and the prospect of a $4.5 million general fund deficit, Skip wanted to press ahead with his campus spending project. Backed up by his political puppet Lisa Manzella (and boy did she make some really dumb statements at this meeting and previously), this "duo of doom" tried to push their police/court building.

The truth is that while the Shelby Township police do have the money to construct a new police department (size and costs remain a top concern), the court does NOT. As a result, court fees will have to go up substantially and even that may still not be enough to cover the costs. So, when all is said and done, the end result will be that taxpayers (you and I) will be paying more out of our pocket (higher millages/taxes) to subsidize the court.

Then, even if the police and court issue is settled, the REAL TROUBLE for taxpayers is the township's general fund. Deficits will appear in the next few years, as spending rises faster than revenue. If conditions worsen here in Michigan, the situation (dire enough already) will grow even worse. Here again, taxpayers will be asked to pay more because (by law) township's cannot run deficits.

Since this is such a huge issue with long-term impact on our pocketbooks, why isn't Skip as passionate about dealing with this as he is about building a multi-million dollar legacy to himself?

Common sense would say that if you are given a report about looming general fund deficits, instead of focusing so much on spending, you should address the deficit problem first. Trustee Jim Carabelli brought up this point on June 17th to try and refocus what the real priorities should be. Joined by Trustee Paula Filar and Treasurer Paul Viar, Carabelli said that the structural deficit in the general fund MUST be fixed first. To their credit, Trustee Dave Kady and Clerk Terri Kowal also agreed that the deficit deficiency MUST be addressed.

Look at it this way...

...If you were given a financial report showing that your family's finances were in danger, in fact that bankruptcy was staring you in the face, would you go out and celebrate by purchasing a Cadillac Escalade and a 500,000 square foot home? Would you invite all your family and friends to dinner at the most expensive restaurant in town? Would you extend your credit cards further with a whole new wardrobe, new shoes, and all the fancy bling you could find?

Skip has shown by his actions that to him, deficits and higher taxes are not a concern, and he would just keep spending and spending and spending.

But everyone else we know, who live in the real world, would say "wait, let's look at our finances first before we go broke."

The process IS broken...and Skip Maccarone broke it. Skip not only broke it, he smashed it into tiny pieces, stomped on it, and threw it into the dumpster.

Taxpayers have suffered enough. If Skip gets another four years, the nightmare scenario about deficits, and greatly higher taxes, financial figures which Skip disregards as "phantom" numbers, will be a substantial drain on our pocketbooks for decades to come.

This goes to show what happens when arrogant politicians like Skip Maccarone think they can get away with anything and do anything to anyone at anytime.

It also explains why when people give you good advice in life, you should heed their advice.

While we're talking about advice, my father once said that the best advice he ever received, and which he lived his entire life by, was this: "Always keep your word to people. Your word is your bond and without that, you have nothing. Keep your word, and you will have everything."

Taking my dad's life lesson into account, it is clear that Skip has NOTHNG - because his word means nothing any longer.

If you want to contact us, send a confidential e-mail to STOPSKIP08@AOL.COM.

Remember--election day is TUESDAY, AUGUST 5th.

The primary is when it all counts. So make sure you take the time to vote, and urge your family and friends to get out and use the power of the ballot box to bring positive change to the Shelby Township Supervisor's office.

Our township's future is our hands. Let's not sit on them this election year.

Skip Maccarone's Legacy: DEFICITS...DEFICITS...AND MORE DEFICITS!

We couldn't help but reprint the cartoon above. When we saw this, it made an immediate and direct connection between what Skip Maccarone is trying to do to our township and our pocketbooks, and why we CANNOT allow him to get away with it.

There is an old saying that "all politics is local" and this is certainly the truth. What is happening throughout our country threatens to impact all taxpayers in Shelby Township. Amazingly, while some politicians seem in tune with what is going on, Supervisor Skip Maccarone does NOT.

Back in the "good old days" when we moved into Shelby Township, our community was a vibrant and growing township. However, times have changed. As is the case with cities and townships across Michigan, we are struggling. Foreclosures are ripping apart the fabric of our community. Personal bankruptcies and job losses are undercutting our hopes for the future. And deficits are piling up, threatening the stability of our government and setting the stage for higher taxes.

During the June 17th Board of Trustees meeting, a CPA hired by the township to review our financial situation had alarming news. The Rehman Robson group reported that our township is teetering on bankruptcy. Our general fund is in jeopardy of suffering a $4.5 million budget deficit in just five years. If you add Skip's massive $23 million police/court palace, the deficit grows another $900,000 to $5.4 million.

DEFICITS? That's right. Who would have ever thought that our township would be facing such a serious financial disaster. The person most responsible for this mess is Skip Maccarone!

Okay, common sense would say that if we are facing deficits the elected official should stop spending NOW. However, what does Skip want to do? Go full steam ahead with his police/court building. As he said during a recent Board work session, if the township is going to have a deficit with or without the building, the township should just build it anyway.

What? We could not believe our ears. Okay everyone, take out your Skip BS deflectors again and put them on!
Getting back to the June 17th meeting....

After the CPA made his report, which was unanimously adopted by the entire Board (meaning that everyone acknowledges that our township is teetering on bankruptcy), Skip wanted to move forward with the police/court building. We could not believe that Skip, once again, was completely disregarding a report warning of enormous budget problems with the general fund. Skip even wanted to take a vote to proceed with the building...

Thankfully, Treasurer Paul Viar and Trustees Jim Carabelli and Paula Filar stepped up and said NO. Joined by Dave Kady and Clerk Terri Kowal, they put a stop to the building...for now. Several taxpayers came forth to speak about this, and only one individual (Mr. Dub Hearon) supported the $23 million building. As he did before, Mr. Hearon said the taxpayers should not vote on this, because (in Hearon's opinion) the people would not be informed enough to make an educated vote.

The overwhelming response to the Board at this meeting was NO on the police/court building...at least for now. Yet, Skip tried his best to deflect concerns as he tried to build support for his police/court building. Skip even tried to spin the building as a job creation initiative, pumping money back into the local economy. Nice try Skip...but we didn't bite.

It was VERY CLEAR after seeing our Board in action that Skip and his spending puppet Lisa Manzella could care less about taxpayers. They want to build their building now, and we agree with the resident who spoke about Manzella wanting a plaque on the building. Perhaps they will even propose to name the police/court building the Maccarone Justice Center!

Among the many concerned taxpayers who spoke out at the June 17th meeting was Mr. Richard Stathakis....the guy who is running for township Supervisor this year. During his brief yet pointed comments, Mr. Stathakis laid out some very clear reasons why, as he said, the process is broken. The process IS BROKEN...and Skip is the guy who broke it.

We watched the meeting and tried to catch what Mr. Stathakis said. Below is a summary of his remarks...at least what we were able to catch. After reading you will see why Mr. Stathakis is the BEST CHOICE for township Supervisor. Not only that, but after receiving and reading his two pieces of campaign literature, Richard Stathakis is not only the BEST candidate, he is the best hope of getting our township budget under control and dealing effectively with Maccarone's deficit legacy -- a legacy we will be paying for for many years to come (unless we vote to change in the Supervisor's office this year).

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Mr. Supervisor and Board of Trustees…

I come here tonight with a message from not only myself, but from another concerned Shelby Township resident.

Her name is Mrs. Beverly Vigus. She has raised her family in Shelby Township and lived in the same house on 23 mile for 49 years.

She said that after paying taxes for 49 years, she deserves at least five uninterrupted minutes while I read her message, and mine in which she helped write.

As we talk about millions and millions of dollars for new township buildings, she wanted me to say this very clearly:

LET US VOTE. IT’S OUR RIGHT TO DO SO.

I come to you tonight also as a concerned taxpayer. I’m concerned because you, Mr. Supervisor, and some Trustees, are pushing to spend $23 million of our tax dollars without taking this to the people for a vote.

You have made it clear what you want for Shelby Township and what it will cost us.

But what do the people want?

There is something wrong with the process by which this police/court building has been handled.

We’ve already spent more than a million dollars on this building, and we’re still looking for answers to some very important questions.

Questions about size and need.

Questions about cost and how to pay for it.

Questions about the timing of this project.

Questions about whether it would be appropriate to phase in this construction instead of do the entire project at one time.

Most Shelby Township residents agree, as I do, that we need to improve our police station and courthouse.

However, they are troubled that your urgency to build this facility without a vote of the public seems to go against economic common sense.

We all believe in a first-class police department. We all support a courthouse large enough to conduct daily business.

It is the decision making process that is wrong here. The process is upside-down.

You, Mr. Supervisor, have been elected to work with the entire Board on issues impacting our community.

But when it comes to adding $23 million more to the backs of taxpayers, the people — the electors of this township - are the ones who should be making this decision.

In business, we plan carefully. We identify an issue or problem, compile a group vision with specific goals, and then build our team to carry it out. We call in experts during the PLANNING phase, so everyone’s questions can be answered fully.

Stockholders are also brought into the decision-making process before money is spent.

Only when the plan is fully understood do we proceed with implementation.

However, here in Shelby Township, there is a much different process.

The Supervisor gets an idea and pushes to make it a township idea.

He calls meetings to explain his idea and expects others to follow.

He proceeds with the plan before it has been fully adopted by the township team.

He spends millions on the concept, and then calls meetings after the money is spent to see if we can afford to spend what we just spent.

He then says the taxpayers should not have a right to vote.

The process is clearly broken.

I ask you to trust the people of this township and let us vote on spending $23 million for this police/court building. Put a business case together, present it to the stockholders — in this case the taxpayers — and let the people decide whether this is the right building of the right size at the right price and at the right time.

As a business owner, I understand the importance of including everyone and acknowledging that it all starts and ends with the customer.

The principles of running a township are not much different than running a business.

The customer, in the case of our township, is the taxpayer.

It starts with understanding what the people need and want, asking them to participate in the decision-making process, and delivering on those needs.

Let us have a public vote in deciding how to proceed with the proposed police and court campus. Let US decide OUR future.

LET US VOTE. IT’S OUR RIGHT TO DO SO.

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What a powerful message! Now we understand why Richard Stathakis has such widespread support and appeal to voters in our township. Stathakis understands what Skip does not -- that the government is spending OUR money -- and so we deserve the right to vote. Anything less (such as Skip's refusal to put this to the people) is UNDEMOCRATIC. But we expect nothing less from Mr. Maccarone, who has earned a reputation as the "little dictator."

As this entry is being written, the August 5th township primary election is 44 days away. Time is running short, and very soon voters will have their say. Skip thinks he is invincible but as we said before, nobody is invincible. Politicians with such arrogant disregarding for taxpayers, not to mention an arrogant belief that elected office is their RIGHT, don't deserve our vote.

If you want to contact us, send a note to STOPSKIP08@AOL.COM.

Make your vote count this year, and on August 5th we will all have a giant farewell party as we tell Skip to pack up his things, turn in his keys, and don't let the door hit him in the behind as he leaves the township hall.

What a wonderful day that will be for taxpayers, and for our township!

P.S. To our loyal readers who have wondered where we have been...we have been working to get rid of Skip this election year. Sorry we haven't written in a while, but rest assured that Skip has not taken us out!