Wayne county now has a huge opportunity, and an even greater duty, to make dramatic improvements in the quality of its residents' lives. County voters this week gave a very narrow okay - 51.6 percent of the vote - to a quarter mill property tax for new and improved parks.
Part of the opportunity involves new patterns in local government cooperation. The biggest single project will be a water park in Chandler Park, just off I-94 in Detroit; for the first time, the county and city will work together as space and service providers. This project, along with a boardwalk improvement at Mariner's Park, will represent the first time the county parks operation has made its presence felt in the eastern half of the county: Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck, Harper Woods and the Grosse Pointes.
Although most voters in Detroit, Highland Park and Trenton approved the millage this week, all other citiies and townships in the county voted against it. In some places, such as Northville Township, the margin was close, but in many others the results were overwhelming: In Sumpter and Huron Townships, for example, the millage lost by more than 3-1.
We supported the millage in the belief that it will bring happy moments into thousands of children's lives. If those moments don't materialize, Detroiters will lose their zeal for county projects in the city, and out county skepticism will grow.
Only excellent facilities, operations and accountability will overcome such skepticism. County administrators and elected officials must remind themselves every day of the need to reward voters' trust. As the parks vote demonstrates, that trust is fragile.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the editorial staff of the Detroit Free Press from August 10, 1996. By our use of this article, we do not willing promote the purchase of this newspaper, but merely wish to show some of the opinions surrounding Wayne County Issues.