News & Events
August 2005
The past four weeks have given us great cause for thanks - it seems that even in the slow summer months great people find time to renew their commitment to the Suburbs Alliance and our shared cause.
First and foremost this month we welcome back our writer, Sharon Carney, who returns from a study abroad program in London, England. We are grateful for her safe homecoming and ready to put her to work. Look for a showcase of her skills as scribe when our first print newsletter hits your desks in September.
We extend a special thanks to our board members who have agreed to serve as officers for the coming year. Taylor mayor Greg Pitoniak will continue to guide our growth as president. He will be seconded by Mayor Dan Paletko of Dearborn Heights, our new vice-president. Mark Wollenweber, City Manager in Grosse Point Woods, takes on the role of secretary and Ypsilanti City Manager Ed Koryzno will continue as our able treasurer.
Perhaps the most exciting show of support came at the launch of our two new major projects. Nearly 50 people joined us to kick off our Resource Sharing Initiative: elected officials, city managers, police and fire chiefs, human resource and economic development directors, university professors, the Governor Granholm's office, our fellow nonprofit leaders and probably some folk I've forgotten. Academics from five universities joined representatives from ten Suburbs Alliance cities to begin our Michigan Universities Project which will bring increase collaboration between experts and practitioners of regional cooperation and urban development. Read more about these great new efforts at collaboration below.
It's definitely a good time to get together, too. Michigan's first-tier suburbs are on the front line of an economic battle to define quality of life for our state - a battle that must inevitably heat up as more cities drift into bankruptcy or receivership. Our resource-sharing efforts will result in cost savings for cities - from reduced training expenses to lower capital costs for equipment. We'll also be recommending some cost recovery strategies for public safety that will help pad shrinking police and fire budgets. Actions like these show our lawmakers that we're pulling our weight - but they won't solve the systemic problem that is driving our cities to the brink of insolvency. Elucidating that problem will take the expertise of both academic researchers and practitioners from throughout the web of municipal government. The partnerships that we are developing through these projects are the foundation for success with policy makers on bigger issues.
This is what the Suburbs Alliance was formed to do. By unifying the voices of leaders who support the sustainable development of our region, together we are creating a force for change.
