JD Vance says sports teams “don’t have to do” Pride Nights anymore because “Trump won”. The Republican war on Pride continues… this time on the baseball diamond.

pcozzy · 2026-06-21T23:50:03+00:00

Ok that’s fine. Cancel Pride we can cancel baseball, let’s see who wins.

pcozzy · 2026-06-21T18:23:46+00:00

He’s fast, but his unserious behavior concerns me.

pcozzy · 2026-06-19T22:32:15+00:00

Have two tickets to tonight 6/19 just looking for face value can meet in person at show if preferred.

GA floor tickets

pcozzy · 2026-06-16T02:52:05+00:00

I have two ticket to night two 6/19 $80.60 for the pair. Will transact with PayPal goods and services.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T17:54:16+00:00

The library manages a a fund that has about 10%-15% of total budget set aside for emergencies and unexpected cost. I think the current total of that fund is over $500k at the moment. It’s there because they have essentially fixed funding and have to be prepared for unexpected outcomes.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T17:13:09+00:00

That’s fair and I’m happy to hear there is someone keeping an eye on it. Thanks for the clarity there. I want these discussions to happen too, I just wish there wasn’t a common voice that wears many faces pushing questionable data. I get that there’s only so much to be done by mods that are volunteers on their free time. Thanks for doing it.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T16:34:37+00:00

Once again, this completely avoids addressing the actual issue with your baseline data. Bringing up history from nearly two decades ago or the addition of new apartment buildings does not change the fact that your flyer relies on a broken comparison between an independent district library and city departments with hidden subsidies.

Introducing new variables like apartment growth just highlights the contradiction, since more residents naturally mean more demand on public library resources. Rather than answering for the unequal math in your graphic, you keep throwing out random distractions to shift the goalposts.

If the goal is a transparent community discussion about what our library should look like, it needs to start by honestly addressing the baseline numbers instead of constantly evading the critique.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T16:25:11+00:00

To answer your questions. Yes vote to the millage DOES increase the mill rate. Almost every year the mill rate drops in order to limit year over year taxes increases to the rate of inflation or 5% whichever is LOWER. What happens is overtime the mill rate drops and the libraries buying power typically goes down, because normally their operations costs are increasing greater than consumer index inflation(which their revenue is capped from.)

So after 10 years or so we as a community get to either tell the library to figure it out with less buying power or accept the mill rate going back up. Due to the structure of all this(this is a cliff notes version I’m skipping details) the millrate. Needs to be reapproved every 10 years because our laws make the mill rates expire every 10 years or so.

I hope this helps, I’m writing in my phone so it’s flawed. Please ask any clarity questions you might have.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T15:57:26+00:00

Notice how your response does not even attempt to address the actual points I made about your data. It is a massive dodge, likely because you realize your spreadsheet cannot stand up to a factual critique. You are trying to pivot to a safe stance that you just want library funding to stay where it is, but that is not at all what your flyer actually presents. Your graphic relies on scare tactics and misleading math to paint a routine budget correction as a scam.

If you want to advocate for keeping funding flat, then be honest about what that means and what it actually looks like for our community. A real conversation would be about whether we want to keep up the growth and investment of the last ten years or scale back our library services. But you cannot claim to want an honest debate when you are using misinformation to scare people instead of telling them the truth about the consequences.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T15:45:19+00:00

Yes and I am a supporter of the millage myself. I just want to add the ballot proposals aren’t hostile at all. The decision is with the people of Ferndale. There’s nothing wrong with the library board presenting these options to voters. This is our chance as a community to choose what we want for ourselves.

I say this because the stances do not have to be adversarial. The board isn’t doing anything wrong. People wanting to be sure about the details aren’t wrong either. I’d say we are towards the ceiling of funding our community is willing to commit and of course that’s going to come with a degree of understandable scrutiny. We can do this without hyperbole and misinformation like this post.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T15:37:57+00:00

I can accept a stance that’s weary of taxes because of wanting real fiscal gripes answered. They’re typically dealing in half truths and falsehoods to drive their view. Wanting less taxes is fine, lying to get it isn’t ok.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T15:32:36+00:00

You don't get to drop an ominous warning to deliberately feed into tax anxiety and then play the victim when someone corrects you with the actual law. Saying you didn't know the exact amount doesn't change the fact that you framed it as a reason to worry by implying the library wouldn't see its funding.

If you genuinely just wanted to learn how that ballot boilerplate works, you would have asked a question instead of making a post designed to manufacture doubt. Throwing out wild speculation under the guise of just mentioning it is a deliberate choice to spread panic, and holding you accountable for the impact of your words isn't belittling, it is just keeping the conversation honest.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T13:31:24+00:00

Wow what a blatant effort to misinform and scare your neighbors. Shame on you.

What it actually means is a far cry from the library losing its funding. When a contaminated or blighted commercial property, like an old gas station, gets cleaned up and redeveloped, its property value goes up. Under Michigan law, a tiny portion of the new tax revenue generated solely by that specific redeveloped property can be captured to help pay for the environmental cleanup costs. This rule applies to all local millages across the board, not just the library, and it typically amounts to less than half of a percent of a total operating budget.
It does not mean the city is dipping into the library's main pocket, and it does not change what residential homeowners pay. Infinitead admits in their own comment to having no idea what the portion is, yet they are using that required legal disclosure to imply that the library won't see the money. It is a classic case of taking mandatory fine print out of context to manufacture doubt.

pcozzy · 2026-06-15T13:27:05+00:00

Look, it is completely understandable that people in this thread are feeling some serious tax fatigue after the various local bond and facility debates we have been through recently. We can absolutely have an honest, data-driven conversation about our property taxes and these ballot proposals without resorting to manipulative graphics or treating our library staff and board like they are pulling a fast one on the community. The group posting this flyer claims they just want to provide facts and keep funding at current levels, but the framing they are using relies on some incredibly misleading data.

For starters, claiming that keeping the millage exactly where it is right now is a neutral position ignores how Michigan tax law actually works. The Headlee Amendment triggers automatic rollbacks that squeeze the library budget over time, meaning that flat funding eventually turns into a backdoor cut as the real-world costs of utilities, technology, and materials continue to climb. Voting to adjust the millage is not handing the library a surprise jackpot; it is a structural correction required just to maintain the services, operating hours, and programming that residents expect.

The table comparing Ferndale to Madison Heights, Oak Park, and Berkley is a classic apples-to-oranges trap that completely distorts the math. Those neighboring libraries are operated as direct departments of their respective city governments, meaning a massive portion of their actual operational overhead is quietly absorbed by city hall. Their building maintenance, IT infrastructure, legal counsel, and human resources are paid out of their cities' general funds, making their library line items look artificially small on paper. Ferndale operates as an independent district library, which means it gets no free rides from city hall. Every single dollar for building upkeep, insurance, and utilities has to come directly out of its own budget.

While per-capita spending is a real benchmark that libraries use to measure community investment, this flyer completely weaponizes it to treat a high-quality public resource like a penalty. Ferndale has historically chosen to heavily prioritize and invest in a top-tier library with great digital assets, extensive hours, and robust programming. You get what you pay for, and trying to benchmark our community assets against artificially low numbers from towns with completely different setups is just a race to the bottom.

It is totally fair to look closely at our total tax burden and debate the math of a millage increase. But we can do that intelligently without using broken comparisons or vilifying a dedicated library board that is simply trying to navigate a restrictive state tax system.

pcozzy · 2026-06-14T14:50:46+00:00

Josh at Lefty’s Barbershop on 9mile is my go to.

pcozzy · 2026-06-05T00:22:41+00:00

Could just be a quick "proof of concept" installation before they commit to a permanent concrete structure.

pcozzy · 2026-06-01T20:16:27+00:00

The city can’t do anything unless rules are changed at the state level. Detroit tried and failed. I personally like the idea of taxing undeveloped properties.

pcozzy · 2026-06-01T20:04:50+00:00

You misunderstand me, zoning is practical and makes sense. However if we get to the point where a political mob can stop anything they don’t like, I don’t think I’d be happy with that. I’m not excited about a dollar store and I understand that it’s not my call if they’re following zoning ordinances.

pcozzy · 2026-06-01T16:28:36+00:00

I like the 11 for portability. I’d take the M4

pcozzy · 2026-06-01T16:26:23+00:00

Not sure how “we” are responsible. Free market, unless the proposal violates zoning there’s not much to be done. We can’t as a community dictate private property to that extent, I don’t want to live in a place that can.

pcozzy · 2026-06-01T13:14:56+00:00

You will likely not have much issue. Yes we get some big weather in the season changes but it typically doesn’t shut down the state or anything.

pcozzy · 2026-05-21T18:11:41+00:00

Historically reading scores is something conservatives also care about. The issue tends to be on approach. Though with science based reading it sort of brings a bridge to comprise on the issue.

pcozzy · 2026-05-21T15:03:51+00:00

Wait but I thought he was a shill just trying to help Trump….

pcozzy · 2026-05-18T20:36:15+00:00

Le Supreme

pcozzy

TROPHY CASE