Holly resident says it’s time for Holly taxpayers to ‘take inventory’

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George Kullis

Holly taxpayers need to look at all we own – yes, I said all we own. Our tax dollars have been used to purchase all the buildings our local governments use – the village office building, the township office building, the library, the police and fire departments, the Department of Public Works buildings and several other properties owned by these entities.

We the taxpayers also pay to maintain them, and while we the taxpayers own them, they’re not on the tax rolls bringing in revenue. And while they do provide an important service to our community, the question should be raised, are these specific buildings serving us economically, and are we using all the properties that we own? Typically, we buy a bigger home as our family grows and then downsize when the kids leave the nest. The goal of our local governments seems to be to keep the status quo regardless of the expense.

The time has come for taxpayers to get involved in local, state and national governments. We are all responsible for our own finances and if we choose to ignore them, we could lose everything we own. So why do so many people choose to ignore local government and its finances? When they are mismanaged, we all have to pay to cover the mistakes – as in the recent increase in water bills. Government will create another tax or surcharge, or increase fees to cover the deficit, and we all must pay it as it is our responsibility.

There was an initiative started some time ago by past members of the Holly Village Council in which they began looking at an alternative for the village office building. A feasibility study was done and presented to the Village Council. It was received with mixed emotions with the current Village President deeming it to be unrealistic, and declaring that it was not likely that anyone would be willing to invest that kind of money in Holly – after all, he said, it’s not like we’re Bloomfield Hills or Birmingham.  This statement was made at the very same time two young entrepreneurs were doing just that – investing in Holly by creating the BlackThorn Pub. Since then, we have seen an investment explosion in downtown Holly.

Another concern noted by the Village President was that he feared that the village government wouldn’t have any place to put all their "staff and stuff,” in the interim of selling the village office and finding new office space. Meanwhile, potentially suitable taxpayer-owned buildings sit empty.

Pressure remained on the Village President and other members of council to continue looking into this topic. Eventually, the president created an ad-hoc committee to do just that.

Over the past several months, this committee has looked at several alternative locations for the purpose of relocating the village offices. One of those locations is the former Sherman Middle School on N. Holly Road. This facility offers the taxpayers of the Holly area an opportunity to consolidate services in one building, and to put several buildings back on the tax rolls. Additionally, operating costs could be reduced for all parties involved.

Economic development in the downtown area is crucial to our community. The village and township buildings are prime real estate and would serve as a catalyst to more development in the downtown area.

We the voters are responsible for whom we elect and the job they do, so shouldn’t we monitor what they do? If we can cut expenses, increase revenue for the Holly Area Schools, and then ask different entities to come to the table and look at possibly consolidating or downsizing as so many in the private sector are doing, then isn’t that the responsible thing to do? Shouldn’t it be met with an open mind by our elected officials?

Sincerely,
George Kullis
Village of Holly