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!
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