No public control over how DDA spends tax dollars

The DDA executive director had a 547-word guest opinion with color photos in last week’s Lake Orion Review. In those words, the director listed the wonderful things the DDA has done, or more correctly, was involved with. They are generally good things.
We mere mortals are limited to 300 words, and I didn’t know photos were an option.
It is important to note that these DDA things happened with our tax dollars: $903,236 of our tax dollars are going to the DDA in the next fiscal year and we have no control over how those dollars are spent.
As currently proposed, most of that money will go to pay the DDA overhead and Lake Orion Lumberyard bond debt, not to provide the wonderful things the director listed.
Most of these tax dollars will not be available for government services as determined by our vote. The public has never voted for the DDA and never voted for our tax dollars going to the DDA. We have never been allowed to do that and, in fact, voted for many of those dollars to fund other things.
You cannot comment on agenda items at DDA meetings, and the DDA board will not respond to issues you ask about.
They, along with the village government, believe the DDA is not subject to the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, so we don’t know what things like the new electric car charging stations are costing us to operate, or what the lumber yard purchase may cost us.
If you want some say on how your tax dollars are spent, and your vote to have some meaning, you might want a more democratic alternative than currently provided by the DDA.
Unfortunately, it seems most of the village council does not want you to have that option.
Cory Johnston
Lake Orion

One response to “No public control over how DDA spends tax dollars”

  1. @Cory, did the Village council build and OK this mess way back where?? if they then they should be able to tell by the smell that it has been out in the sun way to long. THEY made it, time to FLUSH it, as with the 4 A’s that beat ALL card hands, looks like that it is time to get a new deck still in the wrapper and start a NEW game by the VOTE of the TAX paying residence’s of the WHOLE Village. WHAT SAY YOU TAXPAYERS??? SAD for this, SAD for that, SAD for all improvements and up keep, thats’s B.S. 900K would go a long in improve the WHOLE Village other than just DDA’S area (4-5 blk’s) THINK about it, could be time to flush it Q@C. is the NEW boat launch M-24 for Village res. only??

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