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Marysville
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Port
Huron |
St. Clair County |
Marine City |
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| Mark
Byrne
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Jim
Fisher
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Alan Lewandowski
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Tim McCulloch
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Brian Moeller
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Jim Relken
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Al Wright
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January 28, 2008 - Council amended a rule that
prohibited outdoor burning on private property. Fire pits will be
allowed, provided 50 feet of distance from the pit to structures is
maintained.
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| YES
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YES
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YES
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YES
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YES
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NO
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YES
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January 14, 2008 - In a later action the same evening,
Councilman Wright asked that the issue relating to alcohol be
reconsidered, and then changed his vote. Council views are shown
below. January 28 update: Original proposal was modified to
ease restrictions on alcohol, with the following vote:
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| YES
12
Reasons Why
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YES
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YES
My
View On This
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NO
My
View On This
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NO
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NO
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YES
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January 14, 2008 - Most significant vote was to move
Councilman Byrne's proposal to ease city restrictions on use of alcohol in
public areas. The manager will return with specific language, for
council action. The members in favor of the proposal at this time:
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YES
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YES
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NO
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NO
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NO
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YES
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November 26, 2007 - Most significant vote was to
rescind the previous council's water rate increases for fiscal years
beyond July 1, 2008. Those in favor of the measure felt that they
should bear responsibility for making the necessary budget
decisions. Those opposed wanted to identify the budget cuts that
would be required, in order to balance the budget. The proposal
passed 5-2.
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| YES
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YES
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YES
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NO
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YES
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NO
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YES
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The
council was elected in November, 2007, with Brian Moeller receiving the
highest vote total and becoming Mayor. Jim Fisher had the next highest
total and was elected Mayor Pro-tem. During the campaign the candidates
took positions on a number of subjects, including those listed below.
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1. The City
Manager has proposed water rate increases in each of the next five years,
Brian Moeller has stated that he would not support additional water rate
increases, what is your position?
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| I do not support the recent water rate increases
and.... more
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Voted Against City Manager's Recommendation
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I do not support the large water rate increases...more
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Voted Yes. "The
budget amendment approved in September was a starting point...more
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As
to my statement, what I said is that I would not vote to raise water rates
at least for the next two years..more
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I support both the water & Sewer rate increase at this time.
..more
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I
oppose the current water rate increases.
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| 2. If you are opposed to the City Manager's
Budget, how would you balance the budget?
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| I'm opposed to the City Manager's
Budget.. .more
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I
believe we could have made more cuts in our operating budget. ...more
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I
would have voted no on the 2007/2008 budget. I believe...more
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Voted Yes. "...The city needs to continue to
review services that could be privatized. ..more
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As
to balancing the budget, the next council must be able to make the
appropriate cuts..more
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I am not opposed to the city managers budget. I do not support any additional cuts..more
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I
would like to investigate the detailed budget for more possible
alternatives to save money.
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| 3.
For many
years the leaders of Port Huron have extolled the amenities of our city
and it's great potential, in your opinion, why hasn't that potential been
realized?
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| I agree Port Huron and the Blue
Water area has great potential.. .more
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Port Huron leadership often gives lip service
...more
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I do not think that you can point the blame on any one person.
.more
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Port Huron has been blessed with a number of great assets. The natural
..more
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No Response
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We do not have a marketing theme that clearly describes our area.
..more
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When
you say leaders, I believe these are the visual leaders...more
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| 4.
Several of
the challengers for council seats have expressed
hesitation at being specific about budget issues, stating that the budget
published on the city web page is not the real one, and that they are not
"privy" to specific information that would shape their opinion.
In the interest of having an open and transparent government, shouldn't
the budget that is published be the real one?
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Absolutely. The boss meaning the taxpayers have the right to know every
detail including all salaries.
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I believe in an open and transparent government. The summary budget
....more
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See
Question 5.
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Many people have the misconception that the city has two separate budgets.
...more
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First let me say I was the one who brought this to the attention of Mr. Wright,
...more
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The City budget is very transparent to anyone..more
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I
have investigated this issue and have found that...more
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| 5.
Candidate Al Wright found that the full detailed budget can be available
to citizens if they pay approximately $200.00 plus time expenses for
printing. Would you favor having the full budget available on the
city's web page, or that the city would make it available on a CD disk for
$1.00?
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| Absolutely. The Boss has a right to see all the details. ...more
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If
a CD of the full budget could be provided, I'm all for it.
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I see no reason not to publish the real budget on the city’s website..more
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As I stated in my answer to question #4, I think that the detail budget should be made available to residents....more
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I believe it should be available on line for review by anyone
...more
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Any process that provides more information for the public is great...more
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No Response
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| Hypothetical:
Pete and his new wife are relocating to the Blue Water Area. Pete will be
a school teacher at Thomas Edison Elementary, in Fort Gratiot. His wife,
Sue, will be working as a dental technician, in Port Huron Township.
Their taxable household income will be about $80,000. They are
shopping for homes in the $180,000 price range and will be putting 20%
down and getting a 6%, 30 year fixed rate loan. Assuming their SEV on the
home they purchase to be $90,000, they are comparing the costs of living
in various Blue Water Area communities. They would like to stay in the
Port Huron Area School District, but would consider living in Marysville.
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| Monthly
Expense
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City
of Port Huron
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Port
Huron Twp
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Fort
Gratiot Twp
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City
of Marysville
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Burtchville
Twp
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Clyde
Twp
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Kimball
Twp
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| Property
Tax
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290.35
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209.34
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193.46
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324.56
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176.27
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167.80
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166.32
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| Income
Tax
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64.67
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0.00
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0.00
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0.00
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0.00
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0.00
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0.00
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| Total
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$1,218.37
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$1,072.69
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$1,056.81
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$1,187.91
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$1,039.62
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$1,031.15
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$1,029.67
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| Cost
over Base/Yr
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$2,264.40
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$516.24
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$325.68
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$1,898.88
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$119.40
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$17.76
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Base
(lowest)
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| 6.
If Pete was your son, would you advise him to purchase in the city of Port
Huron? If so, why? If not, what can be done to make Port Huron
a more financially attractive place to live?
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| The short answer is No I would not recommend Pete move to Port Huron
unless..more
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That's a fairly loaded question that does not take into account all variables.
...more
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Yes, I would advise Pete to move to Port Huron,.more
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When I made the choice to live in Port Huron, there were many factors besides taxes....more
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No Response
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I would tell anyone that you get what you pay for...more
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No Response
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| 7.
The city has given tax incentives to encourage developers, manufacturers
and businesses to locate in Port Huron, should they give tax relief to
encourage common people to locate in Port Huron?
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| I favor across the board tax reductions.. .more
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I believe in total tax relief for the citizens of Port Huron. I voted against...more
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The tax rates are not the major reason people are not moving.more
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The city needs to continue to look at weighs to reduce the cost of government.
...more
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No Response
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Tax Relief in the City Of Port Huron for industry
..more
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No Response
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| 8.
If elected, and you had sufficient support on the council, what would be
your first priority?
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| I would make enough changes to Port Hurons cost structure..more
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I would move forward with the proposal from Terra Land. We have a problem
...more
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My first priority would be to get Terra Land back
.more
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No Response
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There are actually two things I plan on doing right away
...more
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Work to set specific goals, Place a time line
..more
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No Response
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| 9.
Televised city council meetings are intended to inform the public in a
transparent manner, in your opinion, when should the council go into
"closed session"?
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| One of the few reasons for closed session I can think of is..more
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Under
Michigan law, we can only go into closed session to discuss pending
litigation, land acquisition and certain personnel matters.
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Only when allowed by the open meeting act..more
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No Response
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Only when mandated by state law.
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The law defines the process here. Open Meeting act.
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No Response
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| 10.
What changes in the city charter, if any, would you support?
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| Adding a line stating that no city income tax is allowed ...more
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I would like to see return to representation by districts or precincts ...more
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After forty years, I see no reason why the charter should not be looked at
.more
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No Response
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I am not sure what changes I would support at this time. However,
...more
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A complete rewrite and review of the entire document.
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No Response
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