To be a City or not to be

Yes the sidewalk does end as you are welcomed to the City of  the Village of Clarkston

The Clarkston News has an article in the January 11 edition on my renewed effort to see if the City of the Village of Clarkston should remain a City. 
Clarkston News - New year, new effort to dissolve Clarkston   
I thank them for giving this some space in their paper.  A few clarifications are probably required so that everyone understands why I am doing this. 


First is that it is not about "Clarkston" or even the "Village of Clarkston".  It is about paying higher taxes to be a City when almost all our government services come from Independence Township where we have no vote.  We have a part time minimum government, which may be a good thing, but we also receive minimum government service, sometimes less than minimum, and yet we pay more for it.  While I am sure some will defend their actions, our City government often ignores State law, local Charter even the very laws and resolutions they create.  This does not make any sense to me.  Our friends, neighbors and local stores will still be here whether there is "City" in front of our name or not, we will still help each other, we will still have Clarkston mailing and have Clarkston Schools.  We can still have a Historic District, which I support, a downtown, and yes, the Union Woodshop restaurant will probably still have a 2 hour wait.  We would also have lower taxes and more money in our pockets if we were not the City of.


Second is that I started this discussion in 2010 after serving 4 years on the Clarkston City Council and more than 4 years before that attending almost every Council, Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.  It was my decision to leave the Council as I could not honestly participate in what they were doing.  After leaving, I found out that the requirements to undo a City are very difficult to achieve, in fact it has never been done even though State law defines the requirements.  At that time there were articles, opinions and letters in the local newspapers and I will be posting links to those in the future.  A major election year, like 2012, was in my opinion the only time it would be possible to get the out the vote that is needed and to find out what the residents of the Village of Clarkston really want.  


Finally, it seems I must now define the problem and why I see this as the best solution for everyone.  I am sure there will be those that disagree with my plan and I hope they will also participate in the discussion.  The goal is to see if being a City and paying higher taxes is really what a majority of the people in the Village of Clarkston want.  


I will continue to add information and hope others will do the same.