Dear Cheboygan County Administrator Jeffery Lawson and County Commissioners John Wallace, Rich Sangster, Cal Gouine, Mike Newman, Bob Bolinger, Karen Johnson, and Roberta Matelski;
I have addressed this to each of you because you should all know that the Cheboygan County voters and taxpayers are not as dumb as you think. Do not tell us one thing and then do another.
I sat through county meetings at Mackinaw City, two CCE-911 meetings, and additional meetings back in Cheboygan County. Mr Lawson and Commissioner Wallace stated repeatedly that we needed to fund an 800 MHZ radio upgrade for the CCE-911 dispatch service and our first responders. There was much discussion of telephone surcharges or an extra millage. Employing still fuzzy math the entire Board agreed to propose .5 mills additional taxes on every taxable parcel in Cheboygan County to raise an estimated $717,761 over four years. That total is $2,877,041 in additional taxes.
That exceeds the earlier estimated cost of $2.74 million dollars. I should repeat again that the county has a surplus of unassigned funds totaling $8.035 million dollars. The Cheboygan County Policy of 30% unassigned funds exceeds the State of Michigan recommendation of a 15% to 25% “rainy day” fund. The $8.035 million dollars as reported by the auditor is 69% of the annual budget and exceeds the County own fiscal policy by over 100%. Fiscal responsibility should mandate the County Commissioners stop borrowing, over-taxing us and instead spend the more than $4 million dollars, our tax dollars, they have stuffed into money-market accounts.
It does get worse. The .5 millage proposed wording as agreed upon by the unanimous agreement of the County Commissioners says nothing at all about an 800 MHZ infrastructure upgrade and new radios for Cheboygan County’s first responders.
It will instead be spent, as the proposal states, “for the purpose of financing facility, equipment, maintenance and operating cost of the Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet County 911 (CCE) public safety call answering and dispatch services”. It will pay for borrowing money, maintenance, and operating cost for the entire Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet County 911 (CCE) public safety call answering and dispatch services. That far exceeds the stated need to pay for upgrades to 800 MHZ radios.
Taxpayers deserve truth in advertising. This millage proposal is a bald-faced lie. The incumbent County Commissioners are complicit in the deceit; they should be voted out of office on the same ballot that bears their millage proposal.
Let these people who have lied to us about the need for additional taxes know this nonsense must stop. Their emails are public. I encourage you to personally let them know that Cheboygan County does not need any more lies.
Vote for your new County Commissioners and vote NO to new taxes.
Thank you,
Carl Muscott
Indian River
Elect Carl Muscott as your Cheboygan County Commissioner for District Six. Please make a vote for our future on the August 7, 2018 Primary ballot.
CHARLEVOIX, CHEBOYGAN, AND EMMET COUNTY 911 CONSOLIDATED DISPATCH SERVICES MILLAGE PROPOSAL
Shall the total property rate in Cheboygan County be increased by .5 of a mill (1/2 of a mill or 50 cents for each $1,000 of valuation) and levied for (4) years, beginning in the year 2019 and continuing through the year 2022, inclusive, for the purpose of financing facility, equipment, maintenance and operating cost of the Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet County 911 (CCE) public safety call answering and dispatch services? If approved and levied in its entirety, this millage raises an estimated $717,761, in the first calendar year after its approval.
Shall the proposal be adopted? ___ YES ____ No
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