Vote NO on the Bloomfield Township PROPOSAL/ Safety Paths

Hi All,

TUESDAY,  AUGUST 7, 2018   is PRIMARY ELECTION DAY. 

Besides voting for candidates that will be chosen for the NOVEMBER 2018 ballot ,   there are two other  PROPOSALS  that ask for a YES or NO  vote.  
Below are those two proposals.
Both are "renewals" but the SMART proposal is also an increase !
    
1.  SMART:   for public transportation.  I do know that the Bloomfield Township Senior Center has several SMART buses ( but often sit unused)   but I'll leave the yes or no vote on this issue for you to decide. Please note that this  SMART  ballot is also asking for an increase as well as the renewal !   Four years request.   Personally,  I voted NO.

2.  SAFETY PATH:   Bloomfield Township has been requesting money for safety paths since 1998.

I say vote NO.... on the Safety Path proposal because the township continues to award NO BID contracts to the same contractor, year after year... with NO definite itemized contract for EACH of the different safety path projects.   The township just awards a "not to exceed"  contract for the year.  Yet, even those contracts are sometimes changed.
 
I also say vote NO on this proposal because the township has added an employee costs ($45,000 to $55,000)  a year on the expenses side (beginning in 2014)  and also has added the cost of vehicles.  Latest one is a $78,000 vehicle.    This millage should NOT be used for employee wages/benefits/pension  nor for vehicle purchases.  My opinion.

Another reason to vote NO  is simply the lack of transparency of the entire FUND.
  

BHSD Sinking Fund Ballot Results from May 8, 2018

Hi All,

The RESULTS of the Special Election for the Bloomfield Hills School District Sinking FUND ballot:
http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/MI/Oakland/74353/197928/en/summary.html

5554 votes were cast TOTAL  in the 5 communities with Bloomfield Hills Schools:
yes:   4005
no:    1549

There were 22 precinct locations open for the BHSD Sinking Fund Ballot vote in 5 different communities. Below represents the citizens in the Bloomfield Hills School District eligible to vote.
Bl. Twp.,     22,754 registered voters with only   3988 voters casting ballots
Bl. Hills,       3,121 registered voters with only      480 voters casting ballots
West Bl.,       5,682 registered voters with only    1003 voters casting ballots
Orchard Lake,    52 registered voters with only        13 voters casting ballots
Troy.                 800 registered voters with only        75 voters casting ballots

32,409 eligible voters with only 5554 voting.... around 17% turnout overall.

The YES  - 4005 -  voters have decided for EVERYONE  that the school district will collect over $2.583 million a year for the next 6 years only from the families in the Bloomfield Hills School District.  That is above and beyond the regular school taxes collected annually.

The School District had to pay EACH community to hold the election.  I'm sure the cost varied by community because of the number of precincts that needed to be open.   Reportedly the approximate cost for Bloomfield Township was $75,000.    Had the School District waited until the August 2018 primary,  there would have been NO COST at any of the 5 communities.

Many open precincts combined precincts for this special election.  Bl. Twp. had 15 precincts open for all precincts except 8,9,10,13 which are in another school district/ either Avondale, Pontiac, or Birmingham School Districts.)

The City of Bloomfield Hills had Precincts 1 and 2.
The City of Orchard Lake had Precinct 1.
The City of Troy had Precinct 31.
West Bloomfield Township had Precincts 13,16,17.

If you want to see how YOUR precinct or other precincts in the BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP VOTED.... Go to this link:
http://www.bloomfieldtwp.org/Services/Clerk/ElectionResults/Preliminary/index.html

MY PREVIOUS BLOGS ON THIS SINKING FUND PROPOSAL:

http://bloomfieldtwphappenings.blogspot.com/2018/02/more-on-bhsd-sinking-fund-millage.html

http://bloomfieldtwphappenings.blogspot.com/2018/01/bhsd-may-2018-millage-6-yr-proposal.html