News Updates



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Thursday, November 5, 2015

Troy Election "Tweets" for November 2015

This past Tuesday (11/3/15) wasn't just another election day. It was our son Alex's first time actually voting. Unfortunately, he would not let me take his photo as a commemoration of that important civic event in his life.

I guess I'll just have to "share" some local, election-related tweets with you instead...









Thursday, October 29, 2015

City of Troy 2015 Ballot Proposals

Most City of Troy voters will have 2 proposals to consider on next week's ballot. I'll be voting "Yes" on both of them. Neither proposal raises taxes. They are just renewals.
  1. For those of us who reside in the Troy School District, we will be voting on a proposal to renew our non-homestead and hold harmless millage. The Troy School District has posted some excellent online information on this millage renewal proposal. Click here to view that web page.

  2. The other is a proposal to renew the millage for the purpose of operating and maintaining the library. Troy Residents Unified for a Strong Troy (TRUST) has issued an informative news release on the Library renewal millage...
What voting YES on the Library Millage Ballot Question does:
  • Provides library funding until 2021
  • Maintains current six-day operations
  • Prevents the operating costs of the library from being taken out of the City’s general budget, which in turn protects other city services from possible reduction
  • Protects the City’s AAA bond rating
How the 0.7 mill rate compares to local cities:
  • Third lowest millage in Oakland County
  • Lowest of all surrounding cities of similar size
Who supports a YES vote:
  • All sitting City Council members and Mayor Slater support renewal
  • Every candidate running for open City Council seats supports renewal
  • Unanimous support from the Financial Ideas Team, comprised of residents from a varied spectrum of ages, backgrounds, and political leanings
Troy Public Library by the numbers:
  • Programming attendance up 60% since 2013
  • 476,000 patrons visited the library in 2014
  • 88% of all materials are checked out to Troy residents
  • 64% of all Troy residents have a library card
To estimate your household’s tax with this renewal, click here

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Troy Zoning Board of Appeals - October 2015 Meeting Recap

City staff has posted the video recording of the 10/20/15 Troy Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting to YouTube. At the bottom of this post is the video. (The meeting actually starts shortly after the 1:15 minute mark of the video.)

Click here to download the entire Agenda Packet from the October 20th meeting.

There were four items on the agenda:
  1. A variance for 6805 Merrick (to add a partially covered deck to the house). The ZBA approved the variance. I voted "yes" to approve the variance.
  2. A variance for 6285 Rochester (to construct an addition to the house). The ZBA approved the variance. I voted "yes" to approve the variance.
  3. A variance for 3459 Talbot (to construct an attached garage). The ZBA approved the variance. I voted "yes" to approve the variance.
  4. A variance for 1881-1977 W South Blvd (to make an existing wireless communications tower approximately 21 feet taller). The ZBA approved the variance. I voted "yes" to approve the variance.