Richard Sharland- choice of the Plymouth Voice
Oct. 25, 2012 PLYMOUTH VOICE.
Richard Sharland is the choice of the Plymouth Voice for Plymouth Township Supervisor.
He is the right man for the job and one who will fight for open and transparent government in our township and bring about the desperately needed changes necessary to make Plymouth Township a safe and better place to live.
Sharland, a retired farmer and long time township resident, is challenging Supervisor Richard Reaume who hopes to win his third term in the Nov. 6 election.
Sharland, a U.S. Army veteran, is a licensed building contractor, was the library board president, past president of the Wayne County Farm Bureau, a life member of the Plymouth Historical Society, a member of the Matteson Township Planning Commission and a Board of Appeals member.
We feel Richard Sharland is the right selection to bring about a long overdue transformation in the direction of the current regime. He understands and knows the politics and political machine that has taken over the rights of the citizens in Plymouth Township.
Months and months of controversy and turmoil within the ranks of Plymouth Township’s trustees and officials have dominated the news and compromised the Fire Department, thereby compromising the very safety and peace of mind of our residents.
Layoffs by township officials acting without due diligence placed residents and citizens in harm’s way. They continue to battle the expressed desire of the public to vote on the funding of a professional, full-time fire and Advance Life Support medical response department, despite numerous court appearances and a pending case in an appellate court.
The current administration has deliberately, arrogantly and illegally denied the people of our township the right to vote, a clear violation of our rights under the Constitution.
Sharland, running as a true independent Republican, says he can “make a difference” as Supervisor. We believe he can.
For years, serving as a township watchdog, attending every meeting and being proactive and vocal regarding the current business practices, Sharland has brought the inadequacies and failures of the current board to light and prompted change to help the entire community.
Sharland says the current supervisor turned his back on critical issues. He believes the treasurer has usurped much of the authority of the supervisor’s office and demonstrated complete lack of respect for the law and the rights of the citizens. He has bullied the firemen, policemen and the public into a perilous situation which threatens the welfare of the entire community.
A detailed and meticulous record keeper, Sharland is never hesitant to dig deeply into reports, files and records. We’ve seen his impressive comprehensive files and commend his work.
“The township’s going broke,” Sharland says, citing a critical rip in the net value of the current assets, now $7.5 million (2011), down from $13.7 million in 2005.
Sharland knows the current budget is misdirected, saying “We don’t need to be spending money and competing with a private golf course, capriciously buying and holding unused property and ignoring public safety.”
Sharland’s curiosity and detective work recently uncovered a serious error in the assessing department at Plymouth Township in 2006 when they put the wrong name on property and the real owner, the City of Detroit, never received a tax bill. Subsequently, the county sold the property for those unpaid taxes to Plymouth Township last September. Now is appears the City of Detroit may reclaim its property valued at $16 million.
Adamant about giving the citizens a choice to determine township services, Sharland wants to cut the salaries of the elected officials, which he labels, “exorbitant” and would consider making both the supervisor and treasurer jobs part-time.
We strongly urge a YES vote for Richard Sharland for Township Supervisor on Nov. 6.
