As your commissioner, Al Campbell will stand up for the things that matter to the residents of Leland and Centerville townships:
Property Taxes
Home owners in commissioner district No. 5 have been hammered by property taxes, which for landowners have increased at least 14 percent over three years. Taxes are a major reason that young people cannot afford to live here. But controlling taxes and lowering spending are not priorities of this board. Did you know that county expenses increased nearly 30 percent over a three year period? Or that in April the County Board made no move to lower taxes after learning that tax revenue would increase by $1.1 million more than budgeted? Had commissioners wanted to, the entire Early Childhood program could have been underwritten with unbudgeted property tax revenue.
I’ll be your spending watchdog in county government.
Know Thy Lane
The County Board of Commissioners struggles with priorities. For instance, it created a personnel committee and used taxpayer funds to hire a downstate consulting firm to survey county workers — even though the County Board has only one employee under its direct supervision, the county administrator. Other employees receiving checks from the county fall under the supervision of elected officials such as the Sheriff and Clerk, or other organizations such as MSU Extension. The committee was recently disbanded after holding many meetings with no accomplishments and no work to do. Meanwhile, the County Board handed oversight keys to the biggest public works project in Leelanau history — providing Internet access to all households — to a nonprofit, the Leelanau Internet Futures Team. Now the project, which could cost $20 million when all is said and done, is short on cash to complete the mission and may need to draw $1 million or more from county coffers. The obvious conclusion. Is that too often the County Board micro-manages things it has no control over while sidestepping authority on big ticket items that, when not properly managed, gobble up your hard-earned tax money.
Open Government
Leelanau residents who want to participate in county government have been overwhelmed by an avalanche of meetings. The number of special meetings held by commissioners increased 86 percent over a three year period. A consultant hired by the county told commissioners that holding so many meetings is a sign of inefficiency. But it gets worse. Some meetings held by a county task force and their minutes went unposted, violating the state Open Meetings Act and denying citizens access. And a $1.5 million grant application written by the public body included a provision to hire the task force chair. When elected, Al will embrace the county conflict of interest policy and the Michigan Open Meetings Act.
Public Safety
The Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office works hard to keep us safe. It deserves the support of the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners, which tends to nit-pick at tools needed by Sheriff Mike Borkovich to do his job. The Michigan Constitution sets up divisions in county government that must be respected. If elected, Al will ask questions when appropriate while supporting the missions of fellow office holders in Leelanau County. He will also refer to protections within the U.S. Constitution when considering policy decisions.
Leelanau Values
What are they? When it comes to government, they are embodied by the types of actions that keep Leelanau County a good place to live, that preserve those attributes for our children, and that invite participation in the public bodies governing this wonderful peninsula. Those are the values Al will protect as your Leelanau County commissioner.
