Posted on Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 8:35 a.m.
Cost of Rick Snyder's decision to remain in his Ann Arbor-area home unclear
By Cindy Heflin
Rick Snyder
Snyder said after the election that he would not move to the governor's official residence in Lansing in order to avoid disrupting his ninth-grade daughter's schooling.
Michigan State Police will have to provide security for Snyder and his family, but no decision has been made about what other state staff may be installed at Snyder's 10,700-square-foot home in Superior Township, The Free Press reported. Snyder told the newspaper he would factor in the additional costs in deciding whether to accept the $177,000 annual salary that comes with the governor's job.
Comments
MI-expatriate
Sat, Nov 20, 2010 : 3:56 a.m.
@PhillyCheeseSteak,- do you know about Pat's? :) Point well made - the state is easier to run than AA public schools?! I didn't vote for Snyder but all my eggs are in his basket now. I wonder why he said he wouldn't move in. Is there a law about having two residences? My spouse spent nearly a year living in a rental room in Kalamazoo while our job odyssey spiralled - who cares? We kept our child in her school and reunited on weekends. Each of us did jaunts to the other location if there was need to - it was fine. In Michigan these days you do the sensible thing, like perhaps consider that you're going to be a one term governor - just saying...
jns131
Fri, Nov 19, 2010 : 11:01 a.m.
Doesn't he have children inside the Ann Arbor school system? Isn't Lansing not a school you would send your children too? Ann Arbor has one of the best schools around. Hate to say it, but he is doing it to keep his children better educated. No mystery there. Then after they graduate he can move to Lansing. Just a thought.
spm
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 4:59 p.m.
I don't see the problem with him living in Superior Township and commuting to Lansing. I have more than one co-worker that commutes from the Lansing area to Ann Arbor. He'll probably get a lot of work done while someone else drives during the commutes. So far, for being a Republican, he's made a good impression on me. I hope he keeps it up and doesn't disappoint me since I "crossed over" and voted for him.
amazonwarrior
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 3:02 p.m.
What's to say...I certainly didn't vote for him. He should not accept the $177,000 salary that goes with the position....it will cost that and more to drive him back and forth to Lansing...all because he doesn't want to relocate his daughter. Why can't he stay in Lansing during the week and come home on the weekends??? I know a number of people who have been forced to do that for many years. I hope all you folks who voted for him are happy.
C6
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 1:19 p.m.
Well I've posted on here multiple times and I'm a Democrat for the most part, so I suppose I'm one of the "loudmouthed" individuals bmasterb has been lamenting haven't posted on this yet. Here it is... First of all, I had never paid enough attention to our state's governor to realize that the position came with a residence in Lansing. I knew about the "cottage" on the island, but I never really had thought about where the governor lived while trying to run the state durning most of the year. I guess I thought Jennifer was commuting from Plymouth. Or maybe living in the basement of the capital building. It may well be that Governor Snyder will end up spending some nights at the Lansing house, and I don't see that as a problem. It's there, and at least to a limited degree, it's going to be staffed regardless. Other than his State Police guard detail, I doubt there will be any state employee staff additions at his house here. And those guards will be with him regardless of where he's spending the night, so I doubt there's much if any additional expense to the taxpayers. I also doubt Governor Rick will grow tired of the drive between Ann Arbor and Lansing, particularly since I'm sure it's a State Police officer who will be doing the driving. It really isn't such a bad drive - I used to that trip and back twice a night when I was a test driver. For the governor there's little reason the drive can't be productive "work" time each day. Perhaps the governor will even notice the roughness and congestion of the roads, and some good for the rest of us in the form of construction and repair will come from his commute. It wouldn't surprise me if the county road commissions keep that route cleared of slush and snow extra well during the winter months too. Those would be expenses to the taxpayers that I'd count as money well spent. So what's to complain about?
zeeba
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 12:02 p.m.
I suspect he'll end up spending a lot of nights in Lansing rather than devoting 2.5-3 hours a day commuting. And what's going to happen when traffic backs up? Are the state police going to put on their flashers and zoom him up the shoulder? That's going to boost his popularity. Or is he planning to have the state buy him a helicopter? A governor simply can't commute between A2 and Lansing without flying. Once he figures that out, you'll see him pretty much living at the governor's residence during the week.
PhillyCheeseSteak
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 11:38 a.m.
The article states that the governor of Michigan's salary is $177,000. Did you know that the Ann Arbor Public Schools Board of Education recently ok'd the salary for the next superintendent of schools? $245,000!
Mumbambu, Esq.
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 11:22 a.m.
I'm probably the only one who will post this, and I know Rick doesn't NEED it but 177k doesn't seem like a very competitive salary for someone we're hoping will lead our state to a brighter future. Will he get per diem's and mileage for his drives to Lansing?;)
Trepang674
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 11:08 a.m.
After reading the comments from the atty who spent money refurbing the Lansing residence...sounds sour grapes after he spent a lot of his money on Granholm...really, you have a choice to live in Ann Arbor or Lansing. That decision isn't hard to make. I work at a company that is located in Europe and we are on Skype and Web meeting daily. I'm pretty sure Rick has the IT part of this figured out.
djm12652
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 11 a.m.
@bmasterb...still looking for jbs? LOL
b master b
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 10:53 a.m.
where are all the loudmouthed aa.com democrats complaining about this?
djm12652
Thu, Nov 18, 2010 : 10:49 a.m.
Now that Gov elect Snyder has a job again, he maybe can think about getting one of them new-fangled electionic alarm systems...cuz everybody knows he taint clever enough to already have one.... Seriously people, do you think for one minute his home isn't secure already? Now it's just the logistics of staff that every Governor has been provided with. I'm glad he is taking on the task of re-inventing Michigan, but even moreso, I'm glad his parenting skills are still well intact.