Plymouth Twp. Trustee Mike Kelly Calls Taxpayers Malcontents

Plymouth Township Trustee Mike Kelly voted to eliminate public comments from the official minutes of a Plymouth Township Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday night. He voted along with the foursome of Richard Reaume, Ron Edwards, Nancy Conzelman, and Kay Arnold. It was a shameful vote, made out of extreme arrogance, and it was a slap in the face of every single resident in Plymouth Township.

Mr. Kelly wasn't done though. Not by a long shot. He doubled down on his arrogance in the days after a raucous meeting, where revelations that the township taxpayers are paying for Nancy Conzelman's Bar Association yearly fees, and where she apparently “mistakenly” used her Plymouth Township credit card to make a $422 dollar purchase at high end store, Von Maur.

The audience was rightfully indignant about paying for her membership fees,which are over $300 year, and they made their feelings known.

It seems that Mr. Kelly was insulted by the behavior of the taxpayers at the meeting. Apparently we are supposed to sit down, and shut up. Apparently he'd rather we keep our comments to ourselves as well. By the tone of an email he wrote, and that I have a copy of, he'd probably rather taxpayers not show up to his meetings at all.

Here is what happened. The day after the meeting, a taxpayer sent an email to members of the board, and this taxpayer was not happy with Ron Edwards having a complete meltdown, and making personal attacks against a fellow board member. This taxpayer was not happy about the vote to eliminate public comments from the minutes. This taxpayer was not happy with the two million dollar spending spree on pet projects without any input from the taxpayers.

Mr. Kelly replied, and he was rather unkind in his comments to this taxpayer. Here is what Mr. Kelly thinks of the Plymouth Township taxpayers that were at his precious meeting,:

“The behavior of yourself and others in the crowd are rude and unacceptable, with clapping, outbursts and personal attacks during public comments”

Apparently Mr. Kelly would rather we all just show up, pat him on the back, and sing Kumbaya.

More: “It appears you will never be happy with anything.” He ended by saying, “Please remove me from your e-mail list as it is always the same rhetoric and bizarre accusations.”

Well I have a few things to say to Mr. Kelly, but first I must describe Mr. Kelly to folks who do not attend these fiascoes they call meetings. Mr. Kelly is not a Trustee. Sure, he was elected, and sure, he has the title, but a Trustee he is not. He votes, but that's about it. He has never once in my years of covering this board had an original thought. Not once. I don't think I have heard him utter more than two or three sentences in the entire time I have been covering this board. This is the sole contribution to a meeting from Mr. Kelly. Yes/No

Yes or No. That is it. He either votes yes, or no. He never says anything else. He never asks questions. He never has an opinion whatsoever. Heck, I don't even have a picture of him on file for this story, because he never participates in the darn meetings. It's like he doesn't even exist. He is nothing more than a bump on this rotten log that is the Board of Trustees. That is why I was so stunned at his email outburst at a taxpayer.

Anyway, Mr. Kelly, who is obviously a lot more courageous behind the computer screen, than he is in public, wasn't done. He doubled down on his previous comments in a reply to another email, and this is what he thinks of us taxpayers, and I quote: “You are one of a group of malcontents/conspiracy groupies.”

So that's it folks. If you are disgusted by the disrespectful way this board treats the taxpayers, if you are against the two million dollars of spending on pet projects, if you are angry that the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees will not participate in the PARC project, you are a malcontent.

You are a malcontent, and a conspiracy groupie. That is what Trustee Mike Kelly thinks of you. He said so himself...