Orion Township voters will have an opportunity to voice their opinions on having a millage for parks and recreation when they vote in November.
Trustees voted June 21, by a vote of 4-1, to place a proposal, providing .75 mill to parks and recreation if it passes, on the November general election ballot.
Along with the proposal, the board also supported having a clause added to the motion that stated the township would not bring another millage proposal back for parks and recreation, if this one fails , for two presidential election cycles.
‘A millage proposal for .75 mill for parks and recreation failed four years ago,? said trustee Michael Gingell. ‘Maybe that’s a message that we need to look at half a mill.?
Parks and recreation director Rock Blanchard believes going for half a mill would put his department at more of a disadvantage funding wise then they already were with their budget coming from the general fund.
‘With only half a mill and none of our costs coming from the general fund, we’d have less money to spend then we had before the millage,? he said.
At the last board meeting, some board members had asked if the millage would include funds for purchasing new property for parks and recreation.
‘There really weren’t enough funds to purchase property and do capital improvements (such as a skate park, amphitheater and more ball fields),? said Blanchard.
According to Blanchard, parks and recreation now had added expenses falling under its jurisdiction, like maintenance on the Polly Ann Trail, that it didn’t have in the budget in previous years.
‘Other communities like Auburn Hills spend two and a half times more per person then Orion does,? he added.
Trustee Will Wilsher said he was bothered that Blanchard had included in a breakdown of parks and recreation’s current budget from 2002 versus 2004, the remark that a proposed increase to the director’s salary was reduced to 3 percent, resulting in no adjustment for salary equalization.
The memo stated that the salary of the parks and recreation director remains the lowest of any other comparable communities by nearly 17 percent.
‘Basically, one of your justifications (for the millage) is…saying your salary raise was reduced three percent,? said Wilsher. ‘It’s not my fault you feel your salary is the lowest by 17 percent.’You sent the wrong message (for going out for this millage).?
Trustee Michael Fetzer felt Orion had one of the better parks and recreation systems in Oakland County. BY LISA VALENTINE
Lake Orion Review Staff Writer
Orion Township voters will have an opportunity to voice their opinions on having a millage for parks and recreation when they vote in November.
Trustees voted June 21, by a vote of 4-1, to place a proposal, providing .75 mill to parks and recreation if it passes, on the November general election ballot.
Along with the proposal, the board also supported having a clause added to the motion that stated the township would not bring another millage proposal back for parks and recreation, if this one fails , for two presidential election cycles.
‘A millage proposal for .75 mill for parks and recreation failed four years ago,? said trustee Michael Gingell. ‘Maybe that’s a message that we need to look at half a mill.?
Parks and recreation director Rock Blanchard believes going for half a mill would put his department at more of a disadvantage funding wise then they already were with their budget coming from the general fund.
‘With only half a mill and none of our costs coming from the general fund, we’d have less money to spend then we had before the millage,? he said.
At the last board meeting, some board members had asked if the millage would include funds for purchasing new property for parks and recreation.
‘There really weren’t enough funds to purchase property and do capital improvements (such as a skate park, amphitheater and more ball fields),? said Blanchard.
According to Blanchard, parks and recreation now had added expenses falling under its jurisdiction, like maintenance on the Polly Ann Trail, that it didn’t have in the budget in previous years.
‘Other communities like Auburn Hills spend two and a half times more per person then Orion does,? he added.
Trustee Will Wilsher said he was bothered that Blanchard had included in a breakdown of parks and recreation’s current budget from 2002 versus 2004, the remark that a proposed increase to the director’s salary was reduced to 3 percent, resulting in no adjustment for salary equalization.
The memo stated that the salary of the parks and recreation director remains the lowest of any other comparable communities by nearly 17 percent.
‘Basically, one of your justifications (for the millage) is…saying your salary raise was reduced three percent,? said Wilsher. ‘It’s not my fault you feel your salary is the lowest by 17 percent.’You sent the wrong message (for going out for this millage).?
Trustee Michael Fetzer felt Orion had one of the better parks and recreation systems in Oakland County.’I personally support it, and the taxpayers will decide if they want to go forward,? he said. ‘With respect to them, I think we should put it forward…If the board does not put it on the ballot, they’re doing a disservice to this township.?
Wilsher does support having a millage for parks and recreation, but feels the board should let taxpayers know how money currently spent on parks and recreation in the general fund would be used if the millage went through.
‘This millage will not pass unless we let residents know what we’re going to do with the money in the general fund,? he said. ‘Whether it’s a tax refund or purchasing more land.?
Wilsher also wanted village residents, who pay township taxes and support the township parks and recreation department, to know what would be done with their share of the millage.
‘We have to take care that if we do want this millage to pass…we want everyone to vote for it, including the village,? he said.
Miller Road resident Jim Delevan told the board he didn’t think enough attention was being paid to the east side of Orion Township where parks and recreation was concerned.
‘Nothing is put on the east side,? he said. ‘Everything goes to Friendship Park…The village pays township taxes…There’s life on the east side, but this board doesn’t seem to realize it.?
Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk said the township had been actively searching for park property to purchase on the east side.
‘We have been looking for property east of M-24,? he said. ‘There’s virtually nothing…there is a park by Orion Terrace, but unfortunately it’s deeded to 100 property owners, and unfortunately we can’t do anything legally with it unless they all agree.?
Dywasuk said a developer might possibly offer the township 11 acres for a park south of Silverbell and east of M-24.
Treasurer Jim Marleau believes when Blanchard came to the township in 1996, the parks and recreation budget was $65,000 per year. Blanchard said it was more because money was being spent under different accounts.
‘Now it’s $680,000,? Marleau said. ‘We’re not ignoring the parks and recreation budget…I think the people of this community would like to know what will happen to the surplus.
‘Where will that money be spent?? he asked.
‘These capital improvements will be taking up most of that surplus,? said Blanchard. ‘Maybe we can buy a piece of property on the east side (with it), I don’t know.?
As the only no vote from the board (five members were present on June 21 and clerk Jill Bastian and trustee Richard Tomczak were absent) on the parks milllage proposal, Gingell doesn’t feel the township had adequately prepared to put the propsoal forwad to voters.
‘The reason I voted no is I didn’t think we prepared it appropriately,? he said. ‘I would like to see a list from parks and recreation telling residents exactly what exactly we would be spending the millage money on. I would also like to see addressed how the village will be spent for…We haven’t addressed that either,?
Another issue he said needed more attention before a millage proposal goes forward, is how general fund rates would be reduced if parks and recreation is taken out.
‘We haven’t addressed that either,? he said. ‘You have to have the rationale behind it…What will we do with the taxes we currently collect (for parks and recreation)??