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Revenue sharing cuts and tax shifts at the state level have reduced our city coffers.  Add to this the Southeast Michigan Council of State Governments (SEMCOG) and AARP forecasts that we will have more senior citizens than school children living in our region by 2026, it quickly becomes clear that we cannot balance local budgets on the backs of residents on fixed incomes.  It will take experience and good fiscal management to maintain our high quality service levels and AAA bond rating without raising taxes.

In order to meet this challenge and continue to provide the services you expect from our city, I will work with City Council, our professional staff and members of our Boards and Commissions to create an economic master plan to lure new businesses and families to our city.  My proactive approach will establish a Redevelopment Board, meet regularly with our local business, School Boards and realtors, and provide an exceptional technological backbone to market our City as a premier location.

I will reach out to neighboring communities and school districts to plan joint projects to maximize our purchasing power and seek cost saving opportunities.

When I was Mayor, Farmington Hills became one of the safest cities in America. We must continue to use creative community policing programs, diversify our public safety workforce and provide well-funded high quality training to our first responders. 

As a City Council Member, I am proud of the work we did to form the Citizen Corps Council for Emergency Preparedness to teach residents how to care for themselves during crises and helping our city secure a Homeland Security grant to install a low power emergency radio station to keep residents informed. In my work for Homeland Security, I also assisted County officials in building a countywide public safety communications network throughout Oakland County.

Farmington Hills is one of the few communities to embrace the challenges of climate change. From our work to establish curbside recycling in my early years on City Council to transitioning to natural deep root plantings using native plants along our streets and medians, we have taken our environmental stewardship seriously. As Mayor, I championed our Gold LEED Certified City Hall, innovative Environmental Homeowner workshops, prevented oil and gas drilling under our neighborhoods and required new developments to be compatible with surrounding subdivisions.

As your next Mayor, I will work to create a Riparian Homeowners Association to discuss fertilizing, plantings and maintenance of our waterways and pave the way for allowing our residents to install solar and geothermal systems on their properties.