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October 30, 2014
Westland mayor halts fire authority talks
Blues, Brews and Barbeque generates $30,000
Voters in Wayne will be asked to change city charter
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
There will be no further dis-
cussion or action taken toward
the formation of a three-city fire
authority.
Westland Mayor William Wild
hand-delivered letters to Wayne
City Manager David Murphy and
Inkster City Manager Richard
Marsh last week putting an end to
any further negotiations regard-
ing the formation of an intergov-
ernmental unit to provide fire
protection services.
Members of the Wayne City
Council were set to discuss the
formation of the authority that
night at a study session.
In his letter, Wild cited the
“lack of stability inWayne's execu-
tive staff, most notably having fire
city managers since the merger of
the two (Wayne andWestland) fire
departments in 2012. Wayne has
also lost all but one of seven
department heads in the past six
months. Wild also noted that the
departure of long-time Mayor Al
Haidous, who will become a
Wayne County Commissioner in
January, along with the current
ballot proposals in Wayne could
impact the fire service. He said
that the perceived lack of support
for the fire authority on the coun-
cil, “evidenced by their public
comments” were factors in his
decision not to pursue the agree-
ment.
Westland was by far the largest
of the three communities which
would have entered into the
authority, a factor which prompt-
ed some of the comments Wild
referenced. Wayne council mem-
bers had publicly stated their con-
cerns about the lack of control
and input theymight have in such
an agreement.
Wild's decision will not impact
the current Wayne-Westland Fire
Department which will continue
to operate under the direction of
former Westland Fire Chief Mike
Reddy. Officials from both Wayne
and Westland have said that the
merger is working well and has
saved each of the communities
money. Reddy would also have
headed the Fire Authority, as pro-
posed. He told the Wayne City
Council members that Wild's deci-
sion offered them time to step
back and reevaluate and assess
what is best for the three commu-
nities.
“We weren't in a hurry. We
worked on this for 2 ½ years. If it
takes another year, so be it,”
Reddy said.
Reddy also agreed with
Murphy that the current fire
department is working well in
both communities.
“It has increased services and
has saved the cities money. It's
working fine and allowed us to
reduce manning. Doing this
allows us to take a step back,
relax and take a deep breath.
One, two years down the line, if
we need to revisit the authority,
we can take a different
approach,” he said.
In his letter, Wild suggested
that Wayne officials need to
address several pressing issues
before pursuing the proposed fire
authority.
“When you look at Wayne, you
see they need to focus on getting
their fiscal house in order before
we can talk about any long-term
plans. We need to focus on the
authority, but Wayne needs to
focus on other things more. They
need to deal with their revenue,
they need to get the police and
firemillage renewed. Therewas a
lot of confusion with the Wayne
people,”Wild said.
Currently, Wayne faces a
$500,000 budget shortfall for this
fiscal year and an estimated $1.5
million budget deficit in the next
fiscal cycle.
Westland's 4th annual All-
American Blues, Brews &
Barbecue was one for the record
books, according to Mayor William
R.Wild.
This year, Wild said, the event
reached an all-time record, raising
more than $30,000 for 11 local non-
profit organizations, and more
than $88,000 in the past four years.
The event also attracted thou-
sands of attendees from Westland
and surrounding communities, as
well as a record number of spon-
sors, he said.
“I want to thank all of our vol-
unteers, the participating restau-
rants, our sponsors and the per-
formers for another remarkable
event,” said Wild. “This annual
event has become a staple for
Westland families, friends, foodies
andmusic fans alike.”
The 11 non-profits who will
receive part of the $30,000 donated
during the event include: the
Westland Chamber of Commerce,
Goodfellows, Lions Club, the
Westland Citivans, Rotary, The
Westland Community Foundation,
Jaycees, Grange, the Westland
Historic Commission, Warm
Hearts, and The Fire Fighters
PublicAwareness Committee.
To receive the funds, these
local organizations provided
enough volunteer manpower to
make the event a great success
this year, Wild added. The volun-
teers these groups provided
served as greeters, grounds crew,
and ID checkers, among a variety
of other roles in an effort to make
the event cost neutral to the city,
he said.
“Attendees were treated to
music from some of the area's best
musicians, mouthwatering barbe-
cue fromsome favorite local estab-
lishments, and a variety of craft
microbrews that were provided by
Westland's own Ashley's Beer &
Grill,”Wild said.
“And now the countdown
begins for next year's event!”
Wayne voters will be asked to
change the city charter next
Tuesday and in doing so, change
the way their city officials are
elected.
Two proposals will face City of
Wayne voters, one will change the
way city council members are
elected and the second will limit
the amount of time any elected
official can serve.
Both were placed on the ballot
by resident Ron Roberts, a long-
time critic of the current adminis-
tration and the way the city cur-
rently operates.
The first of Roberts' proposals,
Proposal 1, would restrict city
council candidates to wards or
areas. No longer would candidates
be able to garner votes from
throughout the city, but would be
elected by voters in their own dis-
tinct precinct, one of six in the city.
The proposal, if approved,
would go into effect for wards 1, 2
and 3 at the time of the 2015 pri-
mary election and take effect in
wards 4, 5 and 6 during the 2017
primary election.
The position of mayor would be
the only elected office to remain
citywide on the ballot and be elect-
ed by a vote of the entire communi-
ty. The mayor would be elected
every two years at the same time
half the districts or precincts chose
council representatives. Council
members would continue to serve
four-year terms.
Roberts' second proposal,
Proposal 2 on the ballot, would
limit the number of years any
elected official can serve, in any
elected capacity, to 16 years.
Wayne, with a population of
17,000 has about 13,000 registered
voters divided into seven voting
precincts.
The third question facing
Wayne voters is the renewal of a
five-year, 1-mill levy to support
public safety. Approval of the
renewal would generate about
$370,000 annually.