Ludington City Council Meeting May 19, 2014: A Diet of Corruption

[XLFD]

The meeting of May 19, 2014 was scheduled to be held at 1:00 PM in front of third graders from Foster School.  Last Thursday, the clerk did all the proper routines for changing it from that time to the usual 6:30 PM.  I am not clear on the reason why the kids were not allowed to be charmed by the new teacher/cop/mayor, Ryan Cox, but maybe some day we'll find out.

 

There was not a lot of importance on the agenda; Steve Begnoche led off his COLDNews article on the meeting with the non-agenda statement by the City Manager John Shay about the possibility of a road diet for the downtown.  The idea of restricting the main avenue downtown just to slow down traffic going through the downtown seems counterintuitive in many ways to common sense, and it will be panned if it is tried just because it goes against the usual warrants for how you build the roads.  MDOT has at least expressed that it should not be tried until after the summer season.

 

Another shocker off the agenda was the announcement that Chad Skiba was back on the Ludington Police Department.  It has been widely speculated on why he moved on to other pastures after he was featured as the first responding officer in the Baby Kate affair, but apparently he is back to being on good terms with Chief Barnett, at least that's what was staged on Monday night.

 

Gary Ferguson gave a talk on beginning a Youth Sailing School to operate primarily on PM Lake for children.  Another 5K run sponsored by the local health department was okayed and signs for the AAUW Antique Show to be placed in the right-of-way were okayed, but not with a no vote by Kaye Holman who is always against signs in the right of way, as long as it's not her campaign signs.

 

Committees had a variety of mundane tasks, the most interesting being the first reading for the adjustment of waterfront zoning to allow for 7.5 ft. side setbacks for buildings rather than the existing 10 ft.  The smaller side setback is more in line with the rest of Ludington zoning, however, the move was initiated by Bob Neal Sr., who plans on building residential units on the block across from the marina, between the fire department and PM Steamers where two properties currently stand. 

 

While there could be good reason for saying that once again Bob Neal is getting preferential treatment, there is nothing to suggest that this two block zoning area should have larger side setbacks than other residential areas.  Less restrictive zoning is usually a victory for the common people, and Mr. Neal looks to modestly develop the area into something other than his usual condominiums. 

 

But the part of the meeting which had the most meat, even though the meat was not sampled at all by the city officials, was a five minute public comment which alleged quite a bit about the lack of following the law by the city on many levels.  Does this make a dent into the COLDNews coverage?  Nope, but then why should we expect otherwise.  The comment starting at the 2:35 minute mark, makes several points about the current lawlessness of the City (printed in red) which is briefly explained after the transcript of that comment:

 

 

May 19, 2014 Ludington City Council from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

 

"I have to admit some disappointment that the matinee session of the city council originally planned for 1:00 today was cancelled, because I had five minutes prepared for the Foster student’s civic enrichment on principles not taught often enough in schools.  I don't know why it was pushed back and the children were left behind, but I hope the two educators that have been elected to public office, one retired, can continue that tradition of inviting the youngsters in future years to foster the spirit of civil engagement in our youth. 

 

Speaking of two positions, I feel it necessary to once again bring up the topic of the mayor's two incompatible offices.  (1st pic)  Here I have a picture of Mayor Cox taking the oath of office for mayor which he did just a few months ago.  (2nd pic) Here I have his oath of office that he swore back in 2011 in regard to his position of a Ludington Police Department Reserve Officer [read].

Now, I am glad that Mayor Cox has sworn an oath of office for both of his positions with the City of Ludington, that's two more than the City Manager and the City Attorney have done for their positions which require it by law.  But it does indicate that not only does a reserve officer on the Ludington Police department happen to be an employee of the City, but also an office holder in contrast to what the City Attorney offered in his opinion on the issue.  That is, if we consider the very office of Ludington Police Reserve Officer as legitimate in the first place, since the position is not defined by the city charter or by the city code. 

This brings us back to the incompatible public offices issue and the legitimacy of the reserve officers, which the mayor and this city council have to deal with at some point.  Ryan Cox is the mayor of Ludington and a reserve police officer of Ludington at the same time, and is compelled by two oaths to discharge the duties of both offices according to the best of his ability.  He cannot do that in all circumstances, such as the obvious case as when any aspect of martial law is declared.  

But perhaps the conflicts involved were no better illustrated when his boss, Chief Barnett, launched into a personal attack against me for over four minutes at the end of a recent meeting.  Mayor Cox had a duty to direct the chief's focus to the chair and to matters of public policy by dint of his being the parliamentarian of these meetings, which he didn't do; Reserve Sergeant Cox had a duty to listen to and respect Chief Barnett's words by dint of his subordination to the chief.  He chose that duty over his mayoral duties.  The incompatible public offices act does not allow a mayor or councilor to serve on the police force that they may have to vote on and help make administrative budget decisions about.  Police, unlike fire personnel are not specifically excluded by that act.

 

I must also bring up the issue about our supposed contract with the Land Information Access Agency (LIAA), which our City Manager and City Clerk signed back on December 3rd.  Our Ludington City Charter Section 13.1 says:  "The power to authorize the making of purchases, contracts, and leases on behalf of the City is vested in the Council and shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of the laws of the State."   This follows appropriate sections of state law.  The only way around this is for a contract to be made immediately because of an exigent emergency, and then only if the contract is below a certain dollar figure.

For City Manager Shay and City Clerk Luskin to sign this contract they must have had authorization to do so by the Ludington City Council, authorization which can only be bestowed by the council in an open meeting.  Failing that, the contract is invalid as they have not the 'legal capacity' to sign for the City without such authorization.  This council has granted this authority often in the past for such trivial things as rug cleaning, copy machine maintenance, internet providers, etc. 

The three other public entities involved all took the time to vote ahead the authority to go into these contracts with LIAA by their governing board at an open meeting.  The City of Ludington did not and so the $8000 payment agreed to by the manager and clerk was clearly an illegal and improper use of the taxpayer's money to enter into this contract without any exigent emergency.  It was a breach of duty by both officers...." [Here, Sergeant Mayor Cox stated my five minutes were up. 

 

Here are bases behind the laws the City is violating:

1)  Oath of Office:  MCL 15.151 and Article XI sec. I

2)  Allowing the reserve police force to exist without any legislative authority:  Ludington Charter and Code

3)  Incompatible Public Offices Act:  Act 566 of 1978 

4)  Entering into Contracts without council approval:  Lud Charter sec. 13.1

5)  breach of duty for using public money unlawfully MCL 15.342 (3)

 

The problems can be corrected easily by the following:

1)  Have the City Manager and City Attorney take an oath of office, or surrender that office

2)  Have the council vote on rules, qualifications, regulations, etc. for the office of "reserve police officer"

3)  Have Sergeant Mayor Cox resign from one of his offices. 

4)  Have the City Council authorize the City Clerk and Manager to enter into a valid contract with LIAA

5)  Have the City Council authorize the use of $8000 to enter into the contract with LIAA.

 

The only thing preventing these problems from being corrected is the arrogance of the Ludington public officials preventing them from doing the necessary actions to abide by the law and the process.  By ignoring these corrections, the whole cadre of city officials look complicit in wrongdoing. 

[Willy]

You are right on the money about the Mayor's lack of control at the CIty Council meeting. He had better learn his job and do it properly because every time this happens he loses respect and control of the Council. He's acting like a little boy whose parents let him think he's in charge. To let Barnett purge his poison on a private citizen shows that Cox is either being controlled or is just not up to the job. Grow a pair Cox and do your job. Being in charge of Kangaroo Court doesn't sit well on a job resume. That was a totally disgusting behavior by Barnett and the Mayor. You are absolutely correct on all 5 violations the City and Council has committed. What a bunch of clowns.

[XLFD]

It's reprehensible, and I will keep regularly bringing the matters up just to show what an incompetently ran farce this city council has become.  It's easy to see how easy they could get back on track with a couple of quickly drafted resolutions and for the middle triumvirate (Shay, Cox, and Wilson) doing the right thing to comply with the law.   

Like most problems this city is facing, our leaders ignore them, while devising multi-million dollar changes to the waterfront, $1.5 million to unnecessary water tower painting, $1 million for mutilating the aesthetic appeal of the north side of the city marina for a mostly unused transient dock, wasting time and resources exploring an unwanted historic district, etc.