Last night the Troy City Council did the unthinkable. It ignored the will of the people who voted overwhelmingly on February 23 to say NO to the "Keep Troy Safe" campaign, a campaign designed specifically to make the protection of the Troy Police Department and its unions its primary focus. Instead, the City Council, by a closer than expected 4-3 vote, passed a budget that not only keeps the police department from facing cuts next year (while the library and other departments face layoffs and outright closing), but actually increases its budget by $1.8 million. This in spite of the fact the city administration and some council members continued to deny this fact right up until last night.
Council members Howarylak, Beltramini and Fleming voted for the principle of fair, equitable and shared cuts and voted no. Council members Kerwin, McGinnis and Slater, along with Mayor Schilling voted to support leaving the largest single department (at 41% of the entire general fund) untouched.
The closeness of this vote along with a questionable legal ruling by the staff counsel leaves the door to modification slightly ajar. Stay tuned. No fat ladies singing just yet. Let the Council know what you think. Read The Plan for details the city won't share with you.
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The city of tomorrow, today, is quickly becoming the city of yesterday, now. This site is dedicated to honest discourse, from the left, right and center (those who voted YES and those who voted NO) in hopes that we the residents of Troy can take back our city from the "professional" politicians and their administrators to make our community whole once again. Our fiscal crisis is real. Join us in seeking honest solutions.
14 comments:
Thank you for speaking up. We need to start turning over some rocks and exposing the activities of these creepy crawlers (AKA City Government).
Why not make your plan downloadable without requiring a facebook or scribd account. Upload to Megaupload or Rapidshare and provide the links.
Good idea. I'll look into it. I have some additional documents I think people would be interested in as well. Stay tuned.
You appear to be offering real facts and honest proposals. We need more of that!
I do not normally use "social networks", but I opened a goggle account so I can follow this blog.
Keep up the great work!
Don
Has anyone really looked at the City Managers Contract? I truly hope that the Council was not fully aware of what it agreed to.
True, the pension he earned last time is not being added to. However, the city pays him at the beginning of each January $7500 for a defined contribution plan (not the same as his earlier defined benefit plan).
Employees used to be able to apply for tuition reinbursement if the class was for bettering them at their job - this was terminated for employees BUT the City Manager is still eligible.
Mileage was discontinued for employees but the City Manager still gets a $425 monthly car allowance.
It was also okayed that he could maintain his own consulting business while serving as City Manager. Could this lead to conflict of interest if associates get a heads-up on contracts coming up before others?
If the City Manager were let go, the City would still have to pay him for 3 years on a reduced basis.
These are just a few examples of inequity that are over and above his $150,000 base salary (this may be a bit smaller due to 5% salary decreases).
(Need verification? Check the contract in the July 2009 Council minutes.)
Unbelievable, first he negotiates this rich benefit package. Then he starts wringing his hands and moaning about how broke the City is. Well, if this is typical compensation for his other department heads, then yeah, I guess the City would be broke!
just aqnother excuse site,,No Real new Ideas,,hiding crazy tax money follies,,used by TROY COUNCIL,under the direction of the PUPPETEERs,,where do U fit in what GROUP..deleting or NON posting of my POSTING,,is normal Hiding the TRUE cost and where the money really goes. I call your BOND holders,every time one of my POSTS are NOT posted, all my FEDERAL ,state, and county people about the corruption at least 3 ex=mayors still taking TAX money from TROY.BUDGET were no INCREASES just CUTS,,ANSWER man,,WHY? explain why? the Z-man sits on the RETIREMENT BOARD,,and collects pension.CLARK hill gets FREE office space in BRIMingham..CASH from TROY,,TROY ok's CLARK HILL 4 5013c..pays no TAX now.
I have read and reread Mr. Rein's posting and am still not clear on his points.
I believe this site has only been up a few days so I am not convinced that any comments have been deleted or ignored.
I understand the frustration of not being heard but one has to listen to others also. It's easy to let preconceived notions color one's reasoning. However, whining, name calling, and complaining about the past is not going to solve the issues of today or of the future. Yes, we do learn from the past but do not need to dwell there.
It may be beneficial for many to take a step back, be objective, get over the past, and address the future. Just think what could be accomplished if all the negative energy was directed in a positive manner. It appears the Answer Man and his friend are trying to do just that.
I thank both of them for creating this blog to share thoughts, ideas, and solutions. It must have taken much time and energy to collect the information they have to benefit Troy.
The city needs viable solutions and people working together. With all the talent in this community, we need to leave the egos behind and SOLVE the PROBLEM(S).
I'm glad that this site,is up and running,please don't take my comments as ANTI-TROY OR a negative reponse.
I have worked,was,and still active in trying to find,a group NOT brought off, and not political,class of 68,,when to NAM.came back and the d and e and the cheats were and still using TROY as a private concern.been put in jail, for 5 weeks,trying to put FOIA's in.honest people do not really know a lawyer on CALL.As the police under the direction of the MAYOR,Being told by the Troy CHAMBER of COMMENCE's MS HODGES,HAVE THAT on tape.or told I violated some LAWS,by council person SLATER,Which refused a lie detecter test,but backed the TROY chamber of CROOKS attack on me.3 times in court,,many police were at those trials,,TROY tax money was wasted,but the police has UNlimited budget.
according to the STATE of MICHIGAN,,Troy is being reduced to just a connection between I-75 and m-59, thats why ROCHESTER is being made bigger,faster to drive.why, r there no gas stations r easy to get off the express ways, TROY is anti-people and TAX breaks 4 the super riches 'follies'
Well, Marv, you're obviously very angry. You're not alone. But for the record, where I "fit" into this miasma of ill wind is that I am a long time resident of Troy and I work part time at the library. I am not anyone's pawn and in fact, while I have the right to speak out on my own time, I recognize there is risk for me in doing so. Perhaps by being employed, with no benefits btw, by the city indicates to you that I am "bought off." Well, that's just silly. We attempted to get our plan to the City Council, quietly and without any hope for attention, because we felt strongly, and still do, that our approach not only works, but is better for the both the short and long term. Going public was a necessity given the 4-3 vote to ignore the public's voice. I'll have more to post about that.
And I agree that we have presented "no new ideas" here, simply because the idea we have developed, if you've taken the time to read "The Plan" link, is merely a call for fair play, equal pain, utilizing the same revenue stream we have now. This is what the residents said they wanted. We don't claim it's new or unique. We've just proven it can be done, department by department, showing how much in which years in two different models. That we understand, and I think the whole community will understand shortly, that it's simply not enough to keep us from becoming a second-rate community in the long term is something that we must live through and survive until that realization is widely accepted. The tragedy here is that the reason we must suffer through this now is that the City Council and certainly the City Manager have no credibility after mishandling the education part of the campaign, and in the City Manager's case, given his outsized compensation, no moral authority to make any case whatsoever. It doesn't matter if you believe that, or if I believe it, or even if we don't. The simple fact of the matter is that the community at large believes it and that's all that matters.
Getting the City Council's attention, getting the City Manager's attention, that we are divided and Option 1 furthers that divide, and that we can do better, remains our hope. We have a fiscal crisis. This isn't an illusion or a lie. The question is how do we move forward as a community. Option 1 is not a community decision, does not have the support of the community and, in fact, offends the community. We can do better.
And lastly, while I reserve the right delete inappropriate or outrageous comments so we can keep this conversation at the level we need to keep it to be credible and avoid making a bad situation worse, I have not deleted or withheld any comments so far. If I do so, I will note them publicly.
me, all 12 years of EDUCATION Troy schools.59 years of watching the same people ripping off TROY.even then?when there no HIGH school alumi.No PRIDE,,THERE WAS beach road people vs glen moor vs BILTIMOre[boys and girls club],then the 5013c's,i pass yours if you mine,.beach road 19-20 many 5013c'since the 70's>,then employee association brought cheap UNbuild wetlands,which thru the years was,are being Changed NOW..if ya want more ideas of WHY/ TROY's..Vision 20/20 project is doing GREAT.REMEMBER..the CHAMBER's main PROJECT is VISION 20/20.{the real rulers of TROY}.and there is no library needed..I just record where the money goes and who gets,and the real direction,I think TROY is going,I'm self funding.and LIVE in TROY 4 less then $400.00.only 1,000 sq.ft.
TROY 1950 was a township,which bloomfield,clawson,madison heights,Royal OAK,AND SPECIALY Brimingham were in process of annexing TROY.then bacisly 4 families organization TROY over night.Troy about 20,000 people.and thoses r still passing out favors.footnote:as 2 day,public schools from time 2 time a studuct gets asked Not 2 come back..where oh where,did the BRIMingham,BLOOMFIeLD [super-rich] kids go.TRoy,,and were many times become the studuct Leaders.as studies should childern from the rule-ing classes r educated and know hicks when they see em.as a joke,,TROY HIGH was torned down,awards and tropies lost and REbuilt in a corner of TROY,AND AS the old story ATHENs took the center of TROY.a NO PRIDE city was born.and u say I',m anger,,nope just laughing,the guy who owns the ice rink,,has moved his house twice and move it again,,b4 Troy most loved Families house can b moved once,,barnyards at 19 and liverinois.
Do you want us to right to council members to ask them to support your plan? what are the options now that they've approved the budget? Could something be done that would prevent some of the layoffs that are coming this month?
Anonymous - by all means, write the Council and express your views. And if you think fairness to all, shared pain for all, is a good plan, then tell them to support ours. It won't be easy, in fact it's almost an impossible mountain to climb, but my view is that Option 1 is not only unfair, not fully fleshed out, but is also poorly conceived. It was a failure as a lever, a threat, if you will, and the Council doubling-down on the City Manager's plan is bad policy and blind-to-reality politics.
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