Novi City Council Candidates Talk Taxes, Crime, Other Issues on Patch

Novi's mayoral seat and three city council seats are up for re-election Nov. 5. 

In a previous article on Patch, Mayor Bob Gatt and mayoral candidate Joseph Peter Samona reached out to voters about what they thought were the issues. Gatt said in a comment that he kept his promise to make Novi a better and safer community since his election in 2011. 


"I have lowered your taxes. I have maintained city service levels – and added more public safety resources," he wrote.

Samona questioned what Gatt has done directly to reduce taxes, of which some he said are only lower because of tax assessments. He also said in a comment that millage decreases are offset by increasing property values and are not a concrete way to lower taxes. Andrew I. Mutch, who has served on Novi's city council since 2009 and is seeking re-election this fall, chimed in to the discussion. 

"Mr. Samona, you are correct, property values have been increasing in the city. At the same time, the city millage rate is at its lowest rate in 15 years," he wrote in a comment. 

Samona also questioned what the mayor has done to reduce crime. He also mentioned in his comments the legal battle between the Novi police department and a former officer, who said he was removed from the department for failing to meet a ticket quota. 

"How about working with the police to PATROL the streets. Much more serious activities going on here in Novi that constitute the need for change!" he wrote.

He went on in his comments to express his confidence in his election as mayor in the fall. Mayor Pro Tem David Staudt asked in a comment how Samona planned to reduce taxes and crime. Patch reader by the handle Novi Mom had a similar sentiment.

"I would like to know how you plan to lower taxes and reduce the crime in Novi. Please share. November isn't that far away, I need time to contemplate your plan," she wrote.

Read the full comments on the previous Patch article. 

Those running for the mayoral seat in November are Gatt, Samona and Jason George Wellington Dorsch.  Those running for the three open city council seats are Justin Fischer — on city council since 2009, Mutch, Alexander M. Fera, Gwen Markham, Jonathan Montville and Novi school board president Dennis O'Connor. 

What questions do you want Novi mayoral and city council candidates to address before the November elections? Tell us in the comments.