State and local officials are combing through thousands of “questionable” mortgage documents to determine the authenticity of what some are suggesting may be forged signatures on Assignment of Mortgage paperwork. Last week, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds Bill Bullard Jr. announced that they are working with other local and federal authorities after possibly forged Assignment of Mortgage documents were filed with the Michigan Register of Deeds office during the [...]

A state lawmaker has again proposed allowing people who own non-homestead residences to cast ballots in millage elections in the community or school district for which those ballot questions are proposed. Staff in state Rep. Richard LeBlanc’s (D-Westland) office said the legislation is a reintroduction of bills that have come up in the past and that they are “basically recognizing the fact that not residing there as permanent residents, that individual that owns property should [...]

Carolyn Belaen, Robert Hoffman, and Brian Howe will face off in a Tuesday, May 3 special Republican primary election scheduled to fill former 2nd District Commissioner Bill Bullard, Jr.’s county board seat. Bullard’s seat was vacated when he was appointed to serve as the county’s clerk/register of deeds following Ruth Johnson’s election as Michigan secretary of state in November 2010. The winner of the May 3 GOP primary race will face Democrat Mark Venie in [...]

In a move expected to save hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners has approved the sale of the West Oakland Office Building located at 1010 E. West Maple Road in Walled Lake to McDonald’s Corporation in a 15-10 party-line vote. The 17,000-square-foot, single-story building, for which McDonald’s Corporation is paying $675,000, is situated on 1.64 acres of land and has been owned by Oakland County since 1980. The county expects [...]

The five members of the Oakland County Reapportionment Commission, which is tasked with redrawing the county Board of Commissioners district lines based on 2010 U.S. Census data, have released their proposed individual maps of new district lines. All five members of the panel — Oakland County Democratic Party Chairman Frank Houston; Treasurer Andy Meisner, a Democrat; Democratic County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper; Clerk/Register of Deeds Bill Bullard, Jr., a Republican; and Oakland County Republican Party Chairman [...]

Legislation recently introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives would allow school districts and private schools to use an organization other than the Michigan State Police to inspect their bus fleets, as well as eliminate the requirement that each school bus be inspected annually by the state’s law enforcement agency. House Bills (HBs) 4549 and 4550, introduced by state Rep. Richard LeBlanc (D-Westland) and referred to the House Education Committee, would add language to the [...]

A prominent Republican has called for allowing Michigan voters to cast absentee ballots without providing a reason, which is currently stipulated by state law. That’s just one of a slew of proposals Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, in her first State of the Secretary of State Address on Tuesday, April 19, highlighted as goals for her time as the state’s top elections official. Other key proposals the former Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds’ speech included [...]

Due the overhaul of Michigan’s Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program that took effect March 30, a crop of legislators is trying to tweak certain provisions of that restructuring to make it more palatable. Under the new law, teenage drivers with a Level 2 license must comply with new driving restrictions including a cap on night driving hours and limits on the number of passengers that can be transported in a vehicle. The law addresses two [...]

With about six weeks still to go in the self-imposed timeline set by Republicans in Lansing to pass a state budget, top lawmakers and Gov. Rick Snyder unveiled a compromise revenue plan that would scale back the governor’s proposed tax on pensions and eliminate the Michigan Business Tax, which GOP leadership wants replaced with a 6-percent corporate income tax. The deal, announced on Tuesday, April 12 by Snyder, Lieutenant Gov. Brian Calley, House Speaker Jason [...]

Oakland County Circuit Court Judge James Alexander has denied a motion to recuse himself from the case involving former high-ranking Oakland County Democratic Party officials now facing charges for their alleged involvement in a political scheme this past year. Michael Dezsi, an attorney for former Democratic Party Political Director Jason Bauer, said Alexander’s past involvement in Republican politics casts a doubt on his ability to remain impartial throughout the legal proceedings. “The (county) prosecutor’s office [...]