Edited by author 08-07-2006 07:52 PM
John Q.
For some reason, you and a few others believe that we should simply let our children be put in harm's way because the township never addressed the issue of putting schools close to land zoned for commercial use. I really don't think telling my child "tough s**t" is the best we as a community can do.

ANP never suggested A+ was a bad rating. It is an average rating. The Treasurer continues to tout that rating as some mark of financial genius on her part. It is merely average.

Yes, I agree that having a bond in and of itself is not a bad thing. The township had total reserves of approximately $14M ($7M in the general fund and $7M in the reserve fund). We now have $8M, unusable park space and debt. The only thing we have to show for it is a new water tower that has resulted in steep increases in our water and sewer bills. Apparently, they paid off the bill for the tower early, but at what cost to us?

If you haven't noticed, your property assessment went up this year. Did you know that home prices in Washtenaw Country have actually fallen for the past two years? Why don't our property tax assessments reflect what is happening in the market? Why? Because if the township showed reduced property tax revenue, then our wonderful A+ bond rating would be at risk.

Check your records, I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat. I support a development like Newmarket because it recreated urbanism and enhanced community living. If you haven't noticed, suburban sprawl has taken a huge toll on us with ever-increasing costs...to the environment, to commute distances, to gas prices, and on and on. I would love to live in a neighborhood like Newmarket and it has nothing to do with paving over the township and padding the pockets of developers.

And by the way, if you are so antidevelopment, then please give me your thoughts on how the triumvirate has sold out to the very developers they promised to hold in check. It seems the money from the developers in Bloomfield Hills continues to flow into their campaign to fight the recall...more than $20,000 to date. Given the number of glossy ads they have mailed to everyone, I'd say it has probably reached $30K by now.

I chose to make Pittsfield my home and I am willing to fight to make it a better place to live.