City officials off to the wrong foot

Dear Editor,
No remorse. No contriteness. No embarrassment. No apology.
Clarkston City officials have not publicly acknowledged why almost $60,000 was previously spent without formal city council review and approval. Nor have city officials publicly committed to follow the City Charter, Ordinance regulations and Michigan public law in the future.
Give a pass to the newest council members, but experienced council members Sabol, Catallo, Haven, Mayor Luginski and City Manager Eberhardt should certainly be familiar with city spending requirements- yet they violated City regulations and Michigan law. Absent formal review, city council members are complicit in permitting the spending without their approval.
Many speculate city officials did not want to disclose the costs of DPW building expansion exploration.
The city’s auditor guided the new city treasurer to bring the previously unauthorized spending to the June 27 council meeting with four days remaining in the fiscal year. Council approved amending the budget and reduced the city’s general fund balance by one third.
Now, city officials are already off on the wrong foot one month into the fiscal year. The city is making expenditures with unbudgeted capital project funds in violation of Michigan law.
The city will suffer further fund balance reductions, my estimate $10,000-20,000, as unbudgeted expenditures are required to bring the Depot Park south bridge path into compliance.
Citizens of the City of the Village of Clarkston deserve transparency in place of ethical lapses and ignorance of the law.
Chet Pardee
Clarkston

Thank you for support for millage

Dear Editor,
To the Clarkston community, please accept our sincere thank you for your support of the Clarkston Community Schools Bond Issue on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
On behalf of the staff and students of CCS, I want you to know how deeply appreciative we are for the opportunity you have given the district.
We will be able to address important safety and security needs in each of our schools; we can replace building roofs, flooring and furnishings, and badly damaged parking lots. We will also be updating technology infrastructure throughout the district and providing new devices for students to use at school to further enhance their learning.
I assure you that we will be careful and responsible stewards of the funds from this bond, and we will maintain communication throughout the process. Look for updates from the district as we move forward with each step of this endeavor.
We look forward to providing a safe, efficient and enjoyable environment for everyone at CCS! Thank you again for your support of and confidence in the Clarkston Community Schools!
Sincerely,
Rod Rock, Ed.D.
Superintendent

Sell out fundraiser for Lions Club

Dear Editor,
The Clarkston Area Lions Club is very pleased to thank the Clarkston community for its support of our food booth at the Concert in the Park event on July 15.
This is a fund raising event for us and was assisted by local sponsors including Neiman’s Family Market, Kroger stores, Culligan Water Systems, Sam’s Club, Burger King, Pete’s Coney, Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce, and the City of the Village of Clarkston.
Our booth had a complete “sell out,” which will help us continue to serve our local community, as we use 100 percent of donations and funds raised to go toward program services – none for administrative expenses.
Lions Club provides sight, hearing, and diabetes awareness programs and also support local community needs such as our assistance for the surveillance system for Depot Park.
Our local free Project Kidsight Program offers monthly sight screenings for young children at the Clarkston Independence District Library and at various events. We screen over 500 children each year and have found about 20 percent of those children screened have a potential eye problem. Our camera and computer system has enabled our club to lead all Lions Clubs in the entire state of Michigan in Kidsight screening. Please remind parents of this free Kidsight screening.
We thank the Clarkston community for its continued support.
Sincerely,
Brace Case
Clarkston Area Lions Club