A Quick Tour Of Mullett Township

Mullett Township News & Views-Promoting Open Government in Mullett Township

There is also the Mullett Township Party Line or you make drink the Kool-Aid from the Topinabee Development Association "Artesian" Well

Mullett Township is a general law township in Cheboygan County, Michigan. The population was 1312 in the 2010 US census. The township and Mullett Lake are named for John Mullett, who with William Burt, surveyed much of the area between 1840 and 1843.

The commercial center of the Township is the quiet unincorporated Village of Topinabee located on the west shore of Mullett Lake on M27 highway. The village is a trailhead for the DNR Trail with off-street parking and restrooms.

The village has a Post Office, Convenience Store with gas pumps, Public Library with 24 hour outdoor WiFi, an artisan-owned woodwork shop, a breakfast cafe and a bar and grille. Township owned buildings include the Library, Township Hall and Fire Hall, and an unused former school building on Lea St.

Recreation needs are served with a beachfront park and covered picnic area, free public boat launch at the north end of the village, a small public access to Mullett Lake across from the Nokia Cafe and tennis court, ball-field, and playground equipment at a public park located up the hill on Lea St.

The east side of Mullett Township is largely rural, with no commercial development. Township services include a Fire Hall and volunteer East Mullett Lake Fire Department.


Monday, February 24, 2014

Supervisor MaryAnne Gale Says Save, Save, Save But Instead Spends, Spends, Spends, and Spends


Update: February 25, 2014
Supervisor MaryAnne Gale has just revised her 2014/2015 Budget at the last possible minute allowed by law. The new proposed spending total is, drum roll please:

$661,015.00

That is an increase of $54,450.00

 The pie chart now looks like this. Half the spending is funded from taxes, and $330,045 "stolen" from a "rainy day" fund.

It is apparently all FREE money to Supervisor MaryAnne Gale as she now plans to spend twice the money she has. Don't let her go shopping with your credit cards, you'll end up broke and bankrupt and so will Mullett Township. 



Above graph shows latest revenue to spending revision for 2014/2015 Budget.

The numbers tell the truth. Supervisor MaryAnne Gale has passed the plate and collected from you the taxpayer,and state shared revenue, meaning you the taxpayer again, a total of $330,970. Is she spending this $330,970 wisely?


Supervisor MaryAnne Gale's 2014/2015 Mullett Township Budget proposes to spend almost double, yes, DOUBLE, the $330,970 revenue that Mullett Township will receive. 

Is that responsible government Mary Anne? What drives the need? Why is 45 cents of every dollar you propose the Mullett Board spend this year coming from a "rainy day" fund saved over decades by previous responsible leaders? 


What desperate, driving need or big ticket emergency repair requires stealing, yes, stealing $275,595 from Mullett Township's "rainy day' fund?

Does Supervisor MaryAnne Gale really understand anything about finance? At the last Board meeting, Supervisor MaryAnne Gale spent time arguing with her fellow board members. She said she is concerned about wasting tax dollars. She wanted to save us money by reducing the size of the proposed Boy Scout restroom by two, yes 2 feet. What is a change room?

While she said she wants to save a few dollars on a restroom, she now proposes in this budget to spend 45% more than the annual millage supports. 

Where is the money going?

Is she going to fix East Mullett Road? No. Is she going to fill the potholes on your road? No. Is she going to repair South Extension Road? No. Is she going to enact a Blight Ordinance? No. Is she going to open the Topinabee Beach Park this winter? No. Is she going to keep the Topinabee sidewalks clear of snow and ice to avoid liability issues? No. Is she going to provide some "supervision" of employees to maintain the restrooms in a sanitary condition? No.

 If the answer to every question is no, where are the dollars going to be spent? The biggest share, at least $100,000, plus another $33,600 already Board approved, will pay for preliminary "Streetscape" work. Streetscape can also be spelled TDA, Topinabee Development Association, or simply Tom O'Hare.

Mr O'Hare has monopolized Mullett Township business over the last 5 years with multiple attempts to gentrify and rebuild M27 and all of the buildings along M27 to fit his "vision". Two failed federal Tiger Grants applications, little or no cooperation from MDOT with grants, and several other failures to garner any third party support or committed money has not deterred Mr O'Hare. He has submitted grants, at least one without prior Board approval, and pleaded and cajoled the Board to make ever larger matches for his unsuccessful grant applications.
 
Now, with Tom O'Hare's representative, Supervisor MaryAnne Gale on the Mullett Board, he will simply use Mullett Township's "rainy day" fund in place of any grants. As the old saying goes; when Supervisor MaryAnne Gale speaks, you can see Tom O'Hare's fingers move. $70,000 in that "rainy day" fund is already earmarked for "parking lots", another part of Mr O'Hare's "vision" for Topinabee's Streetscape. $100,000 here, $70,000 there, $33,600 for preliminary design work; will it take another million dollars from Mullett taxpayers to make Tom O'Hare's "vision" complete?

Supervisor MaryAnne Gale now expects the rest of the Mullett Board to support her efforts to fully fund the TDA's Streetscape plan, apparently with or without grants, and with or without any estimate of the total cost. Every dollar spent out of pocket prior to a grant approval is usually not recoverable from a grant award. 

Will the Board recognize they are taking the first fatal step, spending the majority's money to serve the interest of the few?