Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with several well know political figures in Michigan and ask questions for nearly three hours.

During that time, I asked a Congressman, what his thoughts were on a local issue. His comment, state, county and local governments have specific responsibilities and tax more than enough to fulfill those responsibilities. Where these government bodies get into trouble is by going beyond their scope of responsibility and taking on expenditures that are not necessary to fulfill their role.

That message has hit a nerve with me. It begs to ask, is there any justification for raising taxes when we are providing services that are above and beyond the necessities required of local, county or state government?

Good questions.

Lawmakers need to reject legislation that would impose an ill-advised $1.35 monthly fee on phone users statewide. This plan to create a separate Public Safety Fund to cover expenses for the State Police and others is a bad idea. Public safety is a core responsibility of government. The dollars to finance this essential service must come from the primary source of funding for operations, the state general fund.

Law enforcement agencies, like every aspect of state government, has taken a hit due to the budget crunch but the Legislature needs to provide dollars for them via real revenue and expense reforms, not an inappropriate tax on an unrelated service.

This bill, in part, has been talked about as aiding the 911 system but that’s hardly the case. The fee just applies to all communication services that connect with the 911 system. The estimated $198 million generated would be divvied up among multiple groups. The State Police, the biggest benefactor, supports the measure. But a slew of local and state law enforcement groups see no benefit and oppose it, including the Michigan Sheriff’s Association and Police Officers Association of Michigan. This tacky phone tax shouldn’t be apart of the solution to the pending deficit. That’s lazy governance. It does not address fundamental challenges but instead stuffs a money bag while making 911 the latest version of a pay phone.

The Novi School board (at the behest of the Superintendent Peter Dion) is once again considering allowing district employees to enroll their children in our school district. An attempt to offer this same benefit failed about 3 years ago.

Michigan Public Act 227 makes it easier for children of employees to attend schools in the district where their parents work. This act, which was passed in July, 2004, is not automatic. Each school district can decide independently whether or not to implement it.

Per Assistant Superintendent Bob Schram, 25 of the 28 school districts in Oakland County currently offer this to their employees. There is certainly one major benefit to Novi. It brings more kids to the district–thus more revenue–at a time when the budget is tight.

Unfortunately, there are concerns that have yet to be addressed during the two school board meetings where this issue has been discussed: Read the rest of this entry »

Novitalk.org is now “solar powered”!

How can that be, you ask? Well, we’re now hosted at iMountain.com. This company is one of the few (if not only) solar-powered web hosting providers in the country. Great service as well.

So, for those of you who think we lean too much to the right, let’s compare carbon credits now!