property went to the purchaser of the
smaller section . That developer never
paid any taxes on any of the property and
the township subsequently sent notices of
that non-payment toWayne Countywhich
eventually foreclosed on the entire 323-
acre site. The land was then offered for
sale to the state, which by law has the
right of first refusal, and then to the town-
ship. Plymouth Township immediately
purchased the land, once on the tax rolls
at more than $15 million, for $606,000
plus back taxes, estimated at another
$100,000.
Trustees Bob Doroshewitz and Chuck
Curmi voted against spending any further
legal fees, estimated at $10,000 to create a
leave to appeal brief, in an attempt to
overturn the court decisions while
Supervisor Shannon Price, Clerk Nancy
Conzelman and TrusteeMike Kelly voted
in favor of continuing the legal battle.
Treasurer Ron Edwards and Trustee
SteveMann, called the “architects” of the
landdeal, were not at the specialmeeting
Monday.
Price told the board members that the
township would be walking away from
more than $220,000 if no further appeal of
the court decisionswere authorized.
Doroshewitz, a practicing attorney,
strongly disagreed and suggested the
township should accept the court deci-
sions.
“If we win this, we would be taking
property from the people of Detroit. I
totally disagree with this. It (the property
purchase) has stunk fromday one andwe
all know it. It's time tomove on,” he said.
Cox said that the continued legal
wrangling would keep pressure on
Wayne County and attorneys at the City of
Detroit during negotiations for a return of
taxes paid by the township on the land.
The appeals court decision precludes the
county from collecting any back taxes
from the City of Detroit, Cox said. He
insisted that filing for a hearing before
the state Supreme Court would put pres-
sure on the City of Detroit and Wayne
County to reach a settlement agreement
and refund taxes toPlymouthTownship.
State Supreme Court Justice Brian
Zahara presided over Price's ceremonial
swearing-in at his first board of trustees
meeting as supervisor last April. Justice
Stephen J. Markham was previously an
attorney with Miller-Canfield, Paddock
and Stone, based in Detroit, where
TrusteeSteveMann is nowemployed.
Despite Price's opening comments
contending that it was Wayne County that
sent the tax notices and set the foreclo-
sure and subsequent tax sale of the land,
spokesmen from the office of the Wayne
County Treasurer have repeatedly stated
that their actions in the tax notifications,
foreclosure proceedings and subsequent
tax salewere based solely on information
and records provided by Plymouth
Township and that the county has no
legal exposure in the matter. Deputy
Treasurer Eric Sabree re-affirmed the
statements Wayne County attorney Jacob
Ghannamrecited in the circuit court trial
before Columbo, disavowing any error on
the part of the treasurer's office in the
matter.
Bennett claims that the developer who
purchased the 133-acre parcel had an
agreement with Detroit to file the land-
split documentation, and that the town-
ship acted in good faith in the purchase
of the land at the tax sale.
Detroit attorneys disputed that claim
in their court filings, however, and sug-
gested that the township was culpable in
“engineering” the mailing of tax notices
to the incorrect owner and then to the
incorrect address in an effort to benefit
from “a windfall” at the expense of the
City of Detroit.
Cox, however, claims that the City of
Detroit is being “unfairly enriched” at the
expense of Plymouth Township which
paid taxes on the land as part of the fore-
closure sale purchase and since that
time.
Staff Writer Don Howard contributed to
this story.
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
3
March 3, 2016
P
LYMOUTH
Lawsuit -
Board agrees to take appeal of property lawsuit to state Supreme Court
FROM PAGE 1
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
ACCESS TO PUBLIC MEETINGS
The Charter Township of Canton will provide necessary, reasonable auxiliary aids and services to individuals with disabilities at
the meeting/hearing upon notice to the Charter Township of Canton.
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the Charter Township
of Canton will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs,
or activities.
Employment:
The Charter Township of Canton does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment prac-
tices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title II of
the ADA.
Effective Communication:
The Charter Township of Canton will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services
leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the Charter Township
of Canton's programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other
ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.
Modifications to Policies and Procedures:
The Charter Township of Canton will make all reasonable modifications to policies
and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activi-
ties. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in the Charter Township of Canton's offices, even where pets
are generally prohibited.
Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to par-
ticipate in a program, service, or activity of the Charter Township of Canton should contact the office of Barb Brouillette, Human
Resources Coordinator, Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton Center Road, Canton, MI 48188, (734) 394-5260 as soon
as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.
The ADA does not require the Charter Township of Canton to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its
programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.
Complaints that a program, service, or activity of the Charter Township of Canton is not accessible to persons with disabilities
should be directed to Barb Brouillette, Human Resources Coordinator, Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton Center Road,
Canton, MI 48188, (734) 394-5260.
The Charter Township of Canton will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individu-
als with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retriev-
ing items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.
Post: March 3, 2016
EC030316-1279 2.5 x 4.72
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
INVITATION TO BID
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Charter Township of Canton, 1150 Canton Center S, Canton, Michigan will accept sealed
bids at the Office of the Clerk up to 3:00 p.m. Thursday, March 17, 2016 for the following:
RIDGE ROAD WATER MAIN - HDD INSTALLATION
Bid documents may be obtained at the office of the engineer, Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc., 3754 Ranchero Drive, Ann Arbor,
Michigan 48108. Document request shall indicate whether the request is by: prospective bidder, prospective subcontractor,
prospective supplier, or other. Bid documents are available for a nonrefundable fee of $20 in electronic format (CD).
Any questions regarding the project shall be brought to the attention of Mr. Brian Simons at Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc.,
in writing by email at
or by fax at (734) 761-1200.
All bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked with the proposal name, company name, address and telephone
number and date and time of bid opening. The Township reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals. The Township
does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or the provision
of services.
TERRY G. BENNETT, CLERK
Publish 3/3/2016
EC030316-1284 2.5 x 2.693
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
INVITATION TO BID
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Charter Township of Canton, 1150 Canton Center S, Canton, Michigan will accept sealed
bids at the Office of the Clerk up to 3:00 p.m. Thursday, March 17, 2016 for the following:
PURCHASE OF 1 INCH SOFT COPPER (K) TUBING
Bids may be picked up at the Finance and Budget Department, on our website at
, or you may contact Mike
Sheppard at: 734/394-5225. All bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked with the proposal name, company
name, address and telephone number and date and time of bid opening. The Township reserves the right to accept or reject any
or all proposals. The Township does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability
in employment or the provision of services.
TERRY G. BENNETT, CLERK
Publish 3/3/2016
EC030316-1282 2.5 x 2.062
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
NOTICE TO PUBLIC
BOARD OF REVIEWAPPOINTMENTS
Notice is hereby given by the undersigned, Terry G. Bennett, Clerk of the Charter Township of Canton, County of Wayne,
State of Michigan to all residents of the Charter Township of Canton the March Board of Review will be held in the
Canton Township Hall on the first floor, at 1150 S. Canton Center Road.
All persons protesting their assessment must complete petitions prior to appearing to or in writing to the Board of Review. All
petitions must be received in the Assessor's office by March 16, 2016 by 9:00 p.m.
The following is the schedule for March Board of Review.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Organizational Meeting - 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(No Appointments)
Monday, March 14, 2016
Hearings from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(Appointments Only)
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Hearings from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
(Appointments Only)
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Hearings from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
(Appointments Only)
Please be advised that after 4:30 p.m. entry to the building can only be accessed through the front entrance of the Township Hall.
To schedule an appointment or if you have any questions regarding the March Board of Review you may call the Assessor's
Office at 734-394-5111.
TERRY G. BENNETT, CLERK
Charter Township of Canton Township
Publish once per week:
February 11th, 2016
February 18th, 2016
February 25th, 2016
March 3rd, 2016
EC030316-1280 2.5 x 4.404
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
INVITATION TO BID
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Charter Township of Canton, 1150 Canton Center S, Canton, Michigan will accept sealed
bids at the Office of the Clerk up to 3:00 p.m. Thursday, March 17, 2016 for the following:
PRINTING SERVICES FOR THE 2016 SPRING/SUMMER SHOPCANTON GUIDE
Bids may be picked up at the Finance and Budget Department, on our website at
, or you may contact Mike
Sheppard at: 734/394-5225. All bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked with the proposal name, company
name, address and telephone number and date and time of bid opening. The Township reserves the right to accept or reject any
or all proposals. The Township does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability
in employment or the provision of services.
TERRY G. BENNETT, CLERK
Publish 3/3/2016
EC030316-1283 2.5 x 2.14
NOTICE TO RESIDENTS
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
If you experience an overflow or backup of a sewage disposal system or storm water system, you must file a written claim
with the Charter Township of Canton, Division of Public Works within 45 days after the overflow or backup was discovered.
Notice should be mailed to Charter Township of Canton, Division of Public Works, 1150 S. Canton Center, Canton, Michigan
48188. Failure to provide the written notice will prevent recovery of damages. Contact the Division of Public Works at 734/394-
5150 for assistance immediately upon discovery of an overflow or backup.
THANK YOU
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
DIVISION OF PUBLIC WORKS
Publish: March 3 and March 10, 2016
EC030316-1281 2.5 x 1.625
Plymouth Township police
officers continue toworkwithout
a union agreement, a situation
that has continued since their
contract expired in December
2014.
During the 14 months since
that time, the township and the
Police Officers of Michigan
(POAM) have been unable to
reach an agreement through
negotiations or mediation.
Contract negotiations began in
August of 2014 but those talks
failed and the police union filed
for state mediation, which began
in September of 2015. State
Mediator Robert Strassberg
agreed that negotiations were
hopelessly deadlocked after
three sessions, with no agree-
ment on health care and retire-
ment benefits. Strassberg agreed
that the inability of the township
and the union to reach any con-
sensus left binding arbitration as
the only option for the 38 mem-
ber department.
The case has been assigned to
state arbitrator StanleyDobry.
Union representatives and
township negotiators have made
no comment about the ongoing
stalemate due to the pending
legal arbitration proceedings
although sources close to the sit-
uation claim that the township
has delayed the contract for an
unprecedented amount of time
and that the officers are being
treatedunfairly.
“They wanted to get arbitra-
tion…we're in themiddle of arbi-
tration,” said Township
Supervisor ShannonPrice.
Price was hesitant to answer
questions about the long expired
contract and the related union
talks but defended the town-
ship's tactics, emphasizing,
“We're, not stalling.”
“We're trying to move it for-
ward, and we're not that far
apart.”
The township officials who
make up the negotiation team
include Price, Township
Treasurer Ron Edwards, Clerk
Nancy Conzelman and Troy
attorney Gregory Schultz of
Schultz & Young. Schultz repre-
sents Plymouth Township in col-
lective bargaining for the police
and fire departments.
In addition to the 21 rank and
file officers POAM also repre-
sents 10 township dispatchers.
The four department sergeants
are considered command offi-
cers and part of the bargaining
unit. They are represented by
the
Command
Officers
Association of Michigan (COAM).
Contract negotiations for the
command officers and dispatch-
ers have been previously settled.
The police chief and two lieu-
tenants are not union employ-
ees.
Township Ofc. Steve Coffel is
the department POAM union
representative.
Price said he was new to
unionnegotiations.
“I got sworn in on a Monday
and Tuesday we had a meeting
withPOAM.”
The basic issues in most pub-
lic safety negotiations are wages,
health care and retirement ben-
efits. Plymouth Township issues
are no different.
“We're trying to negotiate with
the police union to address long-
term cost, like pension and
retiree health care and we're not
that far apart...we'll be done by
May.” Price said.
The proposed 2016 budget for
the police department is
$3,900,000.
Don Howard
Staff Writer
We're trying to move it forward,
and we're not that far apart.
Township Supervisor Shannon Price
”
Deputy Treasurer Eric Sabree re-affirmed
the statements Wayne County attorney Jacob Ghannam
recited in the circuit court trial before Columbo,
disavowing any error on the part
of the treasurer's office in the matter.
”
Police contract arbitration continues
