Would a county secession make good business sense for Downriver?
Although residential sentiment about Wayne County had likely been souring for decades, most residents knew they only had one set of choices: either deal with the service quality (or lack thereof), or simply move to another county.
There had been a brief flirtation with creating a separate county which would actually have been named Suburbia back in 1978. That effort went to the first stage of possible legislation twice, but went no further than the drawing board until a more focused effort began in 1991 and 1992. |
"We saw some benefits. All of the (Wayne) County offices are downtown. If you have any business, you have to come downtown. Sometimes, you'd have to take the whole day off work." |
"I'm encouraged that people think it is possible (to pass the county issue). I believe if it was put on the ballot, it would pass." |
Brownstown Township residents Leonard Mannausa and Norman Chinavere thought the taxpayer was paying more in taxes than in surrounding counties, and getting much less in return. With this in mind, they formed the Patriots For Erie County, whose goal was to create a fully-functional "model of efficient government" in a county independent of "the shadows of Detroit."
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The first step - convincing the State Congress of this need - would be imposing
The first initial stage of this effort began in the spring of 1991, with a proposal being sent to State Representative Vincent Porreca. In the request, Mannausa and Chinavere requested (rather strongly) that the issue be brought forth to the Michigan House of Representatives for immediate discussion.
Porreca evidentally did not feel comfortable rushing into such a matter and, to the consternation of the Brownstown residents, presented the proposal in "courtesy" form only, making the presentation more like a "liner note" than anything important. Porreca made it clear to the chamber that he was mentioning this as a courtesy, and that he would not sponsor such a plan himself.
Not expecting this, Mannausa and Chinavere asked what the next step would be. They were advised to go to Michigan's Towns & Counties committee. However, the head of the committee, Roland Niederstat, refused to let the proposal go any further than his desk. He would not even discuss it with the Towns & Counties committee without first hearing direct input with Wayne County Executive Edward McNamara, as well as the Wayne County Board of Commissioners. Shortly thereafter, the motion would expire.
The next push began in the autumn of 1991, but was halted in the State House of Representatives. Then-Wayne County Commissioners Edward Boike (Taylor) and William O'Neill (Allen Park) voiced concern that those pushing the effort through did not know the degree of focus which would be required. A new county, they affirmed, would need the resources to provide their own court system, police system, prosecutor's office, jail, morgue, road maintenance department, hospital, a treasurer's office, Registrar of Deeds as well as an Executive and Clerk. They also addressed the likelihood that a substantial tax increase would be needed to make the new county possible.
Porreca evidentally did not feel comfortable rushing into such a matter and, to the consternation of the Brownstown residents, presented the proposal in "courtesy" form only, making the presentation more like a "liner note" than anything important. Porreca made it clear to the chamber that he was mentioning this as a courtesy, and that he would not sponsor such a plan himself.
Not expecting this, Mannausa and Chinavere asked what the next step would be. They were advised to go to Michigan's Towns & Counties committee. However, the head of the committee, Roland Niederstat, refused to let the proposal go any further than his desk. He would not even discuss it with the Towns & Counties committee without first hearing direct input with Wayne County Executive Edward McNamara, as well as the Wayne County Board of Commissioners. Shortly thereafter, the motion would expire.
The next push began in the autumn of 1991, but was halted in the State House of Representatives. Then-Wayne County Commissioners Edward Boike (Taylor) and William O'Neill (Allen Park) voiced concern that those pushing the effort through did not know the degree of focus which would be required. A new county, they affirmed, would need the resources to provide their own court system, police system, prosecutor's office, jail, morgue, road maintenance department, hospital, a treasurer's office, Registrar of Deeds as well as an Executive and Clerk. They also addressed the likelihood that a substantial tax increase would be needed to make the new county possible.
The petitioners decide to strike out on their own, with their support
Following this initial blockage, Mannausa and Chinavere decided to handle the matter themselves. They sent petition language to Lansing in January 1992, which was approved and sent back with the ultimate goal of putting together 205,000 valid signatures in 180 days to be able to forward it back to the state capitol. The petition would not make the cut at the May 27, 1992 deadline, falling well short of the 205,000 signature goal. Despite not meeting the required number, those who did sign the petition carried some clout in local politics:
"I feel we're not getting our fair share from Wayne County. I don't think it's such a bad idea. There's so much money going to the city of Detroit, and the (Wayne) County jobs are so lucrative. You can get an appointment and receive $80,000 a year. It's unreal." |
"The feedback that I get is that this is kind of absurd. Looking at Downriver and the services the county provides, I think they're getting taken care of pretty well. When it comes down to the politics of it, |
It was later made clear that, even if this initial effort had passed, a second petition would have to be drawn up just to get the issue on the ballot and through the state Legislature. The Patriots For Erie County group responded by stating the odds had been beaten so far, and they would not give up their effort. Despite this, the proposal was put on hold in June, 1992.
Despite this, the effort was put on hold in June of 1992.
But in 1996, Mannausa was in the running for a 23rd District seat in the Michigan State House which, at the time, covered much of the area concerned. He would make his biggest effort yet to split Wayne County into two separate counties.
Facing a third attempt at recruiting 247,000 to put the proposal on the 1992 ballot, the 64-year old Mannausa was confident there would be more support towards the issue this time around. In an interview with the News-Herald, he cited a general apathy among Wayne County officials and other higher-ups when it came to addressing local area needs. The path to such a move being granted was far-stretching, and the chances for success were slim.
Other areas eyeing secession at the same time locally were the southern parts of Wayne County, which would secede to form Newburg County. On an interesting note, petitions from both Erie and Newburg county proposals were including Taylor in their language.
But in 1996, Mannausa was in the running for a 23rd District seat in the Michigan State House which, at the time, covered much of the area concerned. He would make his biggest effort yet to split Wayne County into two separate counties.
Facing a third attempt at recruiting 247,000 to put the proposal on the 1992 ballot, the 64-year old Mannausa was confident there would be more support towards the issue this time around. In an interview with the News-Herald, he cited a general apathy among Wayne County officials and other higher-ups when it came to addressing local area needs. The path to such a move being granted was far-stretching, and the chances for success were slim.
Other areas eyeing secession at the same time locally were the southern parts of Wayne County, which would secede to form Newburg County. On an interesting note, petitions from both Erie and Newburg county proposals were including Taylor in their language.
The Goods: What Erie County would have encompassed in area and worth
"People look at you funny when you say you are from Downriver. Now, everyone is moving out here. We are going to grow more than Grosse Pointe ever has. Maybe if we get out of Wayne County, we will get the credibility we never had." |
If the proposal had made its way through committee and ultimately passed, the new county of Erie would have been 200 square miles and composed of twenty communities, including all of the Downriver area plus Sumpter Township, Van Buren Township and Waltz Village.
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Although Erie County would have had to work to get the required county departments established (per the opinion of Representatives Boike and O'Neill), they would already have agricultural, commercial, national and international businesses within its jurisdiction. They would have three airports, including Detroit Metro Airport.
The new county would also have $4 billion of its own state equalized valuation, and end up with a population of less than 500,000. Wayne County's population would then fall to approximately 1.4 million.
Since these proposals fizzled by the end of the 1990s, there have been to date no new ballot initiatives to secede from Wayne County, leaving proponents to wonder what "may have been" when it came to county services.
Since these proposals fizzled by the end of the 1990s, there have been to date no new ballot initiatives to secede from Wayne County, leaving proponents to wonder what "may have been" when it came to county services.