Letter in Today's Argus

Today's letter from Terry Croft. I don't know Terry very well, but I've met him a few times. He's an independent straight shooter. 

Why vote no on Genoa Township’s proposed road millage? If you take a few minutes to study where the road construction is set to take place, you will see that most of the roads that have been set up for the repairs and paving are not roads that the majority of us will ever travel.
Several of these roads have low population or are vacant land. By paving these roads, it will make the property more valuable for development in the area of the new Latson Road interchange. This would mean higher profit and quicker sales for anyone dealing with these properties. This would be done at the expense of the taxpayers.


Why Cunningham Lake Road? This road may be used by the residents in this area, but how many others will find this to be an advantage? Maybe the residents of Hamburg Township, since this road is on the border. From what I gathered at the last township meeting, many of the residents on Cunningham Lake Road are not in favor of this.

We need to be aware that this is a 15-year commitment. There are many who are already paying a special assessment for road repairs in their areas. We also don’t want to forget that our state government has been reviewing the possibility of increasing the gas tax and working on ways to raise more revenue through the secretary of state’s office. This would create a triple whammy for many of our residents.

With a probable increase in home values and growth throughout the township, this will create an increase in tax revenue. What is going to be done with the additional income? The township has not stated what its plans or intentions are.

We don’t want to forget about the talks at several meetings regarding the improvement of the sewer system around Oak Pointe. Although this has been put on the back burner, this will most likely be brought to the surface again after the vote.
It was brought up at the township meeting Sept. 30 that the reason the township agreed to pursue the road millage was based on the results of the survey it conducted this year. According to the results of the surveys returned, 65 percent were in favor of road repairs. Unfortunately, out of 10,000 township registered voters, only 465 were received. That is less than 5 percent. If I remember correctly, the survey didn’t state what roads were to be repaired. It was just a general question.
This is a 15-year commitment. That’s $150 for every $100,000 of your state-equalized value for 15 years. Why should only a few profit while the rest of us pay?

Vote NO on Nov. 5.
Terry Croft
Brighton