Upside Down Government - Bloomfield Township, MI

Hi All.... especially written to the four Township Trustees:
  
Neal Barnett nbarnett@bloomfieldtwp.org,
David Buckley dbuckley@bloomfieldtwp.org
Michael Schostak mschostak@bloomfieldtwp.org 
Dani Walsh dwalsh@bloomfieldtwp.org   

7AM  Wed., Feb. 28, 2018   Study Session  public meeting at the township
                                              to discuss the proposed 2018-2019 budget.

• The structure of a TOWNSHIP government puts the people first,    then the FOUR Trustees, Supervisor, Clerk, and Treasurer.  Seven people on the Board with the Trustees having 4 of those 7 votes.    Bloomfield Township is a Charter Township. 

• WHEN will the four of you (Barnett, Schostak, Buckley, Walsh)  accept the responsibility given to you by the people?

• You should be shown ALL financial accounts held by the township with the details. 

• You should be shown ALL debts owed by the township with the details.

• You, the Trustees should be the ones to set the salaries of the elected officials: Supervisor Savoie, Clerk Roncelli, Treasurer Kepes .... they should not set their own salary and then have a vote to approve. 

• You should make sure there is a fair and unbiased negotiating team when contract time comes around with NO conflict of interest. 

• You should make sure the budget proposed is not excessive but meets the needs of the citizens within the revenue and perhaps saves some $$$ for emergency and/or future needs.

• You should do a much better job at each Board of Trustees meeting to get the FACTS of each agenda item.  Unfortunately,  not all facts are provided to you.  Many times, you may not know that. You fail to ask questions.    However, there are often "missing facts" on agenda items and that apparently seems to be by design by some township employees and/or the elected administration in charge.   Currently, those in charge are not  you, the Trustees.  The Resolution that was quickly written and passed to limit  public comment can be rescinded or changed.    It will take the four Trustees action to allow public comment on each agenda item.  Supervisor Savoie already told me that he didn't want to hear from me and others.  Why?  Because many citizens are trying to give you the FACTS that are not being given to you at the Board meetings. 

• This Township has allowed the governing to be turned upside down.  Time to right the ship!

ALL... Please take a look at the documents:

Savoie presented to the Board on Nov. 27, 2017    A  PRELIMINARY BUDGET.... and put it in the Board Packet for that date.  
https://bloomfieldtwpmi.documents-on-demand.com/

Then, the township never posted that preliminary budget on the township website for easy transparency.   Three full months of "hiding" the information.

Now,  when you are about to go into a Study Session meeting,  Savoie presents to you a different look of the preliminary budget, but again only posting the document in the Board Packet.
Please take a look at the Nov. 27, 2017  document and compare it to the one shown for 2-28-18 Study Session.
  https://bloomfieldtwpmi.documents-on-demand.com/

The Budget is  still missing the Water and Sewer Dept.  among other things.   Why are You accepting  incomplete documents to review?    Demand better.  Do better.  The citizens elected You (four Trustees) to represent us,  the citizens.

W & S  still missing.  prior blog Nov. 2017: http://bloomfieldtwphappenings.blogspot.com/2017/11/25m-w-s-department-excluded-from-twp.html

prior blog Feb. 2017:  http://bloomfieldtwphappenings.blogspot.com/2017/02/township-budget-review-vote-coming-soon.html

FYI:  Below are 2  pages included in the 11/27/17 preliminary budget but not included on today's budget posting.