Letter to the Editor: Do Township Trustees, Staff Really Deserve Raises?

To All Brighton Township Trustees,

The one question that should weigh heavily on your mind is: Do you or anyone else deserve a raise of 1 percent or 2.9 percent? Elected officials are supposed to set the example as well as staff, and to look back over the last three years at what has been accomplished? Not much in the long term. As staff and trustees are unwilling to recognize the sewer plant as a township asset and continue to raise fees year after year for six consecutive years, more than doubling the original rate of $72 a quarter with no end in sight. When you were presented well over a year ago with a possible solution by spreading the cost over the entire township at $269 in a one time payment on Dec. 1, 2012, you refused, citing that it was not a township asset and could not be spread outside the original users.

It's more likely that (A) politics played a role in your decision since this is an election cycle for all of you, and (B) not one of you as trustees that have been in attendance at the budget meetings in the last three months is even connected on the sewer system, therefore, you have everything to gain by not accepting the sewer plant as a township asset. In three years, have you or your staff come up with any solutions other than raising fees on the 2,000 plus users? No. Even the manager talks a good game as he says how he can get new users on board, and to-date, that has not happened. Nor has he come up with any option that may help fix the problem.

In the most recent failure, the township supervisor failed to negotiate or insist that water and sewer become a part of the package with the state police development located on a township asset. Water and sewer should have been a "top priority," but rather than have those users as a top priority during negotiations, the supervisor decided that keeping costs low for the state and the developer Dietz was a larger priority.

The $1.4 million dollars that was allocated to the future road improvement fund in 2010 ended up paying off the building authority bond, which had no revenues coming in to pay it. And once again the future road improvement fund has another allocation of $1.7 million since June 2011 with no road work planned for the next three to five years per the Livingston County Road Commission (LCRC). Keeping in mind, the township has no jurisdiction on township roads. So what do you think will happen to the current $1.7 million for roads with no work planned or anticipated by the LCRC? Yes, you have won a prize. It will pay for the water debt that has only one user and no revenue to cover the outstanding debt. And let's not forget about the $525,600 still owed to the general fund.

Now let's look at the 2012-2013 budget: it was not done on time and the township leadership has lost revenues in the next quarterly billing cycle. Mistake or incompetence?  You decide. Or spin it with a reason that the Gasby 54 law changed at the last minute. Now who do you think dropped the ball on this one? And you really want to reward people at the township with a bonus, raise, etcetera? The issue of adding more employees based on SADs is bogus. SADs have been dropping off and you have a moratorium on any new SADs, so who is kidding who here? I suggested a time study be completed on the manager's position in February, rather than taking the manager's word as justification for part time hiring or new hires. The time study should have been done to verify the need.

In this budget, you requested $500,000 for capital improvements for sewer expansion. Is this just another slush fund going nowhere? In the past three years, you have put issues on the back burner time after time, and most of them are still sitting out there with no plan or time frame for resolution. Look at the audio/video - an important tool to educate and inform the public, but it's been more than 11 months and there has been no action on your part.

Finally, once again as yourselves, do you or anyone else deserve a raise of 1 percent or 2.9 percent?

Mike Palmer,

Brighton Township