The Power of 7 Elected Board Members & Hickory Heights S.A.D. #407

The Power of 7 Elected Board Members:

In 2013 , the Hickory Heights subdivision switched their road resurfacing efforts from a RCOC (Oakland County) petition started in 2011-2012 and instead went to the Township with those same RCOC petitions with more signatures added in 2013.  But the Township apparently DID NOT USE those petitions.   Why not?  Were they not legal petitions for township use?   Hickory Heights YES petition signers however, did get to that desired  S.A.D. process ....... thanks to  a third option available to the Board of Trustees..... and that was to pass a RESOLUTION.   No petitions needed.
 
That intent to go via the resolution path vs accepting the petition path..... was NOT CLEARLY communicated to the subdivision and the public as the AGENDA item  of July 8, 2013 stated the intent of the Board was to receive the petitions.  However, the BOARD PACKET for that date indicated to the Board Members and to those that read the Board Packet BEFORE the meeting, that the suggested motion that evening was going to be a resolution. There was even a copy of that resolution in the Board Packet prior to the meeting.  

Did the YES petition signers know that this was going to take place at that July 8, 2013 Board of Trustees meeting?  More importantly, did the NO...I don't want a total subdivision road repavement project...homeowners  learn of the July 8, 2013  RESOLUTION.... before the Aug. 12 Public Hearing?  Were the homeowners told that there was a legal process to stop the process IF DONE ON OR BEFORE the Aug. 12 meeting?    Based on what I heard last night 10-14-13.... again... not a Public Hearing .... the audience was debating the validity of the 2011-2012 RCOC petitions.....perhaps not realizing that the petitions were NOT the legal reason for the S.A.D. #407.
    
LISTEN CAREFULLY:   The township did not use the petitions to legally start this S.A.D. #407.    The seven elected officials made a legal maneuver ....they passed a RESOLUTION...  and that resolution simply became the reason for setting up the S.A.D. #407  authority to repave all the roads so indicated adjacent to the 378 homes at an estimated cost of $7200 EACH.    This is not a TAX...it is an assessment.... placed on your bill compliments of the seven elected board members and their use of the legal  RESOLUTION option.

 All 7 elected township board of trustee members... via a RESOLUTION made on July 8, 2013... just cost 378 homeowners in the township to an approximate $7200 road repaving bill.  Half of the homeowners are happy/ the other half are not.  Those opposing the road repaving project asked at the Oct. 14, 2013 regular board meeting for a chance for a properly written petition effort to be conducted before proceeding/authorizing/or ending  S.A.D. #407.  The 7 board members had the legal authority at this meeting of 10-14-13  to make a motion to rescind the previous Resolution and let the homeowners proceed with a different petition that reflects the Township process language.  After the public comments to this agenda item....which by the way, this meeting was NOT published as a Public Hearing...... there was no motion presented by any board member to rescind the Resolution.  Silence.  Therefore, their power of using the Resolution ...the 7 elected board members can virtually get subdivision roads repaved.    Will your subdivision go this way???  How much will it cost you??  IS this use of a resolution available in YOUR community?

S.A.D.  (Special Assessment District)  .... or in this case....just a  SAD way for our government to do business.

My opinion.