I understand your frustration 100% with the Rochester Hills council; I have been fighting the “fiscally responsible” battle with them for years. Even when you put 30+ hours of your own free personal time into reading their budget line item by line item…even when you send out emails and phone calls to the staff and get your “numbers” 100% right… all you get from them is three minutes at their budget public hearings and deaf ears.
These 6 charts (charts I created) FY 2011 clearly explain just the tip of the iceberg how off cantor “spending” is in Rochester Hills.
Rochester Hills “spending habits” have not changed for 2012 so my FY 2011 charts are still relevant.
How does this affect the City of Rochester… let’s start with Police; Rochester Hills seriously underfunds Police protection… we are at least 8+ officers short and crime doesn’t know city boundaries.* Rochester Hills refuses to step up to the plate and maintain the city’s infracture. Rochester Hills curently has a $35,000,000 million+ deficit in residential street repair. Don’t maintain infracture…will kill property values. Rochester Hills over the past decade has thrown away our fund balance in the water sewer department. When I left city council in 1997 there was a $70,939,040 water sewer fund balance today there is only about $18,894,276. These are just three glaring examples of of misappropriations of valuable tax dollars in the “Hills”!
Rochester Council, I sincerely thank you for your fiscal concerns with OPC…but would recommend your council “walk away” from the “OPC spending issue” (approve their budget) only because it’s the “take the high road” thing to do at this time… we don’t want OPC getting into any serious legal trouble…??? right… OPC has a $212,762 personal cost increase over last year but they (OPC) are also sitting on currently $1.2 million in fund balance…a tough sell for change (at your end) to the public. But please HELP!!! Rochester Council should get involved in Rochester Council Hills “spending habits”…It’s costing our region millions in misappropriations of valuable tax dollars.
Rochester Council, I would appreciate your thoughts on “spending” in Rochester Hills where should we go next?
*Federal recommendations police officer per 1000 residents.
About Tom and Ann Gendich