Appeals Court Rules New County Commission Districts Constitutional
The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld new boundaries drawn for county commission districts in Oakland County as constitutional.
Elections 2011
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Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Public Safety Millage Approvals Mean More Taxes to Maintain Service
Sprawl and aging population mean more stations and activity, fire chief says, necessitating more resources.
West Bloomfield Township public safety officials made it clear while campaigning for the public safety millage that they did not take lightly what it meant to ask for more taxes in this time of worldwide economic crisis. After township voters passed the millage renewal Tuesday with 80 percent of the vote, it made clear West Bloomfield residents are satisfied with the level they are paying for the current level of service. A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. The owner of property with a taxable value of $100,000 (about $200,000 market value) currently pays $313.78 annually in property taxes for public safety services and will continue to pay that amount for 10 years, from 2012-22, now that the vote has …
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Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Hersh, Finkelstein Win School Board Seats
Incumbent treasurer wins with 2,416 votes with newcomer earning on a spot with 1,860 votes.
West Bloomfield School Board Treasurer Nick Hersh earned a third term in Tuesday's election while Carol Finkelstein won her first seat on the board in Tuesday's election. Hersh led all voters with 2,416 votes out of 8,515 total votes cast, while Finkelstein came in second at 1,860. Finkelstein's early reaction? "Thrilled," she said. "You work so hard getting your message out ... I'm very happy to have been elected, want to offer congratulations to Dr. Hersh, and say that I'm excited to work with the board and the community." Finkelstein and Hersh could be found around town Tuesday campaigning at various precincts along with the other four candidates: CharRhonda Moye, Karen Faett, Julie Beaty and John Reed. Reed placed third with 1,655 …
West Bloomfield Public Safety Millage Renewal and Increase Both Pass
Voters approved the public safety millage renewal by a margin of 80.6% and the increase by a margin of 54.1%.
Voters in West Bloomfield Township tonight approved both public safety millage proposals on the ballot. Voters approved the 3.1378 mill renewal with 7,589 yes votes over 1,825 no votes. Voters also approved the 2.85 mill increase with 5,049 yes votes over 4,285 no votes. Police Chief Michael Patton thanked the Township Board, as well as citizens and staff for their effort in working to get both proposals passed. "The Board made the right decision to put this on the ballot when they did, waiting until after contracts were settled, so lots of respect goes to them," Patton said. "That would have been a lingering question for residents — what have our public officials done to change with the times? And they helped us answer that." Fire Chief …
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Louise Cantor
11:55 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The public safety millage was never in jeopardy. The voters of this community would not have overwhelmingly passed a library millage and then vote down a public safety millage. It certainly helped to have a new police chief. Thank you to all public safety employees. You deserve our support. more ›
Watch the Votes Come In: West Bloomfield School Board
Up-to-the-minute results for the West Bloomfield School Board and public safety millage election.
Results courtesy of the Oakland County Elections office. For complete coverage of West Bloomfield's Nov. 8 elections on Patch, check out everything we've written at the Patch 2011 Voter Guide or catch up with what happened on Election Day at our Live Blog.
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Did You Vote? Prove It!
You vote and you're proud of it, so share your pictures with West Bloomfield Patch.
It's Election Day, so get out to the polls, cast your vote, and once you're done, show off your fancy "I Voted" sticker. Whether you're a professional photographer or it's just a snapshot from your phone, snap a picture of yourself with your "I Voted" sticker and send it to West Bloomfield Patch editor Tim Rath, who will make sure it's posted to Patch as part of our all-day coverage of the 2011 elections in the township. You can upload your photo yourself if you're a West Bloomfield Patch user, or send it via: Check out all you need to know about Tuesday's election at our Need to Know: Voting in West Bloomfield page. See you at the polls!
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Thursday, November 3, 2011
Diversity of Police Services Offered Depends on Millage Vote, Chief Says
Police Chief Michael Patton said residents expect a lot from the department and that they get a lot in return. What do you think?
Tuesday's election is drawing closer every day, but as voters, what do we know about what is really being asked of us? Patch will interview police and fire chiefs, township officials and taxpaying citizens during the ramp-up to the vote on proposals for a public safety millage renewal — and an increase — to help explain where your money goes and why. In West Bloomfield, we'll vote on a 10-year renewal of the township’s existing public safety millage at its current rate of 3.1378 mills, and in a separate ballot question, we'll vote on an 11-year increase of 2.85 mills. A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. The owner of property with a taxable value of $100,000 (about $200,000 market value) currently pays $313…
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Mike Cee
2:07 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Chief do you have a plan if the vote fails? How many officers will we loose under either or both circumstances. And how much did getting $39,200 cost us in officers and their overtime for those DEA assignments you've mentioned? more ›
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Student-Moderated Forum Challenges West Bloomfield School Board Candidates
West Bloomfield High School students felt dissatisfied by the school board candidate forum Oct. 5 and hosted a forum of their own Tuesday night.
Most high school students won't be old enough to go the polls Nov. 8 to vote on West Bloomfield's Board of Education seats. On Tuesday, however, a group of students influenced the election in their own way. A student-moderated forum in the media center of West Bloomfield High School brought together all six candidates to address issues which students felt were under-represented at a forum held Oct. 5 hosted by the Oakland County League of Women Voters. Seven moderators took turns asking questions and keeping time. Several others worked hard in the weeks prior to Tuesday to come up with the nine questions asked. "I learned so much from this experience and I feel so honored to be able to do this. It was really interesting to do public …
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Marcus Williams
9:22 am on Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Congratulations to our great teachers and great students for putting this on! Cudo's to Mrs Chase from WBHS who is an example of why we have to continue supporting our teachers and making sure they know we appreciate them! more ›
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
School Board Candidates Address Issues of Start Time, Winter Break
Students questioned candidates Tuesday in a moderated forum.
The candidates vying to lead the West Bloomfield School District were asked questions Tuesday about issues ranging from an earlier start time to the possibility of reviving February break as part of a student-moderated forum at West Bloomfield High School. Represented at the forum were Julie Beaty, Karen M. Faett, Nelson Hersh, CharRhonda Moye, Carol Finkelstein and John Reed, who answered questions from seven different moderators. Hersh is the lone incumbent running for one of two open seats on the seven-member board; Trustee Melanie Torbert will not run for re-election. To read about the student response to moderating the forum, click here. Here's what the candidates had to say: In one of three questions posed to candidates prior to the …
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Judy Herman
4:43 pm on Thursday, October 27, 2011
Here's some highlights if you missed our student run debate: http://www.youtube.com/user/WBHSLawClub#p/u/6/zKRzKw-MvqI more ›
Monday, October 24, 2011
Millage Need 'Unprecedented' for Fire Department, Chief Says
West Bloomfield Township Fire Department Chief Jay Wiseman said that because less property tax revenue is being collected, votes will directly affect public safety.
The Nov. 8 election is drawing closer every day, but as voters, what do we know about what is really being asked of us? Patch will interview police and fire chiefs, township officials and tax-paying citizens during the ramp-up to the vote on proposals for a public safety millage renewal — and an increase — to help explain where your money goes and why. In West Bloomfield, we'll vote on a 10-year renewal of the township’s existing public safety millage at its current rate of 3.1378 mills, and on an 11-year increase of 2.85 mills, in two separate ballot questions. A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. The owner of property with a taxable value of $100,000 (about $200,000 market value) currently pays $313.78 …
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Active Citizen
8:53 am on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Really -- Get the message now --- You represent the children in WBSD, not your neighborhood. Thrilled!, nothing intelligent to say? GEEEZZ - more ›