MIRROR ENDORSES 'YES' VOTES IN FERNDALE ELECTION

MEDICAL MARIJUANA

We think that if someone with a life-threatening illness gets some
relief from marijuana and his or her doctor agrees that it's an
appropriate treatment, then that person should be allowed to use marijuana.

Based on that principle, the Mirror endorses a "yes" vote for
proposal D to change Ferndale's city ordinance to allow a person to
have and use medical marijuana "under the direction, prescription,
supervision or guidance of a physician or other medical practitioner
licensed under state law" as stated in the ballot question.

However, a "yes" vote doesn't mean that a person can legally use this
drug for medical purposes under Michigan law. Voting whether to
change the ordinance then is simply a matter of your personal
beliefs. A "yes" vote or a "no" vote does not affect the daily lives
of people who proponents of this proposal feel need this drug most.
If adopted by voters, the ordinance will have no real impact. Still,
it's an opportunity to weigh in on this issue, and it deserves a
vote. For us, the right vote is "yes."

COUNCIL RAISE

The mayor and city council asked for a raise on this year's ballot
and the Mirror thinks they deserve it.

These elected officials make the same amount of money their
forefathers made when the city charter was adopted in 1927. The mayor
makes $750 a year and council members make $500 a year or $10 a
meeting. When that rate of pay was established, it was considered to
be a lot -- today, it's very little. These elected officials aren't
asking for a living wage, they just want enough cash to cover the
expenses of their jobs, like gas, parking, cell phone bills, etc.

If voters say "yes" to proposals A and B, the mayor's yearly wage
would increase to $8,142.24 per year and the council member's yearly
wage would increase to $5,428.16. The pay rates would be increased in
each odd number year to reflect the rate of inflation.

This still isn't asking for a lot, since council members in Detroit
make approximately $82,930 a year. In Warren, they make $27,500 a
year. And in Troy, they make $6,300 a year.

POLICE AND FIRE BOARD

Streamlining government is a good thing, so the Mirror endorses a
"yes" vote for Proposal C to eliminate the Police and Fire Board.

The function of the Police and Fire Board, when it was incepted at
the city's birth in 1927, was to oversee the hiring of police and
fire department employees and to be resident watch dogs over the
policies those departments establish.

Today, the city has the civil service board, which oversees the
hiring of both the departments. Also, the police chief and fire chief
are under the direction of the city council, so any policy changes
that are made would have to be approved by that body.