Presentation by L. Brooks Patterson on May 24, 2006 (Royal Oak Public Library)
Mr Patterson spoke on these main topics (his hottest items):
-The petition drive to repeal the single business tax (a Eurostyle value-added tax and counterproductive to business in Michigan). We are the only job-loss state in the US, and are in a prolonged recession. The petition will end the tax in Dec ’07, instead of the scheduled date of Dec ’09. The legislature has to find new ways to make up the tax loss for the state. We members have taken petition sheets to find signatures to support the effort.
- County Readiness for a potential avian flu epidemic. We are ahead of the curve in terms of studying the potential pandemic, and have created a flyer with basic readiness facts. To access the flyer, go to http://www.oakgov.com/. Mr. Patterson has been trying to get ABC-TV to add a disclaimer to its May 9th movie on a pandemic, so as not scare everyone. All we need to do, is work on readiness.
- Economic Development in Oakland County. He and his workers have been searching for the next 10 business sectors, beyond automotive, for our county: they are Advanced Electronics, Materials, Power, Biotechnology, Information Technology, Homeland Security, Medical Dev’t, Robotics, Financial Services, Alternative Energy. Twenty nine companies have already come here, and about two foreign companies are coming every month.
-Wireless System for Oakland County. Mr. Patterson described his efforts to bring wireless to our county. He has started with a 4 x 4 mile square including part of downtown RO, as a test case. The goal is to include 900 square miles (Oakland County) in a wireless system. One band width out of five bandwidths will be free for general use, PC classes at OCC, free PC’s, etc. Four bandwidths would be for pay (businesses, cities, etc.) linking to 6 Billion in potential advertising.
- Mr Patterson took questions from the audience.
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