Talk of Troy - Michigan

Monday November 24th, the Troy City Council will propose closing down the Lloyd Stage Nature Center for budget reasons.

When something seems too good to be true, it normally is. Capping taxes at the current levied/collected rate appears to be a good thing. However, in this case it is a very bad idea.

In the 53 years of it’s existence, Troy City Council has NEVER levied all the taxes that it has been authorized to levy for good reason.

The bond rating companies who evaluate the credit worthiness of cities want to see a margin between what is levied and what can be levied so that in time of crisis or catastrophe, the city can respond. The bond rating will likely be lowered if this proposal passes. It is not a lot different than the credit reporting companies lowering your credit score when you are borrowed to the limit, and as a result you pay a higher interest rate for large loans. Troy is one of only 3 cities in all of Michigan that has a AAA bond rating, and the difference between the interest rate paid by a AAA rated bond and a AA rated bond is somewhere between 0.25% and 0.5%. Troy currently has more than $46Million in bonds outstanding, and even a 0.25% difference would cost the city $millions in increased interest payments over the life of the the existing bonds let alone future bonds that might be needed. In March 2008, Troy re-funded (re-financed) $3.5Million at a lower interest rate (only possible because of a AAA bond rating) to save more than $351,000 in interest over the life of the bonds. A quarter percent more would have cost the City (us) $208,000 of that savings and a half percent more would have wiped out the entire $351,000 savings. That is real dollars out of the pockets of the Troy taxpayers pocket and the proponents are supposedly ‘tax cutters’?

Emmes Corporation, a New York based property management company, recently invested $90 Million in Troy. Their managing partner from Manhattan at a recent gala here in Troy stated “Why did we chose to invest in Troy? We did our homework. One of the keys was the AAA bond rating of Oakland County (one of only 34 counties in the United States with such a rating), and the AAA bond rating of Troy showed us that the local government is well managed and conducive to business.” The AAA bond rating truly helps attracts businesses that carry a huge portion of the tax burden in Troy.

Can the proponents of this proposal guarantee that passage will not effect the bond rating? NO! They are gambling millions of our dollars. Vote NO on the gamble of our tax dollars.

For Immediate Release – News Release

The Troy Leadership Coalition which consists of the Troy Area Republican Club, The Troy Democratic Club, the Troy Chamber of Commerce PAC, and other concerned Troy residents unanimously urges the residents of Troy to vote NO on the Troy Charter Amendment ballot proposal on November 4.

  The City’s financial consultants have clearly stated that passage of this ballot proposal ‘would jeopardize’ the AAA bond rating (credit score) that the city currently enjoys.   “Loss of the AAA bond rating will cost the City (the residents) significant additional interest in future bonds” said Cowger.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox’s office has stated that the wording does not meet the requirements of the Michigan Home Rule City Act.  As a result, the city will be susceptible to significant legal costs to stay in operation if the ballot proposal passes” states Jim Campbell, President of the Troy Area Republican Club.

Since the City was chartered in 1955, there has never been a City Council that has levied all of the taxes that they have been permitted to levy.  Yet, “it appears that the majority of the current City Council wishes to abdicate that responsibility”, stated Cowger at a recent special City Council meeting.

The Troy Leadership Coalition will host an Open Forum on the ballot proposal on Wednesday October 15, 2008 at 6:30 in Room 305 at the  Troy

Community Center.   All stakeholders of our great city are encouraged to attend. Panelists will include  Frank Gerstenecker, Edward Kempen, and Robin Beltramini.William Cowger Interim Chair – Troy Leadership Coalition

For more information, please contact:
Sandy Burgess, Chair, Troy Democratic Club
   Tel: (248) 680-0773  E-mail: info@burgess-marketing.com
David Easterbrook, President, Troy Area Republican Club
   Tel: (248) 330-2305  E-mail: david@amevertical.com
Bill Cowger, Chair, Troy Political Action Committee of the Troy Chamber of Commerce
   Tel: (248) 828-0666  E-mail: wecowger@acaciaphoto.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Troy Dems, GOP, PAC coalition supports slate
of Schilling, Beltramini, Hrit, Kerwin and Aceves for City Council

TROY, MICHIGAN - September 6, 2007 - The Troy Democratic Club, Troy Area Republican Club and Troy Political Action Committee of the Troy Chamber of Commerce have formed a coalition in support of the following slate of candidates in the city?s November 6, nonpartisan election for City Council:

For Mayor:
Louise Schilling (incumbent, running unopposed)

For 4-year term on City Council: (3 to be elected from 8 candidates on the ballot)
Robin Beltramini (incumbent)
Kevin Hrit
Mary Kerwin

For 2-year term on City Council: (1 to be elected from 4 candidates on the ballot)
Al Aceves, Jr.

The three organizations voted unanimously to support this slate. Their mutual effort to seek the best qualified candidates, regardless of party affiliation, turned former political foes into unlikely allies.

During the past several weeks, they jointly participated in a candidate evaluation process. It included:

• Two public candidates forums (to be aired by Community Media Network, cable channels 18 WOW and 52 COMCAST, on a schedule to be announced by CMN);
• In-person candidate interviews; and,
• A review of candidate responses to biographical and municipal issues questionnaires.

All 13 declared candidates for Mayor and City Council were invited to take part in the process. Ten did participate in one or more aspects of it.

Besides supporting a slate in common, the Troy Democratic Club, Troy Area Republican Club and Troy PAC have agreed to devote their efforts in this fall?s campaign to encourage a high voter turnout. In the last Troy City Council election, in November 2005, only 25.38 percent of Troy citizens eligible to vote actually did so.

During Troy Daze festivities at Boulan Park (Crooks Road north of Big Beaver) September 13-16, the coalition will distribute voter information materials and give Troy voters opportunities to meet and to speak one-on-one with each candidate on the slate.

As this fall’s campaign unfolds, members of the three organizations in the coalition also will canvass Troy neighborhoods to get out the vote for candidates Schilling, Beltramini, Hrit, Kerwin and Aceves.

#     #     #

Note: The five candidates on the coalition slate are available for interviews and can be contacted as follows:

Al Aceves, Jr.
H. Tel: (248) 457-1528
O. Tel: (248) 355-1040
C. Tel: (248) 320-0736
E-mail: aaceves@wowway.com

Robin Beltramini
Tel: (248) 879-8898
E-mail: rbeltram@wideopenwest.com

Kevin Hrit
Tel: (248) 930-4482
E-mail: hrit2007@gmail.com

Mary Kerwin
Tel: (248) 879-7909
E-mail: winwithkerwin@hotmail.com

Louise Schilling
H. Tel: (248) 879-0342
O. Tel: (248) 524-3500
E-mail: 000schilling@ameritech.net or louise.schilling@troymi.gov

Robert Alkin has posted two indepth well written posts in the forum on the Millage Cap proposal by Martin Howerlak, and the status and potential future of Troy.

 http://talkoftroy.org/forum/index.php?topic=12.0

http://talkoftroy.org/forum/index.php?topic=13.0

Please go read them and comment whether you agree or disagree. 

That is the purpose of this site… to start community discourse. 

What does it take to get the Republican Party, Democratic Party and Chamber of Commerce working together?  Not just meeting in the same room… but truly working together for the common good of the community?  All it took was the vision and drive of the Troy Political Action Committee and the nerve to ask the groups to work together.  Then it took strong leadership in each organization to convince their members that the benefit of the common good outweighs each individual organization’s specific goals in a non-partisan election.    Thus formed the coalition in Troy of the Troy Area Republican Club, The Troy Democratic Club and the Troy Political Action Committee associated with the Troy Chamber of Commerce.  They have agreed to work together in a variety of ways over the next few months for the non-partisan election of 4 seats on the Troy City Council as well as the Mayor.  William Cowger, the Chair of the Troy Political Action Committee (a 30 year resident of Troy) wanted to get the residents of Troy to work with the businesses of Troy to select good leadership for

Troy that would benefit all of the stakeholders of the City.   

 The cooperative efforts include:  1.The joint sponsorship of two candidate forums that will be moderated by Emmy-winning attorney Charlie Langton and taped by the Community Media Network for re-broadcast after the second forum:  2. A joint in-person interview of the candidates on August 28, 2007.  The list of questions, the format and the rating of the candidates have been agreed and will be common.  The unique set of questions are open-ended and meant to bring out how well these candidates exhibit the skills of the development goals of the International Baccalaureate Program in the Troy Schools. Good IB students (and we believe in good City Council persons) are: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-Minded, Caring, Risk-Takers, Balanced and Reflective.  Given the complexities of dealing with the changing global economy, the struggling Michigan economy, the preservation and improvement of the quality of life of the residents and workers in Troy, the build-out and needed re-development of portions of the City, the changes in the environment, the changes in transportation needs when gasoline prices continue to rise, we believe that people who best personify the above characteristics will make the best candidates for the Troy City Council.  Notice that there is no mention of a political position or pre-determined policy or partisan stance.  In fact, it is the position of this coalition that candidates who purport single or few issue stances to further their political agenda are the anathema of the kind of leadership that Troy needs over the next 4 years;  3. A joint effort to get out the vote.  Since this is a non-national/state election, the only reason to vote is to elect our City Council and Mayor.  This typically draws a very small percentage of the population to the polls.  The coalition will do everything in its power to get people to the polls on November 6, 2007. In addition to hopefully assisting in the selection of better leadership in Troy, such a coalition gets people talking to one another who had never been in the same room before.  Anytime you can get business and residents working together on the future, there is significant benefit to the entire community.

Last night, I attended the Troy Chamber of Commerce’s Public Forum on Troy’s Future. There were three presentations, with the central themes being
- how to get people involved in actively shaping Troy’s future, and
- how to get people to work together on common goals
The presentations were an effort to kick-start activity on the Troy Vision 2020 plan (see the “Forum” section of the TalkOfTroy website for details of this plan).

A couple of interesting approaches were presented at the meeting, but nothing concrete was decided. On the plus side, some candid and respectful discussions took place after the meeting ended.

After the meeting, my thoughts turned to a essay that I read while working on the Troy Vision 2020 Lifetime Learning Task Force. It was deja vu for me … I had thought about this same essay after the March 28 Public Forum about Troy Vision 2020. It’s called The Power of Outcomes, by the former Secretary of Human Services in the State of Vermont, Cornelius Hogan. The essay is published by the Center for Best Practices of the National Governors Association. Early on in the essay, Mr. Hogan said:

“What we want is simple. We want healthy neighborhoods and communities and families that contribute to, and benefit from, a strong community life. We want to live in places that are safe, clean, and peaceful. We want access to high-quality education and work opportunities. Finally, we want all this to be translated into happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives for our children - our future.”

It would be difficult for anyone, anywhere to argue against those goals. Indeed, over the years Troy has achieved these goals. But now the City is losing its luster, and the challenges are mounting in our City, our region, and our state. Troy will not grow old gracefully unless change happens soon.

Working together on common goals seems to be a major challenge in Troy. I find this puzzling, because people are passionate about living and working here, and there is a great volunteer spirit in the City. It looks like we have all of the ingredients to be successful, yet there hasn’t been a groundswell of support or interest in the Troy Vision 2020 plan.

That’s where this essay ties in. Take 30 minutes to read it. Mr Hogan “calls out” everyone in the community, challenging them to work together to clearly define common goals, and to focus on achieving specific outcomes. His words are more eloquent than mine, so I will just leave it at that and encourage you to read the essay and post your comments below this blog entry. Thanks!

All of the Futures Task Force Summary Reports are posted in the Forum .  This gives each resident and stakeholder of Troy the opportunity to comment on each individual item recommended by the Task Forces.  Take advantage of it and tell us what you think!

The Troy Eccentric published an op-ed piece by William Cowger that outlines some of the challenges facing the City of Troy, and touting the Futures presentation on March 28th.  Have a look at
http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070322/OPINION01/703220596/1211/NEWs22

Please… this is not my blog… post your comments or differences of opinion or other issues.

Thanks, Bill

Thank you for joining us at Talk of Troy.  We have created this on-line community for CIVIL CIVIC discussions between stakeholders in Troy Michigan.  There are two primary areas of the community.  The BLOG which you see here is for reasoned and researched discussions of issues that face Troy, Michigan.  The blog can be compared to regular or op-ed columns in a traditional newspaper.  However, all community members will be able to post comments supporting or disagreeing with the columns.  The forum on the other hand is a place for everyone to vent and learn.   One of the major differences is that forum members may vote on poll issues without the cost of a city election and may comment on all posts by fellow members.   To post, one must register (valid email is all that is required) and commit to being a stakeholder in Troy (resident, employee, employer, or other relationship).  We encourage you to post your opinions, disagree with each other, but at least talk about it.  Any posts that are not considered ‘civil discourse’ will be  removed at the discretion of the moderators.    The moderators have been chosen by the 2020 Futures Task Force members to encourage and sustain the use of this community for all stakeholders.