Bruce Jaquays
brucejaquays4commerce@yahoo.com
— Jaquays proposes stepped service fees and application of his union experience to resolve conflicting concerns between old and new residents, a rising tax burden, demands for new services, and traffic congestion –
COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, MI – July 15, 2024 – Longtime resident Bruce Jaquays announced his campaign for election as Supervisor of the Charter Township of Commerce, Oakland County. Mr. Jaquays is running on the Libertarian Party ticket, focusing on the following concerns of Commerce Township taxpayers:
“The toughest challenge,” says Jaquays, “is balancing the interests of long-term residents with those of newcomers – all while respecting their mutual property rights.” He explained by telling his personal story: “I moved to the Lakes Area of western Oakland County in 1988, and I fell in love with the small towns, villages, and abundant recreational opportunities here. As a result, I settled shortly afterward in Commerce Township, where I’ve resided since 1992. The vast influx of new residents has put a strain on the transportation network and township services; the population has increased by about one-third over the last 25 years. The challenge lies in preserving what attracted us here, not burdening existing residents with new or enhanced services they don’t want, and meeting the expectations of newcomers, who want additional amenities.
• Jaquays proposes (1) maintaining a stable, low tax burden for longtime residents who utilize only a limited group of services and (2) charging additional fees only to residents who want enhanced or new services. “It’s not fair,” said Jaquays, “for existing residents to face tax hikes to expand existing services or add new amenities they don’t want or use.” One example is the $900,000 pickleball court recently built. “This is a huge expenditure,” says Jaquays, “and only those who use it should pay a fee – especially if they aren’t even residents. The same can be said for expansion of schools and other services that are added or expanded to meet the demands of new residents. That’s my proposal to balance concerns about high taxes and services in a way that’s fair to everyone.”
• “The other big challenge is the traffic and congestion caused by new construction and the unusual local topography,” said Jaquays. “We’ve all experienced the chokepoint on Union Lake Road and a few other locations. I would work more closely with the Oakland County Road Commission to add lights and build additional lanes of roadbed to facilitate a better traffic flow.”
• Finally, Jaquays pointed to his expertise in union negotiations as a way to keep taxes low for all residents: “Too often there’s a sort of indifference to the burden imposed on taxpayers. There’s also nothing wrong with paying a wage that reflects how pleasant it is to work here,” he said. “For example, why is the per capita cost of fire and police services rising? We have very little crime here, so it doesn’t make sense. If anything, those per-capita costs should be decreasing. I’ve had a good bit of experience managing employee costs and union contracts, and I will bring that to the table for Commerce Township residents.”
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Mr. Jaquays is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Now retired after 31 years at the United States Postal Service, where he took on managerial roles, including that of supervisor, Jaquays works on a part time basis at Walmart. From that vantage point, he has witnessed the impact on consumers of the inflationary spiral caused by the Federal Reserve System’s monetary policy and the financial (spending) policies of both the Trump and Biden administrations.
