Pointe Mayors' letter on Votenorecall.com
April/11/2010 08:05
The anti-recall movement has set up their own website with the negative sounding name of votenorecall.com. On the site you will find a letter from the four other Grosse Pointe Mayors who tell us that: “Recall of elected officials should be used to address serious transgressions, but not against elected officials making difficult decisions on behalf of their community.”
Isn’t it presumptuous that four politicians who are not residents of our city feel the need to get involved telling Shores voters what to do? The mayors admit their concern is about the image of their communities throughout the state and the country. Isn’t that nice? Shore voters are concerned about the ability of our city to survive.
One does have to admit that at least these mayors did make difficult decisions that have kept their towns off the State of Michigan’s watch list of fiscally unhealthy cities. The other mayors did so by engaging blue ribbon committees of experts, maintaining very healthy fund balances, incurring low debt levels, and developing long-range fiscal plans. Why did Shores officials not take the same actions? If they were facing the same burden as Shores taxpayers, wouldn’t the other Pointe mayors feel different about their rights to hold the responsible office holders accountable in a democratic election?
Looking at what other Pointe cities have done, it becomes clear that the serious transgression that the Shores incumbents need to be held responsible for goes way beyond their decision to make the unnecessary 1-mil tax increase. The real transgression of Mayor Cooper and his incumbents is the fact that they have been unwilling over the course of their tenure in office to make the difficult decisions that should have been made to keep the Shores out of the current fiscal quagmire that threatens the viability of our city.
The fact of the matter is that here we are today, nearly a year after the incumbents raised taxes the amount needed to cover an operating deficit from the last fiscal year. The incumbents promised the tax increase was to maintain a healthy fund balance and for roadwork on Lochmoor. Despite their assertions as to what the tax increase was supposed to be for, the Shores own auditors subsequently had to report us to the state for a deficient general fund balance, and no roadwork has been done! The incumbents have yet to offer a concrete plan to definitively control legacy costs, hold the line on taxes and turn things around. Did you know that as a best practice the State of Michigan advises that cities finalize their annual budget up to 6 months in advance? Not so in the Shores.
Don’t expect any conclusive action or even to hear what they propose to do with next year’s budget and tax rate in advance of the upcoming election. Mayor Cooper and the remaining incumbents cling to the hope that citizens won’t have the courage to hold them accountable. They are working to defeat the recall so they can continue with business as usual. Don’t let this happen. We stand to be hit with another tax increase, which will drive property values down further. That is not the kind of management that this city needs.
Sincere thanks to the other four Grosse Pointe mayors whose course of action in keeping their cities fiscally sound make the urgent need for change readily apparent to Shores voters! Please get out and vote on May 4th!