The vote is in.....NO!

Wow, it's surreal to think that a mere 516 votes can drastically change the make-up of the city I work in. Last night around 9:30pm, the call came in from City Hall that the results from the Police and Fire millage were in......NO MILLAGE. What does this mean? Well, the city has to cut approximately 33% of it's budget, which equates to roughly 4.2 million dollars. Layoffs will occur, how many, time will tell. In just over 4 years of employment with this city, I've created a handful of professional relationships with co-workers across the different departments, and some of those people will be left without a job as a result of the millage-vote outcome. Why did the citizens vote it down???? My guess is they don't trust city government. What's equally disheartening is the fact that a number of communities around Garden City DID pass a millage for police and fire services. Why couldn't Garden City do this????? The next 6-8 weeks will be very interesting working in Garden City to say the least.

Millage Day

So I thought I would give this blog thing a try again, lots on my mind and a lot going on in the world. Today is May 3rd, 2011. Why is this significant? Today the Garden City residents will vote on a 12-mil ballot proposal for Police and Fire services in Garden City. If the millage fails, the city could be facing devastating cuts to Police and Fire services, in addition to other departments throughout the city, including Parks and Recreation. My gut feeling is that my job is safe, but you never know. With a baby on the way, it would be overwhelming to deal with, but I'll have to find a way. I can only hope that either way if it passes or not, the city officials will do their due-diligence in making the RIGHT decisions for the citizens of Garden City. I'm sure I'll be posting more as everything unfolds.

Tiger Baseball

So spring is here, sort of. It wouldn't be Michigan if you didn't get a 70 degree Saturday in April and 3 days later snow is in the forecast! Ahhh, the weather that makes Michigan...well, Michigan. Now that spring is here, it means Tiger baseball is back. There's something about watching this group of guys play that reminds me of the 2006 team. I know it's early, but there have some real promising signs of "good baseball" being played. As of April 20th they are 7-5, with 150 games left to be played. But the signs I see right now are a team that's going to fight and contribute when they have to in clutch moments. The starting rotataion has 3 solid starters in Galarage, Jackson and Porcello. If Verlander can get his head out of his ass, I think we're going to be alright. Time will tell!