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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
4
December 8, 2011
My recent move to downtown
Plymouth has introduced me to a
whole newway of life.
And a whole new set of subcul-
ture in society.
I've joined the morning people
who populate the streets of down-
town Plymouth before the sun
comes up every morning.
Seriously, there is a whole under-
ground culture that only appears
before the dawn. Joining is pretty
simple, you just have to roll out of
bed, throwon the nearest clothing
you can find, and hit the streets.
Personal grooming is absolutely
prohibited, as is revealing the
true identity of those you meet on
the streets.
It started when my car went
into the shop and it occurred to
me that I could nowwalk to work.
It was fall, the mornings were
warm and sunny and I really
enjoyed the little half-mile trek.
That prompted my decision to
change my lifestyle to include a
walk every day in an effort to com-
bat some of the effects of old age,
a sedentary lifestyle and more
stress than is inflicted on the hull
of a supersonic jet at 30,000 feet.
When I started, it was an effort
tomake it amile thenmy distance
increased until my addictive per-
sonality pushed me to about 3
miles before sunrise every morn-
ing. Most often, it's dark when I
leave home and the sky just begin-
ning to lightenwhen I return from
my little jaunt.
It takes every
iota of willpow-
er I have to get
myself out of a warm bed every
morning to take my hike, but I do
it for the entertainment.
Not the anticipatedweight loss,
which has been a cruel disap-
pointment, not the health benefits
or improved muscle tone and not
working off the residual stress-
induced adrenaline.
Nope, it's the giggles.
Everyweekdaymorning I greet
a rather hefty man walking to
Plymouth Township residents owe the judges at the
WayneCountyCircuit Court a big debt of gratitude.
The judges have upheld the right of township residents to
be heard and have struck down, soundly, the efforts of those
whowoulddeliberately oppress the rights of the electorate.
Good for them.
The issue is a simple one, really. Do elected officials have
the right to deliberately ignore and trample the rights and
wishes of the very people who elected them to office? Does
elected office allow the kind of dictatorial and overtly arro-
gant conduct displayed by the members of the Plymouth
TownshipBoard of Trustees?
We are gladdened to say no, not if the judges in Wayne
CountyCircuit Court canput a stop to it.
Whether voters think paying 1 or 1.5 mills in taxes to sup-
port a fire department which provides them with Advanced
Life Support and Emergency Medical Services and is on
hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week is reasonable or too
expensive will now be determined by the very people being
affected. The level of fire and public safety won't be deter-
mined by a board of elected officials who have steadfastly
refused to listen to those same people.
We think that's a very good thing.
We are certainly aware that the votemay result in the very
actions the board of trustees is now proposing, cuts to
staffing, volunteers from 15 miles outside the township
boarders, no Advanced Life Support and no Mutual Aid. If
that's what themajority of those who vote choose, then that is
exactly what should happen and we should all stop yammer-
ing about it. We've said it before, that's the American way. We
vote, we accept themajority opinion andwe livewith it.
But that majority has a right to be heard. Had the public
simply accepted the proposed cuts and reorganization and
new standards of public safety, that would have been the end
of it. The fact that they didn't accept it, that in this climate of
nearly comatose public apathy, 4,000 of them signed petitions
asking to vote on the question was a groundswell that town-
ship officials should have welcomed, rather than fought at
every turn.
In this economy, in these times of too much to do and no
time left to do anything extra, more than 4,000 people got
involved in what was going on in their local community gov-
ernment. They actually began to go to meetings, to watch for
news reports, to listen to other opinions and the plans of the
officials elected to represent them for spending their tax
money.
We think that, too, is a very good thing.
That those in elected office in Plymouth Township would
take umbrage and oppose thewill of the very peoplewho put
them in office is unconscionable. How can you represent the
best interests of the constituency if your every effort is at
quelling their involvement and denying them a voice in the
decisions that, inmany cases, couldbe life or death for them?
Are these people so fueled by arrogance they feel they are
above the very tenets of our government by the people. Are
they so removed from reality they feel theirs is the only view-
point that is tenable?
Whatever fueled their misbegotten efforts to override the
will of the peoplewas inappropriate at best.
Voters may well choose not to fund the fire department.
But if that is the outcome, it will be the will of the people, not
the arrogant, narrow-minded choice of a few people who
apparently forgot what they promised when they were cam-
paigning for office.
In this economy, in these times of too much to
do and no time left to do anything extra, more
than 4,000 people got involved in what was
going on in their local community government.
”
It started when my car went into the shop
and it occurred to me that
I could now walk to work.
”
Democracy isn’t just for the privileged few
Discovering a whole new early morning culture
Economic
casualties
continue
Last week, in a nearly unprece-
dented move in the city, Inkster
officials were forced to lay off 12
police department employees,
nearly 20 percent of the force.
The reasons for the action are
the same ones heard in nearly
every community these days, eco-
nomic cutbacks and lack of tax
revenue. In Inkster, however, the
reality of the financial losses
came as a shock to the adminis-
tration and officials. Mayor
Hilliard Hampton admitted that
when the real numbers were
revealed, he was seriously taken
aback as his city had always oper-
ated with a fund balance, never a
deficit.
When the city lost the former
treasurer and then the former city
manager resigned, the numbers
began to appear. Much of the fund
balance or assets on the city books
were not based on real money, but
on property, something that the
mayor also found surprising.
But the most critical issue for
Inkster, a city disproportionately
dependent on state revenue shar-
ing funds, was the reorganization
and reduction of those funds.
Revenue sharing, the mayor
noted, amounts to 10 or 15 percent
of the city budget and the state
cutswere devastating.
In Inkster, there is a higher
rate of unemployment, of public
housing and those who receive
public assistance. The mayor
admits that he, and the rest of the
administration, is working hard to
get their arms around the finan-
cial problems with which they
are, admittedly, unfamiliar.
We give them high marks for
the efforts they are making and
we give the police department,
where these massive cuts took
Letters
Officials receive thanks
To the editor:
My sincerest appreciation goes
to Romulus Mayor Alan r. Lambert
and State. Sen. Hoon-Yung
Hopgood for facilitating a meeting
with representatives of the CSX
Railroad.
The meeting addressed the
inconvenience faced daily by area
residents due to the extensive
blockage by CSX trains of main
roadways including Northline,
Eureka, Pennsylvania andSibley.
While I was alarmed to hear
that the local CSX railroad yard
will process even more cars in
2012, my hope is that CSX officials
heard our concerns, that they will
improve their service and that peo-
ple from Romulus, Huron
Township and other communities
will be able to enjoy safe passage
without having to detour on a regu-
lar basis.
Than you Mayor Lambert and
State Sen. Hopgood for your
involvement and wanting the best
for your constituents. I look for-
ward to our next meeting on this
important issue.
MelvinR. Zilka,
Romulus
See
Morning
, page 5
See
Audit
, page 5
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