EMMETT VILLAGE NEWS ARTICLE

Vote No Recalls in Riley Township

There is going to be an election on February 23rd asking that you vote whether to recall three Riley Township Board members: Linda Waddy, Clerk, Nancy Dudek, Treasurer and Linda Belesky, Trustee. It is important to realize that a petition for recall does not have to be true, only that it must have clear wording. Not only is the petition not true, there are also many false rumors being spread throughout the Township. If any of these women are recalled, it will be an injustice. Each of them has worked persistently for you, the Riley residents. It was the three of them who voted to continue the lawsuit against Bisco’s in order to stop the adult bookstore from opening without the needed inspections performed. It was with their persistence that the Riley Township ordinances were upheld by the courts and that the bookstore was contained to only one building consisting of no more than 20% of inventory.

It was stated on the petition that there has been a reduction in Township services. In fact, there has been no reduction in services. The office has remained open, trash is being picked up, fire services have been paid for and chloride has been applied on our roads. Actually, it was with the vote of these three that we received a chloride application, because they increased the road budget. The Township’s financial status is fine, per the yearly audit. These are public records that everyone has access to.

It has been said that excess attorney fees have caused the money shortage that Riley Township is experiencing. It needs to be known and understood that the State of Michigan reduced the revenue sharing that Riley receives by approximately $20,000 dollars last year. This is the greatest cause of the reduced revenues. Linda Waddy actually proposed, and it was agreed to by both Nancy Dudek and Linda Belesky to forego any received benefits for 2009, which saved the Township almost $12,000 to help keep costs under control.

We all need to realize that although this small group of disgruntled citizens complains about money being spent, this election as well as a second election will cost the Township around $8,000. A second election will be mandated by state law if any Township Official is recalled. Like the Federal Government, the recall group must believe in spending money, regardless of the fiscal soundness, only to attain their goal.
Also, if this recall were successful, the County will appoint Board member(s) for an interim period which further disenfranchises the voters of Riley Township.. St Clair County will have to appoint board member(s) because there would no longer be sufficient members to hold a meeting or conduct Riley Township business. In fact, if both your Clerk and Treasurer are recalled, we will have no officers familiar with the daily Township business, including the task of paying the Township bills.

It is important that you vote NO RECALLS on February 23rd, and let your voice be heard. Do not allow your last vote in the general election to be voided by the few. If you are going to be out of town or otherwise not able to vote that day, please contact the Riley Township office at 392-2326 to get an absentee ballot application.