Voting 'Yes': Residents Speak from the Lectern for Millage

Nearly 20 people stood up during the call to audience portion of Monday night's Ferndale City Council meeting. A few of them had events or fundraisers to announce, but most of the residents wanted to talk taxes.

Here are the comments from the podium of those who are voting in favor of the millage on the May 3 ballot (to read residents' comments against the millage go ):

Ferndale resident Mary Shusterbaurer praised Ferndale City Council. "First, thank you to City Council for tackling a tough issue in a really reasonable way – brilliant in appointing a Financial Planning Committee to tear apart the city budget and using citizens in our community," she said.

Shusterbaurer also thanked the 12 members of that committee who spent 14 weeks looking at solutions for the budget shortfall. She also extended a thank you to all the city employees who already have taken cuts – City Hall staff took a 5 percent pay cut last year, and the just took concessions that, according to Ferndale's Finance Director Jaynmarie Hubanks, will save the city about $170,000 annually.

However, she added, cutting is not the only solution. "We can't cut our way to a solution, and we can't tax our way to a solution. … And we can't do it with two or three spaghetti dinners. … I'm voting yes on May 3 because I don't want to see my investment go down the drain. I urge the other citizens of the community to do the same."

"My wife and I don't want to pay more," resident Keith Dalton said. "We are reluctantly supporting the Headlee Override and wish there was another solution, but our elected officials have acted responsibly, and this is what we have to do." Dalton said that those who are voting no should look past their disdain for Ferndale's government because "a no vote is hurting friends, family and neighbors."

"We have a great police and great fire department, and those are the main reasons I am voting yes on May 3 for the Headlee Override," said Dan Martin, president of the . "We need a city with great services and that is walkable. I applaud the work of the Financial Planning Committee and appreciate all the work council has done on all of this. … I encourage everyone to vote yes on May 3. I believe in this city, and I know community believes in it."

Brianna Fritz is voting yes. "I moved from Ann Arbor to Ferndale. There were other cities I was looking at: Detroit, Birmingham, Royal Oak. After extensive research, I made Ferndale my home," she said. "I love the bakeries, the restaurants. I'm a runner, and the sidewalks and roads are clean. The police make it safe. All of these reasons are why I am voting yes. If our community comes together to vote yes on May 3, we can help curb drastic cuts."

Greg Pawlica, co-chair of , the group campaigning for a yes vote, took the lectern to encourage residents to, well, vote yes. "A yes vote is a vote to protect police, fire and ambulance service. … The opposition's claim is that the city isn't in the dire straits that has been talked about and that the city can weather a $2.3 million storm this year and $16 million (shortfall) over the next five. They suggest that police use their own vehicles to their jobs and have volunteers cut the grass in the park. I'm not sure how you force volunteers to cut grass?"

Pawlica said the opposition has discussed holding fundraisers to close the projected shortfall. "I would be impressed with a $2.3 million spaghetti dinner. Even the Dream Cruise only brings in about $50,000. … Vote yes to protect police, fire and ambulance service, vote yes to protect Ferndale's future."

Dennis Augustine was moved by something he saw on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC about Gov. Rick Snyder's emergency financial manager (EFM) trainings. "A vote no would mean that you, the city government, would be stripped with what you can and can't do," he said. The Rachel Maddow Show was discussing the powers that Snyder has given EFMs and their ability, essentially, to strip a local government of its power and city employees of their contracts.

"My taxes are pretty high. I really can't afford them. That being said, I'm still voting yes," Augustine said. "I like the city services. After that half-hour show on MSNBC, I can't see any other way but voting yes. This has gone a little further than police and fire."

Steve Kuzmanovich is a 37-year retired veteran of the fire services. "This EFM crap that has been forced on us is dangerous. Police and fire have already been cut to the bone. We need these people," he said. "I'm voting yes on this Headlee Override. I'm voting yes, we gotta have it. We gotta have it."

Longtime resident Nancy Goedert, mother of former Mayor Chuck Goedert, also spoke in favor of the millage. Her sentiments are mirrored in her letter to the editor, which can be found .

Ferndale Police Officer Brendan Moore came to the council meeting to speak in favor of the millage. "A yes vote is a vote for the city of Ferndale and to keep staffing levels where they are," he said. "We've been shown that the money isn't there. Cuts to police have been done in the past, and we don't want to go through that again."

Moore discussed the concessions the Ferndale Police Patrol officer's union just took. "Part of that is to show the citizens of Ferndale that we are concerned and that there is a problem with the economy," he said. "Even with those (concessions), if this doesn't pass on May 3, my personal belief is that there will be layoffs to the police and probably the fire. … On behalf of both public safety in general and a citizen of Ferndale, vote yes."

Former Mayor Bob Porter, co-chair of the Financial Planning Committee, put some context around his choice to vote yes May 3. "My time for getting involved was the early- and mid-90s. We did things where we tried to save. Downtown Ferndale was 50 to 60 percent vacant. Nothing was going on in the community. We couldn't even raise taxes 'cause we were already paying 19.5 mills (in the general operating millage. The state maximum is 20 mills). We said, let's reinvest. Nobody was happy about that idea, but they said that this was something we had to do for our community." Porter said.

"We did we get? We got our community center back. Over a 10-year period of time, we had the fastest-growing property taxes in the inner-ring suburbs. … We have a choice next Tuesday … to reinvest in ourselves and come out as a rising star."

"I am here to support the ballot on Tuesday," said Katie Hershberger, who also sat on the Financial Planning Committee. "I feel very strongly about the city I've lived in 35 years and close to for well over 50 years. … In 1929, we had the Great Depression. I remember the tail end of it. We're having our own form of a depression, not because of city, but because of economic climate. … When we think of the millage not passing, we think of Snyder and his financial planners, or whatever you want to call them.

"We just need to have support of community to maintain a strong community like we have now. We have a sense of community, we say hi to people. Only way we can keep it is self-sacrifice. If you're not going to sacrifice here, you're going to have to sacrifice somewhere else. Please vote yes."

Pat Sheehan, president of the Ferndale Firefighters Local 812, came out in support of the millage. "With a no vote, there are drastic changes, serious manpower reductions, talk of Station 2 potentially closing. We'd drop out of OAKWAY pact (a mutual aid agreement in which the city participates with Birmingham, Bloomfield Township, Madison Heights, Pontiac, Royal Oak, Southfield, Waterford and West Bloomfield), which is the best resource we have in the event of a big one. It would put our auto aid in jeopardy, kill our consolidation talks that are going on … we're going to lose our ambulance service," he said.

Sheehan said that at the end of the day, Ferndale is in better shape than most of the cities around Ferndale.  "We're not in great shape. But we're not in the bottom of a bucket. I think this Headlee Override is to help us keep this course that we are on," he said.

"But we're leaking oil. Ultimately, we don't want to go down this road. On behalf of the fire union, we support the Headlee and encourage everyone to vote yes on May 3."

The last public comment of the night came from Dennis Whittie, co-chair of the YES to Ferndale's Future campaign. Whittie used his time to address some of the comments made throughout the evening. One of those comments was a suggestion by Alan Soave, a member of the group Ferndale Against Council's Tax who is campaiging for a no vote, to wait until November to vote on the millage to find out where the city stands on revenue sharing and public safety union negotiations.

"Our budget year works from July to June," Whittie said. "As of July (if the millage doesn't pass), that's when you'll start seeing cuts. Waiting till November is an unrealistic option. If you vote no in May … you're digging yourself out of a hole in November."

Whittie also brought up the issue of the 38 percent tax increase. "It's not 38 percent," he said. "It's 11 percent in your total tax bill."

Whittie said F.A.C.T.'s campaign hasn't brought out alternatives. "There's no 40-page document. No one has presented another way, no one has another way," Whittie said. "I encourage a yes vote."