Canton Republican Caucus Holds Second Public Forum

Water, roads and taxes were some of the issues discussed at the Canton Republican Issues Forum held last night at the Summit.

The focus of the event was for the caucus  to give out information on the candidates, discuss ballot issues and to give the public an opportunity to ask questions pertaining to the primary elections on August 5.

"The reason why I believe we are here is to educate people on what is going on so we can make rational and intelligent decisions about our candidates and issues on the ballot," Michael Hansel, caucus leader said.

This was the second forum the caucus has held for the primary election, the first being held on June 9.  

Candidates

The event started with the three candidates Senator, Patrick Colbeck, Carol Ann Fausone and County Commissioner, Shannon Price introducing themselves and discussing what some of their priorities would be if they were to be elected.

Colbeck, senator representing the seventh district since 2010,  said that he would want to focus on roads, jobs and schools.

Colbeck also said he wants to have an alternative to the Obamacare called the Patient Center Care Solution, which aims to end government involvement in healthcare, eliminate the cost of billing insurance from both doctors and government, and focuses on having monthly payments.

"It (healthcare) impacts everyone who is an employer and everyone who is an employee, and those rising healthcare cost is something we all have to address," Colbeck said. " And Obamacare aka The Affordable Care Act is neither affordable nor caring.'

Fausone, who is running for state representative for the 21 district, served 36 years of active duty in the air force and national guard and has master's degrees in administration and nursing from Madonna University.

Fausone said that if she were to be elected, she would continue to serve people in the same way she has as a nurse and veteran.

"I have taken care of our Michigan families as a nurse and as a veteran," Fausone said. "I have held myself accountable first and others around me."

Fausone said the issues she would be most concerned with are roads, education, healthcare and listening to her constituents.

Price, county commissioner since 2012, said he would focus on the budget, roads, water and parks. He is currently one out of two conservatives serving as a commissioners in Wayne County.

Ballot issues

James Fausone, chair of the board of water commission, gave a presentation on different issues concerning the Water and Sewage Department.

Fausone discussed the effects of the restructuring of the Board of Water Commissioners in 2011 including ending federal court oversight, the start of the asset management plan and two silver awards of compliance from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The restructuring also resulted in 2,244 fewer employees and 263 fewer job descriptions. James said that has resulted in $47 million being saved annually.

However, the water department is still in operating in bankruptcy, with 50% of all revenues being spent on debt expenses.

James said the commission has an uncertain future. He said future voters will have to decide if they want the water commissioner to be a regional authority, privatize or a department of Detroit.

Eric Lupher, research director of the Citizen Research Council of Michigan, privately-funded and nonpartisan research group, discussed Proposal 14-1.

Lupher explained that Proposal 14-1 would stop personal property taxes on businesses, which taxes everything from industrial machinery to desks. To not impact revenue of local governments, a portion of the state's current taxes would go to a special authority called the Local Community Stabilization Authority. The LCSA would act as a local unit of government and would distribute the taxes.

Lupher said that there is no organized opposition to the tax, and it has support from both Democrats and Republicans.

Two ballot proposals, the Operating Millage Renewal Proposal and the Regional Enhancement Proposal, was discussed by school board member, Mike Maloney.

The Operating Millage has been in place for over 20 years, and the renewal of the proposal would levy up to 20 mills on non-homestead property within the five communities served by PCCS for the next 10 years.

Maloney said that the operating millage renewal proposal is crucial for the funding of Plymouth-Canton School District.

"I am a tax-hawk just as much as anyone in this room, but this is an important tax for the schools," Maloney said.

However, Maloney said he doesn't approve of the Wayne County Regional Educational Proposal, which is a county-wide have a two mill or two dollars for every thousand taxable dollar, increase for the next six years.

Maloney said that would be a $300 annual increase of to an owner of a $300,000 home.

However, the revenue would not be shared equally. Maloney said that only 60 cents for every dollar collected by the Plymouth-Canton residents would go to PCSS. The rest of the revenue would go school districts including Detroit and Dearborn.

Maloney said that he believes that an increase of taxes should mean that all of the revenue goes back to Plymouth-Canton schools.

He also said that he believes  the district gives enough support to the Wayne County Regional Education Service Agency, which provides services such as bulk buying, and IT support to all schools in the county.