And it begins..........we are starting to see the start of raising our tax millage from 16.? to 20 ... because according to Mayor Brown we were facing a $5,000+ per day operating deficit and that is why they chose the ERI route.

Stay tuned on this because as of two weeks ago both Councilman Kandes and City Attorney Zelenak stated that the ERI numbers are not yet ready.

So I ask....How does Mayor Brown or anyone for that matter know that this was the best thing for our City budget issues?

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Robin, I wonder this too. But, they implemented the ERI; and have to cover their butts(?).

With the millage, as our auditors said, Headlee and Prop A limit the amount of millage. Can they legally raise it with these two laws or will this require a voter override.

I did find it interesting about when property changes hands, and the city does not get the full increase of taxable value. In reality, it lowers the total amount of millage collected. his was the first I had ever heard of this. (If this is the case. our city government should "work harder" to keep property owners in LP. I feel at times that they are working against us.

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I thought it was amazing that Kandes was able to give an average of how much a home of $112,000.00 tax bill would be increased.

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"I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, short sighted, narrow minded hypocrites. All I want is the truth, Just gimme some truth"

- John Lennon

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It appears as though the "second weekly meeting" had been held--with the "choice" few. How else would Kandas have had those figures? He know about this before the meeting to be able to know the average of how much a tax bill would increase. (I don't believe he is smart enough to pull these figures out of the air.)

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They can't raise that portion of the millage, but they can do some fancy shmancy twisting and turning of the current millages within thier Catagories to give a financial Appearence that things are better...but it's just a shuffle. I think we have some people on the site that can elaborate on that better than I can tho, So I will leave it to them.

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In Marks Defence, they are prepared for the meetings when they get thier packets. he probably crunched some numbers at home friday nite or over the weekend.

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Whatever M/C do, it really scares me as to how much more money they will get from the citizens. Everything is going up everywhere, except our take home pay. Something is going to break--we can't continue like this forever.

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Mumzzee (09-05-05)

What was the vote count for the ERI again?

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City Council:
• Thomas A. Murphy
• Valerie Brady
• Michael Lemuel
• Thomas McPartlin
• John R. Nelligan
• James E. Rutherford

City Treasurer: Craig Sochocki

Proposal R: NO

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We in SH understand your pain LP. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Wait till we get hit with the 31 million! The insurance will only pay maybe 5-6 million of it, the rest we get hit with. Now our council has voted a 12-dollar per homeowner tax increase just to collect what previously the schools/county have been collecting. This is just another way for the city to make money for their poor administration of tax funds.



Here is a quote from the Macomb Daily:

The Sterling Heights City Council on Tuesday agreed by a 6-0 vote to allow the city's finance department to start collecting summer school taxes at an additional $12 cost per property owner.

Councilman Richard Bracci probably summed it up best when he said the city is looking for just about any way to help make up the difference for a huge shortfall of funds the city is receiving in the form of state aid.

"That's the bottom line," said Bracci.

http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/120804/loc_shtax001.shtml

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Want to understand our pain even more! Two council meetings ago, a resident at a council meeting stated he FOI the salary of our Department heads i.e. Pat Lehman of the community relations dept. Well now we residents find out STEVE DUCHANE gave her a sweet heart 5 year contract with a base pay of over - get this - $90,000 a year that's right over $90,000 a year, but it get's better. Because STEVE DUCHANE allowed the Dept heads to form a UNION a few years ago, they also get OVERTIME PAY. Pat Lehman made last year in excess of $150,000 with overtime pay, yep, I will say it again, over $150,000 in pay FOR BEING A COMMUNITY RELATIONS DEPT HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now employees have a union for a good reason, but I ask you, how many city department heads can you name that belong to a union?

Now in the real world, how many SALARY employees (not hourly) can you name that also make overtime?

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I may be wrong but Aren't our management teams already in a union ? Idon't know if they are paid overtime.

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If pro is the opposite of con? would CONgress be the oppositeof PROgress?

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unanimous

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Ok remember the Remco commercials...but wait! There's More!!!

I ask all of us WHY are we even considering spending money on a new city hall, moving the library, getting a new electronic sign when our roads, sewers, and other infastructure is in such bad shape?

Why is Duchane Mayor and some council advocating spending this money now?

Why would M/C and City Manager intentionally want the taxpayers to pay more in taxes for less services, worse roads, etc.

Whatever are these people thinking? Do they even know what they are saying or trying to do?

Ok taxpayers...have you had enough yet?

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Last night they talked about the possibility of raising taxes by two mills.

Isn't two mills about the same as the cost of moving city hall?

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A Five Year Millage? Yes
A non-limited Millage? Never
Vote NO on Proposal R

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They must have that 5 year plan locked up in the Mayor's office. I'm sure it will explain everything.

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ELECTION DAY IS TUESDAY-NOV 8TH.
Every vote counts - exercise your Rights.

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It's this "leap of faith" slogan again. City leaders must learn to communicate more openly and honest with its citizens. (But, I guess I'm dreaming with the team in office now. They don't want us to know anything--just go along with whatever they want. No questions, no explanations, no discussions--JUST ACCEPT THEIR ACTIONS!

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I don't know much about the real world (I'm being facetious). But I do know a little about the Federal and State employment laws. Specifically, I know that under the Fair Labor Standards Act , "exempt" employees are not entitled to overtime pay.

I've been known to dabble in law on occassion. This just so happened to one I know, first hand, the answer to. I researched it a few years back when I was pulling double duty at a bank working as a both a branch manager and as the regional licensed investment representative (for a subsidiary of the retail division). I was considered an exempt salaried employee, and due to short staffing issues, I had no choice but to work 68 hours a week, 7 days a week, for 4 and a half months without one, lousy, day off. By my calculations, I felt I was "cheated" out of about 504 hours of ovetime pay, or at the very least, a little over 3 months of regular pay.

I looked up the actual laws to prove to you all that I'm not just blowing smoke up your butts.

What is an exempt employee under the FLA?

.

Here's the real kicker, folks:

In short, most salaried employees, under the FLA, are considered exempt and therefore not entitled to overtime pay; and all elected public officials and public appointees are considered exempt.

Here's the thing: The law simply states that an exempt employee is not entitled to overtime pay. It says nothing about an employer willingly paying overtime to an exempt employee.

How many employers pay more money than they are required to by law to their employees? Worse yet, how many employers who are running a deficit choose to pay certain exempt employees overtime wages, but not others?

DPS workers' overtime is being reduced or eliminated. Yet we have a salaried (and, by law, exempt) employee being paid overtime? Something stinks in the state of Denmark.

So I would say that if, indeed, this salaried public appointee is recieving overtime...it is HIGHLY unusual, and therefore questionable.

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Nikita1966 (09-06-05)

oh reallllly? Very interesting information there VS.

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Oh... and NO, I do not feel greasy.

I did not vote for any one of the current M/C.

I do feel hosed, however.

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Duchane mentioned Bonds Approved in the 80's are paid off and he suggested in his remarks to apply that money to pay off the bonds for the Retention Basin Bonds , early. All this money is already approved and in the budget may be what they plan to use for the Library and City Hall projects . and their $80.000 sign.

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