Lead story July 1, 1992, The Clarkston News: ‘Transformed, Clarkston is now a city.?
Fifteen years later, township officials may not be sure that was such a great idea.
Trustees Dan Kelly and Charles Dunn placed the issue of reconsolidating Independence Township and City of the Village of Clarkston on yesterday’s Board of Trustees agenda.
‘The township is currently allowing the city to have the benefits of a library, a fire department and parks and recreation,? Kelly said Monday.
‘And yet, we’re allowing them to stay they’re own little entity.?
Consolidation of the two communities would help both township and city in three ways, he said.
First, Governor Granholm and the state legislature said sharing and consolidation of government would be the basis for granting state shared revenues in the future, Kelly said.
Second, township and city are incurring expenses for contract negotiation and legal representation. The consolidation would save money in both.
The third reason the consolidation would work, Kelly said, is that it would save tax dollars, especially for city residents, but also for those living in the township.
Dunn agrees with Kelly and thinks it’s time to look into such a possibility.
“If we can find a way to work together and achieve some efficiencies that I don’t think are happening at this time it should be at least looked at,” he said. “I’m not taking a position one way or another, but it appears that the time has really come to look at it because of the loss of state shared revenue and the state of the economy. It is beholden to the board to look at ways we can save money.”
Kelly said the consolidation would allow the township to do more for the “combined citizens” than would be possible if the two remained separate.
“The reality is that the city is not sharing resources, they are really piggy-backing on the township services and that’s not really sharing,” he said. “The township, because we are the size we are, would have these services anyway. The city, however, would not. But they are able to piggy-back off of us because of our size.”
Tax savings for both the 962 Clarkston residents and 36,000 Independence Township residents are a big reason to at least look at the possibility of consolidation, Kelly said.
The tax savings to the residents of Clarkston, according to Kelly, would be an average of $900 on a $310,000 home. The city currently taxes residents 13.1 mills, while the township taxes 7.0 mills. If the consolidation were to occur, city residents would move to the 7.0 mills of the township. A mill is the amount taxed per $1,000 of taxable property value. In this instance, city residents are charged $13.10 for each $1,000 of taxable property.
Also, city residents are currently being charged a 10 percent administrative expense on their water bills, said Kelly.
The charge is due to contracts with the city using township water services. If consolidated, city residents would not pay the additional expense.
In addition to monetary gains for the city, residents could also enjoy 24-hour Oakland County Sheriff Department services, a larger parks and recreation department program, and full Department of Public Works services, said Kelly.
Dunn agrees with Kelly and thinks the consolidation may benefit many in the Clarkston-area.
“With a consolidation, we can get more favorable treatment from the state for taking the steps,” he said. “I think the key is that we’re all area residents and most people don’t see a distinction. Right now the township is providing most of the services. And, I think this could also be very favorable for the business community in Clarkston.”
While he admits there is more monetary gain to Clarkston residents, Kelly said there are also several benefits for township residents if a consolidation were to occur.
“As far as savings to township residents, that would have to be looked at,” he said, “but I think that by increasing the size of our tax base we could do more things as far as parks and rec goes. By increasing the size of the township, we may be able to provide more services in that department. But the real benefits to the township are to eliminate the legal expenses and we also gain the potential of receiving state shared revenues.”
The big obstacle, however, Kelly noted with the consolidation would be the sense of identity in Clarkston.
“The city wants to maintain its own identity,” he said, “and that’s an excellent identity. We as a township have to be sensitive to that and help them with that. We’ve looked into having a possible financial district, which would help with that, and we’ve also considered changing the name from Independence Township to Clarkston. We’re not going to do this by force or by any involuntary action of the city. We just need to look at it and see what we’re willing to do and then put it to the city. We’re not going to force them to, but we think it makes sense.”
Clarkston Mayor Sharron Catallo said Monday she didn’t plan to attend yesterday’s meeting.
“It’s something no one has talked to us about,” she said. “Not one single word.”
Consolidating services makes sense, Catallo said, noting the only service Clarkston and Independence Township don’t currently share is the police.
“There’s no point in duplicating,” she said. “It makes sense to share services with your neighbor when you can; you get a lot more bang for your buck.”
But, she said, consolidating services does not require combining two communities into one.
Although the township approached Clarkston last week with a new proposal for subcontracted police services, Catallo said the city would likely hire a new chief and keep its own police department.
Staff writer Laura Colvin contributed to this report. Check www.ClarkstonNews.com for updates to this story.