Dennis Hennen, Berkley City Council

I was able to attend the Save MI City event this morning.

Since 2002, the state has siphoned 5.6 million dollars from Berkley. Spending at the state level has gone up while cities must cut services to keep budgets balanced.

I'm happy to report the dumpster I posted about on Tuesday is now gone!

I was out meeting residents this weekend and saw a dumpster in the road. I know this is illegal, and several residents told me it has been there for more than a year, so I took a picture and reported it to our code enforcer. Imagine my surprise to find that city staff decided 16 years ago that they’d just let builders break this law when it became inconvenient for them.

In any relationship, communication is key. The same holds true for the relationship between a city’s officials and its residents.

Berkley is a densely packed community with very close lots. That is one reason why it's important that the city does a better job enforcing and prioritizing safe building practices.

I attended the tree board meeting tonight where they are discussing potential changes to our tree ordinance.

I asked folks on Facebook to let me know their thoughts on fireworks in Berkley. 288 people responded and there were a few surprises.

It's that time of year again where the citizens of Berkley will see a spectacular light show every night from now until July 5th.

Or, depending on your perspective, be subjected to a non-stop barrage of noise and have the real risk of their home burning down.

Soon, five lucky people will be able to keep chickens in Berkley under a new pilot program.

Mike McConnell with the Daily Tribune did an email interview with me last week for the article that was published on-line Friday and in print Sunday. Of course reporters ask more questions than they can use and the answers are often more nuanced than they have room to print. I'm posting the full interview here.