Michigan is great’it’s Lansing that’s broke. And broken.
So says Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, who last week threw his hat in the ring in a bid to become Michigan’s next governor.
‘Not because I’m anxious to spend less time with my family or give up the job I truly love,? said Bouchard, 53, a Republican. ‘Somebody has to fix the mess in Lansing.?
Locally, municipal leaders have struggled with a continually decreasing flow of state funds.
In Clarkston, City Manager Dennis Ritter said 2009-2010 state-shared revenue is currently estimated at about $76,000’down from $125,000 in recent years.
‘For a community and budget the size of ours, that’s a lot of money,? Ritter noted.
The city’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year is $800,773.
Ritter said Michigan’s next governor should be clear on priorities.
‘Jobs,? he said. ‘That’s it. People have got to get back to work.?
But with the OCSO approaching $20 million in cuts, Bouchard said he’s familiar with the sting of a shrinking budget.
‘Some of those cuts are very painful,? he said. ‘The (OCSO) Boot Camp was one of my favorite programs; we’d grown the program, we added females. It was a fabulous program, but it served non-violent offenders.?
With an operating cost of about a million dollars per year, Bouchard said, he couldn’t justify moving the program forward.
‘I very much wanted to keep it, was one of my favorite programs,? he said. ‘But that’s the core question, need verses want. The need is keeping violent offenders off the street, and those are the kind of choices all levels of government are going to have to make.?
The Independence Township board is currently facing just such a dilemma. Citing a $113,000 hit to its state shared revenues, along with reductions in local taxes, the board is looking at layoffs and cuts in township services, including popular parks and recreation programs.
In 2008, Springfield Township received about $931,000 in state-shared revenue. This year, Lansing says Springfield can expect to receive about $850,000.
The reductions, said Treasurer Jamie Dubre, aren’t unexpected.
‘You can see it coming way before it hits,? she said. ‘People are laid off, unemployment is high, and people aren’t spending so there’s not as much sales tax coming in. We’ve always taken the state’s estimates and budgeted 10 percent less.?
Michigan’s next governor, she said, has a ‘huge undertaking.?
‘Whoever gets elected has a lot of work to do,? Dubre said. ‘We have a long way to go.?
Bouchard agreed, and said if elected the tough choices may make him a one-term governor.
State-shared revenue, he said, is not likely to increase.
‘I think every level of government is going to have to get used to a lot less,? he said. ‘To think otherwise is not in line with today’s reality.?
It’s time, he said, for serious discussion about consolidation and sharing of services in municipalities and school districts.
It’s also time for Michigan to make the switch to a part-time legislature, he noted.
‘It’s an expensive legislature,? Bouchard said. ‘If you’re getting 100 percent valuable service and you’re willing to pay for it’well, these problems have languished for years and years and there’s no end in sight. There’s no reason to continue to have one of the few full time legislatures in America.?
Bouchard said he made the decision to run after learning Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson would not seek the governor’s office.
‘I didn’t see anyone else in the race who has the qualifications necessary,? Bouchard said. ‘The next governor will need to have not only experience and knowledge, but also backbone to do what’s necessary. Some very tough choices need to be made, and the people in Lansing have not been making them.?
But before his name can be placed on the November 2010 ballot to replace Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who can’t be reelected because of term limits, Bouchard must win in what looks to be a crowded August 2009 Republican Primary.
Other potential Republican candidates include Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, Secretary of State Teri Lynn Land, Congressman Peter Hoekstra, State Senator Tom George and Ann Arbor Businessman Rick Snyder.
But Bouchard says his experience, both in Lansing, and as head of one of the nation’s largest sheriff’s departments’with an annual budget of $132 million and more than 1,200 employees’make him best qualified to ‘meet the challenge at hand.?
‘I come with the two very specific skill sets for this job,? he said. ‘I know the Lansing issues inside and out, having served in the Senate; I was the majority floor leader, and either chaired or sat on every major committee. Every year we cut taxes and balanced the budget.?
Bouchard was elected to the state Senate in 1991, and reelected in 1994 and 1998.
In 1999 he was appointed to his current position as Oakland County Sheriff when John F. Nichols passed away suddenly.
Voters returned him to the post of Oakland County’s top cop in 2000; he was reelected in 2004. In 2006, Bouchard ran for U.S. Senate but lost to incumbent Senator Debbie Stabenow. He was reelected as Oakland County Sheriff in 2008; his current term expires Jan. 1, 2013.
Goals he said, include ‘fixing? Lansing: getting over-the-top spending under control and making the state a desirable destination for businesses.
Bouchard said he’s frustrated by the mass departure of young people seeing employment.
‘I find it absolutely unacceptable that our kids have to leave the state for a future,? he said. ‘If they want to leave that’s a choice; if they have to leave to find employment, that’s a failure of leadership.?
One campaign proposal outlines a 48-hour shovel-ready business permit.
‘I was talking with a business owner who’s been trying to get an answer and a permit for a year and a half,? Bouchard said. ‘We need to provide a timely predictable answer, otherwise it’s just one more reason not to come.?
Bouchard said he’s not a proponent of selective tax breaks but thinks, instead, it’s important to ‘create an environment that’s attractive to every business.?
‘We lead the nation in unemployment, we lead in outbound moves and we’re not going to draw people back by being mediocre,? he said. ‘You have to excel; you have to be a shining example in order to get the attention of businesses.?