June 19 2020 Your Source for Livonia Happenings
Livonia Public Schools are asking for our help in lobbying Congress on the impending budget shortfall resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic
Andrea Oquist, Superintendent and Mark Johnson, President of the Livonia Public Schools, sent the following letter and resolution to stakeholders. FridayMusings feels that this issue is one that all of us in Livonia should be concerned with and for that reason am sharing it with you now:

We would like to share with you the attached resolution which was passed by our Livonia Public Schools' Board of Education on Monday, June 15. This important resolution addresses the impending budget shortfalls, for our district and those across the state, caused by the sharp decrease in the state's School Aid Fund during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Michigan's sales tax, which accounts for nearly 50% of the state's School Aid Fund, is projected to be more than $1 billion short in the near-term and is expected to prompt a $9 million immediate cut to our school district budget for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. Additionally, the district is preparing for another $9 million cut for the 2020-2021 school year budget, which begins on July 1. Thankfully, our district has a healthy fund balance, which has been carefully accrued over the past several years to help in this "rainy day" emergency, but federal assistance is needed in this unprecedented situation.
The district is urging Congressional lawmakers in Washington D.C. as well as those in the State of Michigan to facilitate federal funding assistance to school districts to help alleviate these immediate and deep revenue reductions.

We ask you to please join us in our advocacy to urge lawmakers to appropriate funds to school districts in the wake of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Funding is critical to ensuring every student in LPS, and across the state of Michigan, receives the high-quality education and support they need and deserve.

For a list of legislators, please see our website at  https://www.livoniapublicschools.org/domain/236 . The district plans to send a copy of the attached resolution to our representatives in Congress, Governor Whitmer, the Michigan House of Representatives, and the Michigan Senate.
Resolution on School Funding Budget Shortfall Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

WHEREAS , in March 2020, Michigan announced the first case within our state of the coronavirus disease, causing the Governor to declare a state of emergency under her powers in the Michigan Constitution; and

WHEREAS , in response to this emergency, after Michigan school districts were required to cancel inperson learning, school districts have risen to the challenge by being innovative and focused on their unique needs, providing distance learning for all Michigan students; and WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has created tremendous uncertainty on how to provide quality education while maintaining safe conditions for both staff and students, causing districts to face new expenses and challenges for the upcoming school year including providing personal protective equipment; creating new health screening procedures; increased cleaning and sanitation costs; reorganization of learning spaces to accommodate social distancing; and expanded access to school-based mental health services for the social emotional well-being of our students; and
WHEREAS , both the state and national economies have suffered greatly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has dramatically reduced state and local revenue and placed enormous pressure on the state budget, including the School Aid Fund, which is predicted to be more than $1 billion per year below previous estimates for the current 2019-2020 school year and the upcoming 2020-2021 school year; and

WHEREAS, due to falling revenues, local school districts face severe budget shortfalls for the current 2019- 2020 fiscal year which ends June 30, 2020, and the upcoming 2020-2021 school year, including a potential untenable proration cut of at least $650 per student, which equates to a reduction of nearly $19 million for Livonia Public Schools over these two school years, making it extraordinarily difficult to provide high-quality education, access to technology, and safety for both students and staff;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Livonia Public Schools School District supports the passage of legislation by the U.S. Congress appropriating needed funds to be distributed to states and local districts, with maximum flexibility to fill budget gaps during this state of emergency; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , the Livonia Public Schools School District urges congressional action to provide additional funding for the highly successful E-Rate Program, which helps schools ensure connectivity for online learning; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution shall be transmitted to our Governor, and to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate representing the families in our District, as well as our state representatives. ADOPTED by the Board of Education of the Livonia Public Schools School District, Wayne County, Michigan, at their regular meeting thereof, held this fifteenth day of June, 2020.
Cole, Newton & Duran CPAs announces
Christopher Boloven new managing partner

Driving over to the Cole, Newton, Durand offices, Stark and Schoolcraft, I kept thinking that I had no idea what to expect. I knew of Chris Boloven. People had a lot of positive comments when asked but let's face it. Interview Chris? It had been months since I left the house for an actual face to face discussion of anything other than "what's it like to stay-at-home?"

I met Bryan Besco, Chief Marketing Officer, at the door. You had to be buzzed in. I was to learn that Bryan was the Pandemic Czar, and he had the building spotless. Clean yes, but he took the fight against COVID-19 up a notch and it had no chance against this Czar. Every desk had to be wiped twice a day, social distancing was in effect and masks were mandatory. Oh, and the building under went 60 hours of deep cleaning and sanitizing before reopening for employees.

As Bryan was discussing this Chris was proud to announce that CND had implemented steps before the Governor. "We bought ZOOM and Go-to-meeting. We discussed our plans with our clients and we started working remotely."

Chris explains that CND takes the health and safety of their employees seriously. "We are all living
through the spread of COVID-19 and the need for certain employees to continue in-person
work. With that said, CND is happy to announce that we have re-opened our doors to
employees only."

I then learned that Chris is a techie and that CND was making the move to technological advances, but "that nothing replaces face to face and we are looking forward to returning to normal."
All of this and I still was not into the reason for meeting with the new Managing Partner of Michigan's 20th largest CPA firms with 50 employees who was taking the position previously held by Art Cole. Then it started to hit me. Managing Partner of a company that had as its foundation the principles of Cole; ethics, quality of work product, caring for each other, financial stability.

Chris acknowledges that there is a strong foundation and he is certainly not going to "rock the boat."

So what does he want to do with a company that defines community involvement and sets the benchmark for professional service companies? When asked that question he is quick with an answer, as if he was 31 and in the words of Art Cole, with the soul of someone 60.

Really?

Chris is determined to make an investment in new hires while educating and pushing employees to the next level of service.

Did I mention that Chris plays hockey in an over 30 years league, another way that he is following in the footsteps or skates of Art Cole who also was an avid hockey fan and player.

But the similarities don't stop there. Art has been in Livonia for 63 years in the same house in Rosedale Gardens. Chris is a 31 year resident of Livonia, Cass Elementary, Holmes Middle and Stevenson High School.

With Degrees from Wayne State and University of Detroit, paying his dues in a Livonia law firm and then one in West Bloomfield, he then wanted to achieve his dream, being out on his own. That is when fate happened and he met up with a long time family friend Art Cole. See, Cole was in the expansion move, purchasing two other CPA firms and was now ready to open up an in-house law department.

The rest is history. Conversations with his wife Vickie, dinner with Art and Sue and the die was cast and in 2016 Chris was on board with CND Law.   He has also been the firm’s individual tax practice leader since 2017.
Chris specializes in tax planning, succession planning, tax controversy, corporate, business and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, probate and estate planning law, including all forms of estate administration and litigation, and elder law.

As Managing Partner Chris oversees the direction of the firm for current and long-term profitability, while managing risk to ensure consistency with firm strategy • Leads the development of leadership and management platforms for the firm’s professionals • Oversees the firm’s recruiting and retention efforts to acquire the highest caliber staff and improve employee job satisfaction and performance • Provides leadership and strategic direction for the firm including client service, staff retention and recruiting, and profitability.

Oh and did I mention that this type A leader is also on the Livonia Zoning Board of Appeals. "It is important that our partners and company as a whole participates in the community. You will find our employees on the Seedlings and Angela Hospice Boards, the Rotary, at spaghetti dinners. We are and will be involved. If I leave any legacy, and I want to build one, it will be that I love this community. I love Livonia.

"Start at Six Mile and Newburgh at my parents home and go to Six and Hubbard. In between you will find 3 members of our family, All raised and all living in Livonia. It's a great hometown."

From Cass to Managing Partner in 25 years. The Partners of Cole, Newton and Duran have someone whose eye is on the mission, a mission that includes 4,000 clients. Chris is skating in on goal and he is about to put another one in the net.

So I said good bye to a refreshing interview, picked up the two bottles of iced green tea which was my request for the interview, and headed out, satisfied that my first interview in 3 months was a good one.

Chris Boloven is a keeper. For CND. For Livonia. For sure.
August 4
Friday Musings has endorsed a yes vote on the following Wayne County propositions

Proposition O
Wayne County Operating Millage Renewal
Prosition P
Wayne County Parks Millage Renewal


Donald J. Trump (I) (R)
Joe Biden (D)


United States Senate
Gary Peters (D-I)

Bob Carr (R)

John James (R)

United States House of Representatives
Haley Stevens (D-I)
Endorsed by:
Michigan Education Association

Frank Acosta (R)

Kerry Bentivolio (R)


Whitney Williams (R)
Endorsed by:

Eric Esshaki (R)

Michigan House of Representatives

Laurie Pohutsky (D-I)
Endorsed by:
Sierra Club
Clean Water Action
SEIU
Emily's List
UniteHere! Local 24
Iron Workers Local Union No. 25 
 Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan
Michigan Council of Carpenters & Millwrights
Congresswoman Haley Stevens
Michigan Teamsters Joint Council 43
Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union
Michigan Nurses Association

Endorsed by:
Former State Senator Patrick Colbeck
Former State Representative Jerry Vorva
Former State Representative Kurt Heise
Former State Representative Jeff Noble
George Dimopoulos
Lynn Mills
Canton Township Supervisor Pat Williams
Roger Little, owner of Shooters Service
Former State Senator Mike Kowall

Martha Ptashnik (R)
Endorsed by:
City Council President Kathleen McIntyre
Former State Representative John Walsh
Former City Councilman Brian Meakin
Former City Councilman Jim McCann
Former State Representative John Pastor
Former State Senator Mike Kowall
Wayne County Commissioner Terry Marecki
Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP)
Michigan Freedom Network
Small Biz PAC


Wayne County Commissioner
Terry Marecki (R-I)

Nancy Darga (D)
Endorsed by
Former County Commissioner Lyn Bankes
AFSCME Council 25

Schoolcraft College Trustee
Brian Broderick (I)
Joan Gebhardt (I)
Terry Gilligan (I)

Livonia Board of Education
FridayMusings endorses the following 4:
Dan Centers (I)
Karen Bradford (I)
Tammy Bonifield (I)
Crystal Frank (I)

Clarenceville Board of Education
Matt Boettcher (I)
Brenda Uren (I)
Shari Krazel (I) 
Jeffrey Bunker (I)
July in Livonia
July 6- Aug 21

Normalcy is back and Camp Swoosh is ready.

For more information go to the Parks and Recreation website at  https://livonia.gov/1451/Camp-Swoosh .
Dan MacIver offers up another slice
of Livonia history.
Summer is officially here in Livonia.
Clements Circle Splash Pad opens Monday


Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan says that she bets her "job is cooler than your job! This was my first meeting of the day with the splash pad test crew.

"They joined me to make sure the Clements Circle Splash Pad will be resident-ready for Monday’s grand opening!"
Small Business Grants available June 29
Wayne County announces $50 Million in back to work business grants Grant applications open June 29!

Be prepared and have tax documents ready when the applications open.

Summer Music ready for you on July 14


Bring your family out for some musical entertainment by Beverly The Music Lady. Check out her website for more information about this engaging performance: https://beverlythemusiclady.com/

When? Tuesday, July 14 at 6:00 -- 7:30
Where? Livonia Parks and Recreation
15100 Hubbard St.
Parks and Recreation Drive-in Movie

Join your neighbors for a free DRIVE-IN movie! Pre-Registration is required as they have limited spots available. https://secure.rec1.com/MI/livonia-mi/catalog?filter=c2VhcmNoPTExNTc4NzU=
Partnerships for Progress Listening Tour
Western Wayne County NAACP along with Western Wayne County Leaders have announced a  Partnerships for Progress Listening Tour.  

Livonia Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan  says that "In announcing the Listening Tour it is hoped to bring open conversation and active listening in light of ongoing protests and the horrific killing of George Floyd."

Westland Mayor Bill Wild  hosted the kick off event and Livonia will host the first listening session on June 24 at 6:00 pm at Clarenceville High School Auditorium.   Wayne County Commissioner Terry Marecki  along with western Wayne County community leaders attended the kick off announcement.