Marty,

You are right, I stand corrected on the 401K issue; I should have never listed it in my section on investments.

In business, we have to take a look at what has happen in the past, what was said about the plan moving forward and look at the recent statements and actions. We call that certainty; I see all of my items listed as certain from a business planning perspective.

In business we do not have the luxury of deficit spending, borrowing unlimited money and building an unsustainable model. We have to have a plan that delivers in the short term or we go out of business. Some people call this an ideology; I call it reality on how business has to operate.

Employees do not completely understand the planning and commitments made to investors to keep an enterprise going and sustainable. That is why most people on these comments think such planning and forecasting is foolish, this plan is essential to the business person as they report to their boards, investors, bankers and many others.

I was at the Michigan Innovation conference this week in downtown Detroit listening to many CEO's pitch their company's business plans and solicit investments from many types of investors. There were some incredible great ideas, but the ones that got investor attention are the great ideas with a well thought out detailed plan taking the current economic situation into account.

That is the idea of this posting, what are people considering for their plan.

Erin,

This is not an ideology discussion; it is a planning discussion on what direction we chose. The election is done and the path is clear, now it is time to plan and take action to survive and/or thrive in this environment.

In business we do not have the luxury to wait and see what is going to happen, we have to take the direction from the plan, statements and actions. We cannot rely on promises and hope things get done. Our investors expect us to execute the plan starting in January with the certainties we currently know. If things change, we need to re-plan and get that approved by our investors at the time of change.

Do you agree that my list of certainties is reflective of the plan, statements and current actions? In a plan you cannot hope that something else happens, that is not certain. In business and personal budgets we cannot go on hope, we need to go on certainty. We now have certainty.

This is not a Democratic and Republican issue or debate. This is a discussion on the planned direction of the US, Michigan and Rochester Hills. The people have spoken and put these elected officials in place, we just need to figure out our plan to survive and/or thrive.

What is your plan?

http://factcheck.org/2012/11/facts-falling-off-the-fiscal-cliff/

In press conferences on the so-called fiscal cliff, House Speaker John Boehner greatly exaggerated the negative effect on the economy of raising taxes on upper-income individuals.

• Boehner erred when he said that “the problem with raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans is that more than half of them are small-business owners.” That’s incorrect. Boehner’s spokesman said the speaker simply misspoke, but Boehner is a repeat offender with this bogus claim.

• Boehner repeatedly cited an Ernst & Young analysis to claim that raising taxes on upper-income earners would “destroy nearly 700,000 jobs in our country.” But that analysis assumes revenue from the taxes would be used “to finance a higher level of government spending,” even though Obama would use the added revenue to reduce the deficit. The analysis also takes an extremely long view: Only “two-third to three-quarters of the long-run effect” is expected to occur within a decade.

• Boehner said raising taxes on those making over $250,000 “would slow our economy.” But according to a recently released report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the effect on the economy would be “relatively small.” – Robert Farley Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Erin... the only 'certainty' will have is Daryl Patrishkoff and John Boehner will continue to live in a bubble. :)

Scot,

As usual, you spew lots of misinformation and do not even read the post and comment on what it is about. You add nothing to the conversation; as usual you are just meaningless noise and attack anyone who has a different opinion than you.

Are you going to do your normal trick and add some picture to the post and just keep posting many words on false info and not on subject? You are just making a fool of yourself, stop emailing me and just go away.

Daryl... wonderful to see where communicating again... have a great Saturday.

P.S. I have not sent you any emails since last month when you told me you don't want to be on my 'city info list' anymore; so I find your last comment totally confusing but that's OK. :)

note: My fact check comment was referring to your first misleading bullet point... did you take the time to read the link?

Daryl - I think you don't realize that when you talk of Obama - you reflexively go to worst case scenario of his policy outcomes. IMHO, that reflects ideology rather than cold analysis of the situation.

Of course business and individuals have to plan, but it's folly to plan long term, or make big changes, based on - at best - estimates, not "certainties". Tell me when you, me, or GE, have had absolute "certainty" in planning?

All we are certain of is that Obama and other legislators won the election. Everything else is probabilities based on current status, opening bids of policy negotiations, and realities of who has political leverage.

IMO - I foresee probability of tweaking of ACA for small business, tax change debate go to $1mill (not $250K) - keep in mind, rates stay the SAME for money earned under cap, only first dollars AFTER cap will go up, I suspect, 2-3%.

Of course, "This is not a Democratic and Republican issue or debate" - but there are political realities of what gets done. I recommend we as citizens get together on what we all can agree on, and let our legislators know what that is. Or else, K Street lobbyists have the biggest voice as to what's best for them, not us or our country's future.

Erin,

Business planning is essential for the security of the company, predicting future events and understanding certainty is the core assumptions that give the plan credibility. All scenarios have to be considered and a SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis is conducted to check the viability of the plan.

The stakeholders (investors, board, management, etc.) review this in detail and challenge every aspect. Once the reworked and final plan is approved it gets implemented in January. To get all of this planning done to the companies start in the Fall. In this year we had 2 very different paths to be considered with the November being the decision date of the path chosen by the citizens. Many companies had 2 different plans prepared based on the election results.

Now the election is done and a path is chosen by the citizens business knows which plan to execute in January. This is certain.

We cannot hope something changes, January is here and we have to start. With all the crisis talk of the Fiscal Cliff, the government will do what they did last year. They will have a last minute deal and all of the tax laws will be changed in the last minute and business will not even be ready to withhold the correct amount from their employees in January.

This is a fabricated crisis. This is what kicking the can down the road does to business. We have to plan and execute to certainties NOW. Hope is not a plan.

Alan,

I totally enjoyed my Saturday and expect the same today. I am a businessman that has to work 24/7, I do not have a Monday through Friday 9 - 5 career. I am not complaining, this is my chosen path and I have always enjoyed my career.

Planning is the most important element to being a successful business; this is what I am doing and the reason for my posting. I am hoping for a discussion about how people and businesses are planning to survive and/or thrive in this environment.

It is honorable that you seem to be defending Scot from my so-called attack, but ignore his first attack and his usual attempt to change the subject to distract from the real issue. I have requested multiple times in private email to stop sending me emails with many mixed confusing and attacking messages.

He states above he has not sent me one since last month, his last email was on 04 November at 7:17 pm. The reason I asked him to stop the emails is the messages were very mixed from what he states on these postings. He has accused Mayor Barnett of not caring for the citizens, Rep Weber of being in a conspiracy, President Obama of ruining the country and me of not fairly representing Joanna in one of my posts. This is why I call him meaningless noise and he is making a fool of himself. I am defending myself from his false statements and attacks, now I am doing it in public to have him stop his harassment.

Back to the posting, what is your plan in this environment?

Lee,

You are correct the City of Rochester Hills does not have authority over RCS. However in my posting I state we need to understand the certainty at the National, State and City levels. What is happening at RCS affects us all at the City level. Do you believe there is a problem when they run out of money soon? Do you think it will affect the City of Rochester Hills if they fail? I believe so and why I listed it under the Rochester Hills section of my post.

Regarding the budgets of Rochester Hills I was stating facts. I reviewed the budget; I attended the public presentations and viewed the video online to get a sense of the culture around preparing and approving the budget. My observation in these events that there were no challenges and hard questions in these public events and everyone was congratulating themselves.

I remember from previous posts you are very concerned about the roads and how to get them fixed in Rochester Hills. Do you agree with my statement that the budget presented does not even come close to addressing the problem? What are they going to do to fix this, there is no plan.

The State of Michigan will change the business property tax and this will reduce tax collections. What is Rochester Hills plan to address this? I have seen nothing or heard any discussions regarding this coming event. Again there is no plan. Maybe I am wrong and they have one, what is it?

A couple days ago, I heard someone from Forbes call this study - "rather dubious" and clearly a "study paid by an interest group" and he wasn't sure why Ernst & Young would put their name to it.

And I think some of us remember the Congressional floor dire warnings of doom and gloom, the "death of Capitalism as we know it" when Clinton signed in his admin's tax rates. Then all those awful surpluses, 23 million jobs and peacetime prosperity occured. The world is complicated, and not that that would necessarily occur again in the same fashion, but it didn't seem to me like Capitalism ended in the US. Seriously, we're talking about a few points in marginal increases.

The history of the Clinton tax rates and the Ernst & Young are nice background but a bit off Daryl’s original topic of how to make business plans to adjust for the coming changes. I for one can retire next summer and have considered starting a business. I would do mostly what I do now, but more of a root cause mercenary for hire on a 1099 or independent contractor basis. Under current tax law I would pay myself below poverty level wages as a salary and take the much larger majority of my total income as corporate dividends. With the paupers salary I minimize Social Security and Medicare taxes. ( and other taxes ) Dividend income as I understand it today is taxed at 15% and might go above 30%. I also do not believe that dividend income is subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes. If self-employed I would be responsible for the total 13% that could go back up to 15% for Social Security and Medicare taxes. But I don’t think those taxes apply to corp dividends.
So if tax laws stay as they are today, go with low wages and big dividends to minimize my tax liability. However, I think that this scenario is going to change. So what to do and how to plan? I believe that was the original purpose of this article.

Marty,

Thank You! You are commenting on the posting and how you are planning to make the transition from employee to businessman. We have commented back and forth on your business idea which is creative for an upcoming market. The business plan is your best friend to ensure you can secure investments to launch and be successful in your endeavor.

I attended a conference sponsored by the State of Michigan last week regarding innovation and acquiring investment capital for startup companies. The State did a great job coaching these many CEOs and students to present to investors about their idea and asking for a capital investment. It reminded me of the Shark Tank TV show, without the drama.

I would suggest you contact the State to help you formulate your business plan and make it robust to present to investors. They do this for free and a great way to create innovation and business growth in Michigan. I would be happy to give you a contact from the State to get started.

Erin,
You seem to put stock in what Forbes has to say.They predicted GM will need more money in 3-4 years.
We own a small business. Many small businesses are increasingly nervous about the economy and government mandates. Many are not paying their bills, others are holding back because of what lies ahead. You may read about jobs/ O, we are living it. Big difference.
Look for elderly parents living with kids because the alternatives are too costly or just too awful. Choices for seniors are narrowing. No one will want to be in hospitals -inpatient populations will be sicker and infections will be rampant. Millions of people will be added to Obamacare. Some one has to pay.
Erin, where will that money come from?
As I see it, jobless rates are going up, will continue to rise, medical costs will go up.
I do not know of any small business owner that thinks O has the best interests of business at heart.
Jobs will be lost at Hostess one way or another. They must scale back if they re going to survive.
We will get through it? I hope so. We will all be paying more and doing with less. Government is a money junkie. They cannot stay within a budget. We cannot keep printing and spending money. It is unsustainable. Agree?
O spends more in year than he can possibly take from the rich in a year. Agree?
Ask any small business owner, if they are going to compete and make money they will have to make cuts in staff or benefits.

Baylea -it's difficult to respond to posts because of your conflation of issues - involving more emotion, than reality and historical fact.
RE: Forbes - we're not talking about GM.
"in the work force? " - I'm a SAHM at the moment, but have mainly worked in workforce in small business(es).
Sorry to hear about your business, not sure what industry you're in, but I would encourage you to reach out to your legislators for constituent services - that's what they're there for.
RE: hospitals merging - it's a long-term trend that far predates O admin, reflecting market forces + shift towards outpatient health maintenance.
Today, Hostess + labor in mediation, averting shutdown.
Of course taxing the rich won't solve our problems, but a balanced approach to fiscal solvency - what voters were saying "yes" to when they pulled that lever.
RE: companies & h/c - I'd hang on - I foresee tweaking in the ACA in 2013-14, and some of the mandates for the smaller co's especially should ease.
O - IS a friend to business. Business and banks have done exceedingly well under his admin. And excellent meeting at WH last week, + on phone over w-end.

There are always bumps in the road. But most Americans are seeing brighter times ahead according to rising Consumer Confidence Index, Housing.
New Realities - pass. We lived through a Civil War, Depression, Civil Rights struggles.
We've lived with doing more with less for last 30 yrs - Trickle Down doesn't work. We're trying to turn the tide now.

Erin... we need to go have the post-election beer you proposed! It would be a much more productive way to help heal this Obama-itis! that afflicts you! :-)

But in the meantime, here is something that can address the part of the illness that allows you to believe that "O is a friend to business"

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/04/27/the-list-could-be-longer

The List Could Be Longer
By GARY SHAPIRO on 4.27.12 @ 6:08AM
Fifty ways the Obama Administration has hurt the economy and job creation.

There are certainly some that believe "0" is friendly to business... but it is not business owners and business executives that think that.

Lee,

I agree this is a big problem. It is up to the City Council and Mayor to come up with a plan that the citizens will approve. They need to clearly state the problem, what the fix is and the cost to do the fix. Then come up with creative alternatives on how to pay for it.

Put these alternatives before the voters and see which ones they are willing to pay for it. I believe creative alternatives are the way to present the solution. Potential alternatives could be:

1. Millage established to fund the fix
2. Millage established to fund the maintenance
3. Subdivisions vote to fix their roads; each house pays the assessment based on road length in front of home
4. Do nothing

I am sure there are plenty of other alternatives, but let the voters decide. So far they have decided to do nothing based on rejecting these proposals.

I don't remember the exact millage rates, Lee, but the objection I've had to most of the previous city road proposals is that they are excessive. 4 mills or higher, as I recall.

Not only is the rate pretty substantial, but the underlying formula always seemed to be based on the most expensive, grandiose solution... such complete tearout and complete reconstruction, including cement curbs, when maybe a resurfacing might work.

When they have attempted to communicate their plans, there are always unanswered questions... or questions that are answers in a less-than-direct way.

Or there is complete disregard for other plausible alternatives.

They leave me skeptical of the proposed solution... turning me into a NO voter, even though I am well aware of the road problem.

I don't think anyone disputes the problem or the need... it's the proposed solutions that are weak.

Lee,

Obviously there is no magical money tree where the money just appears. My point is the City needs to present the problem and offer up creative alternatives and let the voters decide. Mike Reno presented an interesting perspective on why the other proposals were rejected; it could have been a trust issue. I certainly do not trust them after the August Primary vote with the non-binding promise not to use the 2.5 mill tax increase.

In a personal household the family has a budget to maintain the house, live and vacation. If a surprise comes up they just cannot go to the boss and say "give me a raise so I can pay for the surprise". They have to find a way to make it work, it could be a loan, working extra to generate more income, or actually cut back something else to fund the surprise.

How about the City cutting back in other areas to pay for this surprise? That is what we do in our personal and business lives, the taxpayer cannot keep paying more. Maybe if the citizens saw these actions from the City over time they would have built trust and they might actually entertain a tax increase for a surprise.

This is what I mean by creative solutions, there is no magical money tree and the taxpayer cannot continue to pay more.

Mike...

I appreciate your comments regarding local roads. Having spent years deliberating this issue on City Council -- some personal observations why we continue not to solve the problem. Voters live in condominiums that would pay for this tax increase would receive no direct benefit. Their HOA / condo fees cover their personal street cost. A City wide mileage should cover their maintenance also to get that 'yes' vote. One selling point could be to reduce their monthly HOA cost. Those voters who live in mobile home parks or apartments would be a tough sell -- I don't have an answer. Those voters who live on mile roads -- There are those like Lee Zendel who live on mile roads who look beyond individual need and endorse civic pride in one's community -- wish we had more Lee Zendels. The 100% don't give a damn about your street but I'll pay to fix mine would be disastrous. Real estate values -- the value of your home are based on communities not street to street.

Civil Engineering

Mike... yes I would agree government does go overboard -- all I would expect after paying almost 30 years in mortgage payments and property taxes, the once brand new street in front of the once brand new house I've been paying on would be maintained. Codes do change -- but I concur with your comments. note: If you don't maintain unfortunately you will end up rebuilding, Mike you understand this unfortunately many of our residents don't.

A personal note: multitasking -- used to sit on the couch drinking lots of beer watching the Lions play football -- now I type about roads and drink coffee -- wow times change. Mike... have a great Sunday.

The mayor will run again in two years as a write in. Count on it. The republicans in Oakland county government were massacred in this last election. Rochester Hills is a safe and friendly place for our mayor to hang out in.

doug....

cer´tain`ty -- the only certainty tonight is if you go outside and look up... due east... the brightest star in the sky is not a star but the Planet Jupiter, and Jupiter will still be around in two years and we will still be waiting for the Lions to get a chance at a Super Bowl playoff. LOL

Doug, Kochenderfer is going to challenge the Mayor. He is the new golden boy.

Paul:

LOL.....

Lee,

You are right any tax increase cannot pass, the citizens have been through a rough and tough recession and have taken huge pay and benefit cuts. Simply they are not making the money they did a handful of years ago. They do not have the money to pay more taxes.

The citizens had to be creative in surviving in this economy since 2008 with little chance of returning soon to the "good old days." The ones that have survived, avoided bankruptcy and foreclosure, will not sign up for paying more. They expect the government to do exactly what they did to survive, cut back, do the essentials and live with less income.

Your comment about this is no surprise is true. Why did the City not cut back in other areas years ago to fund this coming event? This is called planning and understanding what the future holds, kicking the can down the road does not work and leads up to this growing problem that we now face on several fronts.

I also pointed out a few other "surprises" that are being ignored in City planning that will also have the same large impact on our City. I see no plan to addressing them, so the cycle continues and we get recognized for putting together a great looking budget, but when you peel back the onion you find out the emperor has no clothes.

I like your creative idea of moving us to Florida, nice weather. :)

Lee,

We agree there is a problem with the roads and it needs to be solved. However we approach the solution differently.

The approach I use in my business consulting practice; we turn around organizations and get them to fix themselves. All assumptions go out the window; just because the rules say something does not mean they cannot be changed. These are roadblocks put up to protect special groups, everyone is special.

The City needs to identify the core services required and fund them and put away reserves for future surprises. Then make sure they are providing these services the most cost effective way. If there is money left over, then you get to decide on what extras you can afford. This is fiscal responsibility with a sustainable model.

If there is not enough money to cover the core services, present the process to the citizens and see if they will fund more. If not, they have to cut back the core services provided; the citizens get to decide not the elected officials.

The answer is not to just keep asking for more money. If the City wants more money they have to prove their point honestly and see if the citizens agree.

The City can immediately add a 2.5 mil increase, which was approved in the August Primary vote. They used the same argument you did about process and procedures and gave us a non-binding promise.

Why did they support non-competitive wages to the OPC?
Why should we trust them based on previous behavior?

David,

When you were growing up and you asked your Dad for something and he said we cannot afford it we have only so much money. Did you call him a "Tea Bagger with no real solutions and a Fringe Thinker"? Maybe he could not afford it.

There is no magical money tree, we can only afford so much. Where is everyone going to come up with the cash to pay more taxes in this economy? I know many people who do not have the disposable income to pay more, they are behind the curve and are trying to survive and recover from 2008.

I have been called radical because I want a fiscal responsible government that is sustainable and be a good steward with our tax dollars with accountability. I will proudly wear that tag of Radical.

How about some adult comments on your plan to survive and/or thrive in this economy?

Lee... the local impact of Headlee (aside form theoretically protecting against state mandates), is that it limited the increase in property taxes to the rate of inflation. Not trying to be argumentative, but I'm curious... you think our local government cannot just live on annual increases... but need to increase at a rate faster than inflation?

SECTION 31: "A key provision of this section limits revenue from property-assessment increases. If the assessed value of a local unit’s total taxable property, excluding new construction and improvements, increases by more than the inflation rate, the maximum authorized property tax rate must be reduced so that the local’s total taxable property yields the same gross revenue, adjusted for inflation, as collected on it at its prior assessed value. (However, the assessment on individual property still could increase more than the inflation rate, because the limit applies to all property combined, not each parcel.)"

Lee,

I have been using the term "future surprises" as a sarcastic comment; I agree these were not and never have been a future surprise. They just decided to ignore the obvious and spent the money in other areas expecting to get increases for what they are calling a future surprise. Sorry if I seemed to be sarcastic, it was not intended to be pointed at you, it is pointed at our politicians who think we are stupid and can pass something past us with rhetoric.

The Headlee Amendment and Proposal A were passed many years ago; these were no surprises to the politicians. They just decided to ignore the obvious and expect to pass it on to the citizens with later tax increases. They have kicked the can down the road for years and now it is coming to a head.

It is time to get back to the basics, only address the core services needed and what the citizens can afford.

The DIA tax increase was a total scam with misinformation and untruths; they did not even say it was for the DIA. They passed it in an August Primary vote with low turn out to get it passed with strong marketing approach threatening the closing of the DIA. This was fabricated and not actual and the citizens fell for it.

This is the same approach the City of Rochester Hills did to trick us into passing the 2.5 mil increase. They are dishonest and do not deserve our trust, why would we keep falling for this same trick?

Now they are positioning to raise taxes for the roads.

Lee,

I can think of 2 scenarios the City will use to cash in on the 2.5 mil increase and avoid political implications. It is creating a crisis and the only solution is to use the 2.5 mil to fund it. The crisis is created because they did not plan for these events; these are both obvious future events that will happen. Simply they either are incompetent or missed these obvious future surprises, or, they mislead the citizens. All of these are disturbing and proof they do not deserve our trust.

Scenario 1: The State of Michigan will eliminate the business property tax and each community will have a reduction in tax collections. This has been known since Snyder took office and where was the planning to fill this future surprise?

Scenario 2: The roads are in bad shape in Rochester Hills, we do not have the money in the current budget to even begin to solve the problem. The drum beat is starting and the rhetoric will continue until they believe the citizens believe it needs to be done. Where was the planning for this future surprise?

We have an award winning budget that looks good with lots of shinny things. But it clearly misses the planning of certain events. The emperor has no clothes.

They watched RCS pull of this same stunt years ago when they raised our mil rate without a public vote. Now RCS is in deep financial peril because they did not address the real problem with a sustainable solution. Why are we going down the same path?

Doug-
" but his and the councils record on long term planning is weak."
Sorry to disagree.
The planning starts with the Master Land Use Plan, then there is the Transportation Plan, the Water & Sewer Plan, The Capital Improvement Plan, the Parks and Recreation Plan, and the Facilities Plan. Those are normally at least 5 year plans at a minimum with some planning for a 20-30 year horizon.. Then there is the 5 year Financial Forecast and Projection Plan which is the basis for the 3 year Budget Plan.
What suggestions do you have to strengthen the city's planning ?

Lee

All those plans mean nothing if the character of the city changes. This city used to be unique. A rural feel with historic roots, yet still offering nice suburban living. Every historic home we tear down, road we widen, strip mall we add, neon sign we build, that uniqueness is eroded. Long term housing values will pay the price.

Why drive the extra 20 minutes to RHills when we look and feel no different than a dozen other local cities. I am sad to offer this commentary. I have lived here for 25 years and have watched this steady change.

If that's what people want, then that's ok i guess.. A master plan should set a goal and support it with initiatives and investments. I simply don't see it..

There is only one person on the council who has character and puts the community ahead of his own interests.

doug...

I sincerely appreciate your comments. My parents move out here in the early 70's and I have been a property owner for almost 30 years. I don't think we ever had a Mayor that was pro residential character... and if there is any chance of hope for our community's future that is going to have to change, or we will become faceless Detroit urban sprawl.

Lee...

You know government studies are rarely worth the paper they are printed on -- I wonder how many in our community know that we spent $40,000 studying water tanks when Bryan Barnett was a council person and then spent another $40,000 on a study with the same firm to do virtually the same study on water tanks... let's be real -- when this kind of spending gets out, public opinion diminishes on future tax decisions.

doug... When you have time please read this -- thanks

Replace officials to stop water fund leak Published: Sunday, February 27, 2011 
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2011/02/27/opinion/doc4d67018ce9351599362197.txt

In 1997 Rochester Hills had nearly a $71 million balance in the water/sewer fund. Today, that balance has been depleted to just under $19 million.

There are countless examples of cities who recognize that preserving the character of a city is a competitive advantage. It keeps home values higher and creates differentiation. Just visit the Boston area as one great example. Our own Petoskey has done a great job. You missed my main point. You can move forward with progress and still preserve the character of a city with good planning.

Change is not a bad thing. It just needs to be managed to come out with the best outcome

Dee... 


Wow -- your a great writer... do you write for a living? My background; 30 years in the advertising business... your good.

Dee... when I made the business decision to invest in Rochester Hills -- buy a house -- there were some principles that even our 'founding elected officials' 30 years ago... even to this day need to still be recognized to uphold and protect that investment.

1. Protect our community's natural beauty -- one of the reasons we still today have a woodlands -- steep slope -- and wetlands ordinances. There is now new talk to weaken those ordinances.

2. Protect our historical past -- recently our current Mayor and members of City Council totally ignored the recommendations of our Historic Preservation Committee and voted to let a developer tear down a historic house on Rochester Road -- in exchange for a new Strip Mall development.

note: The land was zoned office -- when I was on Council the land was zoned residential.

3. Protect our community's density -- our Mayor's new master plan now encourages neighborhoods like Christian Hills to combine two home lots and divide into three home lots.

Dee...

4. Retail development was zoned to only handle our community needs... look at our Mayor's City Council voting record -- many YES votes have turned residential zoning to strip mall development. Many YES votes have turned Office Research Technology into Strip Mall development. Our City is now over zoned commercial that is why we now have empty storefronts.

When I left Council you had to own an acre of land to build fast food drive-through restaurants -- just recently I found out that our Mayor has changed too, now you only need a half acre.

Our current Mayor's own voting record proves disregard to those 'founding elected officials' wishes 30 years ago -- and now our City is on a path to be nothing more than faceless Detroit urban sprawl.

Dee... thanks for your post Happy Thanksgiving.

Lee...

You know our water sewer system is our/city's responsibility... zero outside government help not even from Detroit... LOL -- and you know a water sewer system is just like roads and will not last forever. This system will grow old and will have to be replaced -- will grow old all at one time because most of the city's growth happened during a 'boom' in development. Where are the millions going to come from to replace it? We paid for this system with our 30 year mortgages and would have hoped after that bill; we would not be stuck with a new bill to replace it. Lee there is no 'benefit' when government... even at the local level kicks the can down the road for some future generation to pay for it.

note: The city will not need a new tax to replace and maintain our water sewer system they can just 'up' your water sewer bill without your permission.