JANUARY 17TH UPDATE: CONTACT WITH THE TOWNSHIP OFFICE HAS CONFIRMED THAT THEY WILL NOW POST THE “EVENT” ON THE TOWNSHIP WEBSITE SOMETIME TODAY!
JANUARY 18TH UPDATE: THE PROMISED POSTING OF THE JANUARY 22 “EVENT” ON THE TOWNSHIP WEBSITE HAS NOT YET OCCURRED!
JANUARY 21 UPDATE: AS OF TODAY, SOMETIME AFTER 2 PM, TOMORROW’S “EVENT” HAS FINALLY BEEN POSTED ON THE TOWNSHIP WEBSITE.
LAST NIGHT AT A PRECINCT DELEGATE CAPTAIN MEETING, SUPERVISOR GONSER INDICATED THAT HE INVITED 190 INDIVIDUALS TO THE SPECIAL EVENT. WHEN ASKED WHY HE DID NOT ANNOUNCE THE EVENT TO THE PUBLIC AT THE LAST BOARD MEETING, HE SAID:
“I did not feel compelled to do so!”
WHEN ASKED WHY HE DID NOT INVITE ALL BOARD AND COMMISSION MEMBERS, HE SAID:
“I chose not to invite everyone!’
HE DID SAY THAT THE EVENT WILL BE TELEVISED LIVE ON THE TOWNSHIP WEBSITE, AND CAN BE WATCHED ON CHANNEL 17 ON COMCAST.
PREVIOUS POST
Supervisor Gonser has scheduled a “State of the Township” address for January 22nd at the Township Hall. Hors d’oeuvres will be served at 6:30 PM. He has personally invited individuals to this event, and requested RSVP’s. After calling the Township Hall about this event, they indicated it is open to the public since it is in a public building, however, there may not be enough hors d’oeuvres for everyone since private invitations had been sent out by Supervisor Gonser. It is not posted on the Township website as a community event. It is not indicated as an event that will be broadcast over the Township’s live broadcast for the entire Township to see.
This event raises many questions that Supervisor Gonser needs to address. Some of them being:
- Who all has been invited to this event?
- Is this really open to all residents?
- If not, why is it not open to all residents of Oakland Township?
- Why is it not scheduled for being broadcast over the Township website?
- Should not the “State of the Township” be addressed to the entire community?
- Who is paying for the food?
- If this is a private event being sponsored by the Supervisor, is he paying for the use of the Township Hall?
- Why has the communication of this event been so secretive?
- Why didn’t Supervisor Gonser announce the meeting at the January 14th Board Meeting?
This may be one of Supervisor Gonser’s attempts at improving “transparency” in our Township. Here is a copy of one of the “private” special invitations that one resident received:
Richard Michalski
Oakland Township Watchers 
Wow, does Gonser’s arrogance and lack of integrity ever end? I hope MANY residents attend to ask these very questions you have posed here, all of which are legitimate. Great job Dick in calling the Township and getting a copy of invite. Unbelievable.
I am sorry, but it seems to me that the minute someone gets a little power, they go ape s***……big government on down to little government …. It is really getting tiring and I am surprised we all put up with the B.S.
Candi, if you do not like what is going on, please participate in the Board meetings and express your views. This website has pointed out many issues with our current Township Board, in particular Supervisor Gonser, but there has been very little active involvement from others who share contempt for what is going on. One wonders “Does anyone really care about what is going on in our Township?”
My opinion is that people’s complacency will vanish once the consequences for the various legal actions that our Township is facing come to closure. Please get involved. Start by showing up at Wednesday’s “State of the Township” event.
Is it true Gonser was born in a log cabin like Lincoln and in a manger like …….?
Hmmmm, it appears that Mr Hughes didn’t make “the cut” on the VIP list. So now he throws his friend Terry under the bus. Looks like trouble at the Friday morning coffee clatch……..
Very good observation Paul!! It seems there are more than a few of “Terry’s good ole boys Friday morning breakfast clubbies” going by the wayside these days.
Are ethically-challenged people drawn to public service, or do they become that way after achieving office?
Here’s a few ideas: Be transparent about what you do in office and always do the right thing for the people who elected you. Don’t view public office as a way to enrich yourselves or others during your tenure.
Are those ideas so hard to embrace?
It is Friday evening, January 17th, and the promised posting of the “Event” on the Township website has not occurred!
Well then, I guess we won’t feel compelled to vote him back in when his time is up.
Here here, Mr. Rosalik. I wonder if Gonser “felt compelled” to invite OTHER members of Boards and Commissions from other communities, but not OUR own. He has NO idea what a COMMUNITY is. He thinks this is a corporation. His is hurting Oakland Township. This must be HELL for our Township employees. It will be interesting to see who comes tonight as the “chosen” ones. Looking forward to that “list of invitees” to come to OUR hall. Oakland Township residents, stay involved, come tonight, please attend meetings, challenge, question and verify. This is what our country is based on!
mind-blowingly clueless in so many ways. . .
I was invited. I have been a resident in the township for 39 years. I think the transparency methods put in place by Mr. Gonser are superlative eclipsing anything we have ever seen in the past. Before, millions of dollars just vaporized into the township with little or no knowledge by the citizens of where it went. Now we can see where it is going and the picture of the past may not be pretty. I was impressed and continue to be so by this administration.
HI Bob,
There is no question that this Board has significantly increased the ease of obtaining SOME of information available to the residents. However, if you click on the “Ethics” category at the top of the page (or the link on the right side of this web page), and “A new kind of Transparency” link on the right side of this web page, please review the information, and comment on whether you agree that those behaviors are what “good governance” should be.
Just because you perceive the current administration to be better than the past, does not justify the behavior of THIS Board.