Position Paper What I intend to focus on during this campaign and, if re-elected during my next term as Mayor, is continuing to put Royal Oak First and not allow it to disappear into a stew of local municipalities. I have made it a point to put Royal Oak First during my lifetime of experience in the community as a private citizen, in my capacity as representative of the City of Royal Oak as its mayor, and in dealing with the issues coming before the City Commission.
I grew up in Royal Oak. I have lived in this community my entire life and have worked to keep it a place where I want to continue to live. I have volunteered in this community through leadership positions in several organizations – from Stagecrafters Community Theatre, Royal Oak Youth Soccer, PTA, and many others – long before being elected Mayor or even City Commissioner, and have continued along that path during my time in public office. I am proud of my record of contributions to the community. Under the Royal Oak City Charter, representation of the City is the foundation of the Mayoral office. As Royal Oak’s mayor, I represent the City at many activities, both in the community and outside it. Presiding at the Commission table is perhaps the most visible occasion to a collective audience, but my response to and presence at countless civic functions and most significant City events is a large and important part of the job – and something I have done proudly and, I feel, well. From Cub Scout dress inspections to memorial services, charitable events, dedications, groundbreakings, weddings and homeless shelters, I put an approachable, human face on the Ceremonial Representative of the city I love. The Mayor is only one vote of seven at the Commission table and is the only Commissioner who is unable to make or second a motion. The Mayor’s job at the table is to facilitate open discussion and to encourage the productive exchange of ideas. It is not the job of the Mayor to push his own agenda or serve his own best interest first. There have been numerous occasions where I spoke out for what I believed to be the best or most practical solution for the City, even when it was not what I wanted personally to see happen. One of my greatest sources of pride is the fact that many good, solid, involved citizens in this town – several who have political views which are often diametrically opposed to my own – publicly support the job I have done as their mayor. I have made it my mission to put Royal Oak First throughout my time as the Governmental Representative of this city. The most pressing issues facing the City in recent years include the reduction of state revenue sharing and the loss of federal block grant funding. Both have occurred at a time when the cost of funding employee pension plans and health care has escalated. Property tax revenues are limited by the double whammy of the Headlee Amendment and Proposal A, leaving us with no substitute source of revenue to cover what has been lost. While we have been able to maintain basic city services in spite of this revenue crunch, the process has seen the demise of all non-essential services and the reduction in ranks of our staff to a skeletal crew in far too many departments. If we want to quash this downward spiral, one necessary component is a realignment of the pension structure for all new city employees. Small steps have been taken to this end in past years, however we need to see more positive movement in this direction sooner rather than later. On this note, one of our union contracts (that just settled in September) takes a cue from a prevalent trend in the private sector in its change from defined benefit to defined contribution in the employee retirement plan. Although this does not solve our financial problems for the near future, it does speed the process of taking that problem out of the mix for the long term. There are some who advocate for the complete consolidation of municipalities and their resources in South Oakland County, as though that is a panacea or silver bullet for overcoming all our budgetary problems. Most people probably know that we already participate in many shared services, such as the Oakway Fire Mutual Aid Agreement and SOCCRA (Southeastern Oakland Resource Recovery Authority). Less well known, perhaps, but equally important is that we combine purchasing with other communities, we have contracted with the City of Pleasant Ridge to perform water and sewer work for them and we have contracted with the City of Troy to have various repairs of motor pool vehicles done as the need arises, among other things. I agree that we must always look for opportunities for cost containment through the sharing of goods, services, facilities and costs with neighboring communities of similar size, need or resource, but not at the cost of Royal Oak disappearing into a future stew of indistinct communities lining Woodward or I-696. In my opinion, radical elimination of those locally-administered services that our residents take for granted in a desirable hometown is not acceptable. The suggestion that our Chief of Police might be located in Southfield, or our library in Hazel Park, or our collective Cities Manager in Troy, is a change in the fundamental character of Royal Oak that I oppose. And, if we simply add regional oversight to existing local administration, we only add to the bureaucracy and, by extension, the cost of government. You cannot put Royal Oak First by eliminating it. I have always been open about my opinion that, at some point, if we are to maintain the services residents of Royal Oak expect – and have a right to expect, frankly – a tax increase may be the only viable option remaining. If and when we have exhausted every other reasonable possibility for reducing our costs, I would consider supporting a tax increase. Until we have finished our negotiations and have reached agreements with the remaining bargaining units in the City, that is not even an available option. If a tax increase is to be considered, it can only be recommended by a majority vote of the City Commission, not by the Mayor alone. If a tax increase is ever proposed to maintain city services, the ultimate decision of its fate will lie with the voters of this city. No mayor in the City of Royal Oak has the power or even the ability to raise your taxes, so any suggestion of an “Ellison Tax” is a ludicrous attempt at political misdirection and mocks the intelligence of the average voter. The decision to run for Mayor of the City of Royal Oak, or any elected office for that matter, should not be based on the opportunity for personal benefit to the candidate, the promotion of a private agenda, or a grudge or vendetta against another candidate or governing body. Rather, the primary motivating factor for any candidate should be that they put the desire to do good for the City and its residents first. I have always been mindful of that in the past, as I am in the present, and I will continue to put Royal Oak First, both as Mayor and as a private citizen of the city. Jim Ellison, Mayor of the City of Royal Oak |
Royal Oak has historically been blessed
with concerned, involved citizens who have worked for the betterment of all her
residents through a variety of service clubs, churches, historical groups,
groups that promote the arte, and many others. In my opinion, it is fitting
that the City’s elected officials have a similar, accountable history of
dedicated involvement. To me, serving as an elected official is a privileged
responsibility.