Candidate Q&A: White Lake Trustee David Lewsley

To kick off election coverage, White Lake-Highland Patch has sent out a survey to candidates running for office in White Lake and Highland. The following is the Q&A response from current White Lake Trustee David Lewsley. Lewsley, a republican, will be facing off against several other candidates in the August primary election.

Patch: How long have you lived in White Lake?

Lewsley: In 1987, my wife Laurie and I moved to White Lake and restored a historic Brendel Family farmhouse (now the home of Township Supervisor Greg Baroni) and have lived in the Lakes Area ever since… the last 12 years in Twin Lakes Village.

Patch: What community and civic organizations are you currently involved in?

Lewsley: Presently I am a Township Trustee and the Township Board liaison to the Parks & Recreation Committee. I am a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Workers’ Comp Section of the Bar, Michigan Townships Association and White Lake Historical Society. Past public service on the boards of two non-profits and the vestry of my church. I have held leadership positions with numerous state and national trade associations.   

Patch: What drew you to run for Trustee?

Lewsley: Last year, when the Township Board was having considerable difficulty agreeing on an applicant to fill a Trustee vacancy, I decided it was time to step up the level of my community service and offer myself as a candidate. I was the unanimous Board choice to fill the open position after answering in the affirmative when asked whether I would run for election if appointed. I am keeping that promise.  

Patch: What personal and professional experiences make you qualified to hold that position?

Lewsley: I have acquired a deep familiarity with White Lake as well as local government experience while serving 14 years on the Township’s Planning Commission (Chairman twice) and more than a year as a Trustee on the Township Board. I have been a lawyer since 1981. For the past 17 years, I have supervised an office of attorneys that defend the interests of my company’s policyholders in litigated claims while also handling a trial docket. Previously at Chrysler, I was the Corporate Manager of Workers’ Compensation, Manager of Lemon Law/Warranty/Fire Litigation and Senior Attorney/Manager of Commercial Litigation.

Patch: What is the most important issue facing the township and what do you intend to do about it during your term in office?

 Lewsley: Continued application of fiscal responsibility to Township budget planning because revenue challenges remain while unavoidable additional expenses loom… including a requirement that substantial annual contributions be made to fund future retiree health benefits, pursuant to new GASB accounting standards.  

The Township’s finances have remained solid since the economic crisis of 2008 thanks to budgetary restraint. In the face of declining state revenue sharing and property tax collections, annual Township expenditures were trimmed by over $700,000 between 2008 and 2010 to keep spending in line with revenue… without a detrimental impact of the delivery of service to residents.

Further steps were taken in 2011 to keep Township expenditures in check. Pay freezes were negotiated with each of the unions representing Township employees. Health insurance plans were revamped to contain costs. Some staff positions were eliminated through attrition. A badly need upgrade of the Township’s information technology was cost-effectively achieved through an inter-governmental agreement with Waterford Township. These IT improvements will enable increased employee productivity.

Excluding technology capital outlays, the Township’s 2012 General Fund budget is $239,000 less than that of 2011. Fortunately, constitutional revenue sharing started increasing again in 2011 and the downward trend in property tax collections appears to be bottoming out. So, in the short term, there should be no need for deep emergency budget cuts.

Patch: In recent years there has been discussion about contracting either police services or dispatch services with the county. Do you think the police department should be turned over to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department? Why or why not?

Lewsley: The question of whether the contracting of emergency dispatch services from the County could result in a cost savings is presently being evaluated. However, it appears desired budgetary relief cannot be realized. The duties of White Lake emergency dispatchers include many responsibilities at Police Department headquarters that must be performed on site. While the process of taking residents’ calls and dispatching police, fire and emergency teams could be out-sourced to the County, different personnel would then be needed on site to assume the other dispatcher duties.

By their approval of police millage proposals, White Lake voters have indicated their preference for a local police department. In the event voters signal a change of heart by rejecting police millage requests, then the Board will be obliged to explore the feasibility of contracting police protection from the Oakland County Sheriff.

Patch: What is your vision for White Lake Township, where do you see the township in 10 or even 20 years, and what does the township need to do now to realize that vision?

Lewsley: Carefully planned business growth is absolutely critical to assure future Township vitality because it creates jobs and generates tax revenue.  By focusing business development primarily along the M-59 corridor, White Lake can enjoy the benefits of becoming a regional commercial center while also preserving the quiet and natural beauty of the remainder of our community. 

New development should include a few “big boxes”, research and office parks, mixed use projects and replacing outdated buildings.

The appeal and attractiveness of the M-59 corridor can be enhanced with each new project because the Township’s recently updated zoning ordinance requires that developers meet high standards for building and landscape design.

My long-term vision for White Lake includes a network of pathways (like those now found in West Bloomfield and Commerce) to adjoin each of the Township’s main arteries. Since MDOT intends to build a new pathway in conjunction with a complete reconstruction of M-59 within seven to ten years, the Township can concentrate on installing pathways along other primary roads such as Bogie Lake, Elizabeth Lake, Union Lake, Williams Lake and Teggerdine.     

Voters are being asked to renew a .3 mill Parks and Recreation Millage on August 7. Some of the revenue from that levy is to be used as seed money and combined with grants to finance the construction of pathways. Since the P&R Millage is projected to generate less than $300K per year and construction of pathways can cost between $250K and $1 million per mile, it might take ten or twenty years to complete the network.