IN REGARDS TO LETTERS TO THE EDITOR IN THE SOUTH LYON HERALD:
The recent Letters to the Editor in the South Lyon Herald have been full of misinformation and partial truths. I would like to clear them up.
1. There is NO TRUTH to the rumor that Treasurer Uherek, Trustees Wallazy and Van Fossen and I want to get rid of the Fire Department. This is a scare tactic used to intimidate residents into signing recall petitions and writing letters critical of the current Board. We simply want the Fire Department to be acountable for their spending with the proper logs and receipts. Something that has been missing for the last 10 years.
2. That the Board wants to "punish" the Fire Fighters. My question here is: for what? Do the people making this accusation know something I don't? Is there something they should be punished for? This is a ridiculous statement and in fact the Fire Fighters voted unanimously to Unionize. The Township has now seated a negotiating team, of which I am a member, to work out an agreement equitable to both sides.
3. I am not adverse to Board meetings being recorded. In fact the Township records all Board meetings with sound. What I do have an issue with is a Board member being blindsided with a baited question and having the video trained on this person to record their response, then using/editing this response for the purpose of political propaganda.
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IN REGARDS TO QUESTONS AT BOARD MEETINGS:
My fellow Board members and I have been criticized for not answering questions during Board meetings. This has also been a complaint about previous Boards. There are several reasons this is not routinely done and I'd like to try and explain them.
1. Because we are elected officials and every utterance can result in legal ramifications what we say must be weighed carefully. We are not lawyers and what seems to us an easy enough question to anwer may well come with legal ramifications. I am unwilling to put the Township at risk of a lawsuit with a "slip of the tongue".
2. Many questions posed to this Board during meetings are simply segways for an argument. Board meetings are to get the work of the Township done and to allow residents to watch their Township Government at work. Questions can easily be answered with a phone call, email or visit to the office. Arguments that residents will then get different answers to the same question are ridiculous and simply not true.
3. As Supervisor and Chair of the Board Meetings I try to be as fair and open as possible. I also have to keep the meetings moving along and get the work of the Township done in a timely fashion. I do answer questions from time to time at my discretion. Unfortunately there are individuals who are opposed to any type of reigning in of the excesses that have been going on for years and they will do anything and everything to disrupt meetings and to try to discredit those voting for these needed changes.
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