TRANSPARENCY

The citizens of Otsego County deserve transparency from their elected officials. This starts with holding meetings at times that the general public can attend. The current meeting time is 9:30am on Tuesdays.....why? Almost every County in the State of Michigan holds their meetings in the evenings, when most citizens can attend - working and non-working. We need to change the meeting time to better accommodate attendance by concerned citizens who want to voice their agreement or concerns to the board.

 

MEETING MINUTES

The minutes of the meetings need to be assessable and available to anyone who wants to read them. Period. Following the Roberts Rules of Order include accurate and timely meeting minutes to be made available to anyone and will be a priority for Denise when she is elected.

AGENDA ITEMS 

Upcoming Agenda Items should be posted on the website, in advance of each meeting, with a detailed description of the topic so that Public Comments on the agenda items can be heard by the board ahead of the vote. 

JUSTICE COMPLEX

To be clear - Denise SUPPORTS A NEW JUSTICE COMPLEX for Otsego County. That being said, the efforts in the past have been disastrous. The request to have the citizens of the county vote for a tax increase to build a new building without getting the proper bids to obtain a reasonable expectation of costs is bass-ackwards. The data used in support of the new justice complex initiative needs to be verified and communicated to residents so that they have an understanding of its validity and relevance. Specific plans that outline the costs of the building also need to be obtained, in advance of a vote, in order to properly project the overall costs to tax payers. 

Denise will work with law enforcement, county officials and the citizens to develop a reasonable and attainable plan to build a new justice complex. She will bring all parties together so that when the initiative appears on a ballot, the citizens can rest-assured that the plan being put-forth is a realistic and competent one.

FISCAL COMPETENCE

The hard-working citizens of Otsego County deserve to know that their tax dollars are being spent wisely and prudently. Denise is a conservative leader who understands the need for fiscal responsibility and will work to ensure that tax dollars are spent responsibly and for issues that benefit the community. She is committed to keeping our taxes low and affordable for families and small businesses and will vote against any initiative that spends money needlessly.