My Wish List For Shiawassee County 2006

Perhaps some of this will come to fruition in 2006 …

Replace the county coordinator with an inspector general

Combine the county clerk & the register of deeds offices

Cut the prosecutor’s budget and the court budgets by at least 20%

Increase funding for law enforcement

Webcast all public meetings

Put public info online … budgets, minutes, etc.

Allow residents to pay taxes & other fees, buy licenses, etc., through the county website

Create an e-file system for our courts

Adopt the Apollo Alliance 10 point plan as a guide for the county (http://www.apolloalliance.org/strategy_center/a_bold_energy_and_jobs_policy/ten_point_plan.cfm)

Require repayment on tax abatements for companies that leave Shiawassee & take their jobs with them

Give back all of the homeland security money that we didn’t need (ok, I guess it’s too late to do that now)

Eliminate the salaries for the board of commissioners

Raise taxes on land & other natural resources, but waive or lower the same for anyone who makes less than the living wage.

Clean up the water in Caledonia

Require a bid process for all county jobs. Jobs under a certain $$ amount can be bid on as a package or by hourly rate prior to the beginning of each fiscal year.

Hire only local, minority, or union labor unless no such labor is available.

Create incentives to bring our young people back to Shiawassee after they graduate from college.

Fully fund SATA, SCCMH, libraries, and similar public services.

Provide all of our school students with a pda and make our public schools paperless.

Attract more minorities to the area and create a more diverse community

Make it less expensive to start a business downtown

Adopt Instant Runoff Voting

Reform ballot access to make it easier for 3rd parties to get on the ballot

Find out why so many lifelong Shiawassee residents without uncle-dads have weird (rare) diseases and birth defects.