Because our two cities were proposing a millage together, via the South Macomb Oakland Regional Services Authority, we held a joint City Council meeting to discuss any items that would apply to both cities. This meeting helped us stay on message together, and eventually pass the millage and save our cities.
The City's budget includes a Fiscal Management Plan, which provides a roadmap in the case the City falls into financial hardship again. As all other cities, the City of Eastpointe fell into financial hardship after the 2008 financial/housing crisis. SMORSA was officially on the ballot, but we did not know if it was going to pass or not. We updated the plan in the case that SMORSA did not pass. We wanted to be prepared for the worst case scenario.
A community group, MiDOG (Michigan Dog Owners Group), worked for many years to bring a dog park to Eastpointe. The group raised money to build a fence and other ammenities for this proposed new park. On January 6, 2015, I was happy to vote in favor of the creation of this park via ordinance. The Eastsider covered the ribbon cutting of this new park!
Ever since it's creation, it has been used by many dog lovers. Many dogs are able to enjoy this land leash-free. A Little Library has been added to the land, as well as many volunteer-created items in the dog park.