Ludington City Council November 25, 2019: Family Forum

[XLFD]

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

A common thread at the 11-25-2019 Ludington City Council meeting seemed to be impacts on families.  Chief Barnett started with the usual blessings in his invocation including a prayer for the family of seriously wounded Water Plant Supervisor Kurt Malzahn who ended up in the bottom of a valve pit at the Brye Road water tank with head and leg injuries early on Friday morning. 

Oddly enough, a fundraiser organized by city hall for his family now states that Malzahn was found on Friday night.  Our news agencies around here are basically useless when the authorities decide not to give them all the information; I'm presuming that it's because they're trying to duck liability.  If he was found at 8 in the morning, was he there all night?  If he was found at 8 in the evening, was it because his family wondered why he never showed up after work?  Was he there on his own initiative, or was he there on the clock?  This should be publicly known five days later when we're talking about a public servant critically injured on a job site.

The city council would only seat four out of seven councilors this night, which led to some voting issues as they had two items come up that needed more councilors.  Marie Quillan, led off the public comment period by explaining what impact the wrong policy on food trucks would do for hers, and other merchants with stores near the food trucks, particularly if food trucks were allowed to set up all of the time.   Then I rose for my comment.

November 25th, 2019 Ludington City Council meeting from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

You will notice three guys sitting behind me in the audience, those were representatives of the marina Fred Hackert, Wayne Brown, and Adam Lamb.  Across the aisle from them you will see city marina manager, Jim Christensen.  They would all talk later, but leave shortly after the vote the council took to lease Harbor View Marina.  I would speak of families and two agenda items at six minutes into the video:

                                 Some of our local private marinas, most are decades older than the two public marinas

XLFD:  "I was looking at the latest numbers from June 2019 in the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the private sector, for full time employees the fringe benefit/wage ratio is less than 43%, it's likely smaller in our little town. For employees at the City of Ludington, this fringe benefit rate averages nearly 73%. Effectively, if someone working for city hall is being paid $60,000 per year, they are getting nearly $20,000 more in fringe benefits alone than somebody making the same wages in the private sector.

Every year since 2011, the city council has unanimously opted out of the entitlement reform package that the state passed in order to encourage fiscally responsible behavior by local governments, never acknowledging or attempting to correct the city's insane fringe benefit rate that shatters anything that the private sector offers and even eclipses what other public bodies offer. The reasons are always the same fiction: the city council believes they can better decide compensation for their employees than the state can, it's the councils duty to manage city affairs to be responsive to taxpayers, yada, yada.

Either figure out some way to coerce employers in town to pay fringe benefit rates equal to the ungodly rate city hall pays out or consider reforming yourself for once, and become truly responsive to taxpayers who pay for those crazy benefit packages.

In the same vein, Harbor View Marina. In the memorandum recommending the council should approve the lease agreement provided, it acknowledges that an alternative would be for the state to operate Harbor View with a management team and notes that the state does "not wish to compete with a municipal facility."

I can think of a half dozen private marinas who have had the same sentiment over the last forty years. Now they will have the daunting task of competing with not one but two municipal marinas, created and maintained through millions of state and federal tax dollars, all while portraying themselves as enterprise funds. Just look at how that 'enterprise fund' went crying to the state for a couple of million dollars in free grant money for new docks. Look at how that enterprise fund got a quarter million for marina dredging, a half million for transient docks from state grants over the last decade, grants which are funded by taxes and boater registrations. Private marinas can't do that, they have to pay taxes from any profits they manage, taxes which help their competition prosper and make more facilities..."  

This was when my time ran out, and it was unfortunate because I still had this coming back at them which I probably would have tried to add had I known at that point that some weasel from the state DNR was there, sitting to Christensen's right.

"If they ever look for a helping hand from the state, all they get is the finger.  It’s time for the state and city to consider providing better essential services for all, not wastefully building and maintaining redundant recreational facilities for the rich."

If the City paid out only two million in wages, and they had benefits at the average level of private companies, you would realize a saving of $600,000 a year.  Where does that extra $600K come from?  Those local taxpayers trying to make ends meet with their families losing about $200 or more each year due to premium benefits the City has granted its workers to make them gentrified.  Private marina owners and their families are double hit because the state can throw in as much money as it wants on the city marina, and now on Harbor View Marina without any problems.

That is so basic, but I was followed by Marina Board President Fred Hackert, who noted that the marina was a win-win (for public entities); Adam Lamb followed, saying that the contract allows the city to get out with no penalty after one year (so that only the state taxpayers are suckered), and was a win-win situation, Wayne Brown pointed out what James Street looked like twenty years ago and what it looks like now and attributed that to the (public) marinas built in that area.  When you throw many millions of taxpayer dollars into building a new marina concentrated in that area, I would hope it would do something, but Wayne doesn't explain why the twenty year old city marina twenty years ago wasn't making James Street prosperous on its own.

Tom Tyron changed the subject, asking about something that would come up later about the raising of the water rates projected into the future, ending the public comment.  City Manager Mitch Foster took over and gave an interesting budget presentation beginning about 20 minutes in.  It was a very commendable freshman effort in presentation, and one should go attend his redubbed "Burgers and Budgets".  

With the various challenges that have come up along the waterfront due to high water issues adding $600,000 of unexpected spending to the budget, and with the lead-pipe replacement issues coming up, and all that debt coming down the pipe, it seems a bit premature to increase wages as much as envisioned in this budget roughly between 3-4%, which is twice the latest COLA.  That generous raise comes from your family's salary or fixed income, so that city employee's families can prosper.  The public hearing for the budget will be held on December 16 at that Monday's normal meeting.

The best news of the night came when the city council could not vote to exempt themselves from state reforms, due to there only being four councilors.  To exempt themselves, they need at least five votes.  They had the first readings of the city treasurer and clerk's salary, which are going up 3% and 7.5% respectively if agreed to.  I don't recall the city clerk getting any new duties or powers, so I can't explain those numbers other than the $15,000 wage study is cranking the clerk's numbers up, but your family should be able to bear that increase easily.

The city council then discussed the Harbor View lease agreement for awhile, and it is worth listening to in order to hear how tone deaf the council is about how this affects a significant segment of businesses in the Fourth Ward.  Fourth Ward Councilor Cheri Rozelle apparently isn't aware that the most prevalent business in her side of town are private marinas, those half dozen marinas I mentioned are all in her purview.  She nodded a lot when marina manager Christensen explained how much revenues the city will be gaining with the addition of Harbor View and all of the other limited sense he was making.

The bottom line:  the City will lose over $70,000 in property taxes from the former lessees of Harbor View, they will gain nothing other than another enterprise zone allying with the city marina that will in all likelihood kill off most of the private marinas who collectively have more of an economic impact than the City wants to consider.  

The whole discussion ignores the elephants in the bayou and it seems fairly lackadaisical in legal terms how this 20 year lease was agreed to with just a simple motion, when just a couple of meetings ago, a three year rug cleaning contract for city properties was approved by ordinance under the express reason that any contract entered into of three years of more needed to be adopted with an ordinance.  The city charter definitely has leasing land as an action requiring an ordinance (sec. 7.1(7)), so I will be pushing to nullify this vote and make the City do the right thing-- make it an ordinance.

Then came a look at future rate adjustments to the water bills (and bond issuance) to cover the necessary costs to cover the City replacing water pipes from the main to houses with lead in them (usually at goosenecks attached to the water main.  It was estimated that about half of Ludington properties will have to have their lines all replaced (any lead in the lines means the full thing has to be replaced).  Councilor Winczewski, who has said there weren't lead issues in the city, listened intently to Dawn Trombley of Utility Financial Services (UFS) and forgot all that.  Here are the raises and bond issues proposed:

The ready to serve charge (fixed charge) will go from $7.95 per quarter to $9.75-- just a change in the order.  This additional money is scheduled to go towards replacing lead pipes, and this proposal will be voted on as an ordinance at the next meeting.  A Source Water Intake Protection Program (SWIPP) was passed, it will hire a company for $7000 to study potential contaminations in the water supply.

A performance resolution was passed with MDOT, as it was in 2008 and 2013, which effectively allow the City the ability to close state thoroughfares for special events, detours, or constructions.  The council then passed a $7500 contract with UFS to do a wastewater analysis to figure out how much bonds need to issue and how much sewer rates will be adjusted to cover the additional issues they have faced recently.  It was required and paid for by a grant, and was passed.

They rezoned two properties discussed at the last meeting at the intersection of Washington and Ludington Avenues, and set a public hearing for Floracraft constructing a distribution warehouse seeking a partial tax exemption (Industrial Facility Tax) to be held at the next meeting on December 9th.

After some updates by the city manager, the council agreed to issue a request for proposals for city attorney services for Ludington, deadline of December 17, all local attorneys should look at p. 256.  It has been ten years since the last time the city competitively bid out this service, hopefully we can get a good firm cheap, or at the least the old firm cheaper. 

Public comment began with the same two characters, Marie Quillan and me.  She clarified that food trucks are already allowed in non-restricted areas (the downtown and parks), all that is needed is registration with the city clerk.  When I came up, I had to repair my prepared speech a little because I had made the assumption they would vote this night to keep their insane benefit rate levels, not thinking that too few councilors would show up.  This allowed me a little extra time to make my point regarding what they just did with the marina situation, so I could relax a little without having to worry about time, and it helped, since it was a fairly emotional issue with me:

XLFD:  (1:54:40)  "If I was a councilor...I could not sleep well tonight knowing that I voted for another municipal marina, crafted by the city and state secretly conferring to make an agreement filled with quid pro quos that work fully against free market ideals and their private competitors. It’d keep me up.
I would toss and turn knowing how much money the city, state, and federal government have put into making and maintaining the City Marina and Harbor View, and find that it's many millions more than either marina has taken in over their existence. It's not a business model the private marinas could live on, them and their families, who like the rest of us get to see their tax dollars used to create extravagant and excessive water playgrounds for the wealthy. All while thier kids drink water coming from lead pipes that have been all but ignored by city leaders over the last forty years, unlike the redundant city marina. It’d keep me up.  You guys, sleep well."

This comment set up the council moving into closed session in order to consider settlement options with an Open Meetings Act lawsuit that I am co-plaintiff of.  They couldn't effectively go into closed session under that act, so they will likely have to re-enact that at the next meeting, and the papers we signed afterwards on the way to settlement may have to wait for the next meeting to be properly finalized.  

Councilor Brandy Miller inquired as to how much money was used in legal fees for defense against this action by the City, and it was noted that it was at least $52,700 through early October (this isn't on the video).  Nobody reflected that it could have been zero, had they, as city councilors on city commissions, decided to obey their oath and follow the law rather than break it in several different ways.

[Willy]

Many thanks X for the work you do keeping the public informed on what exactly is taking place at City Hall. I would say your report is worth millions, that is if all the wasted money spent on the wish list projects by the City is added up. Not only money spent but also lost by displaced businesses like the private marinas. This report is like a recap of what is wrong with many local governments. Wasteful spending, under the table dealings, back room hand shakes, nepotism, graft, ignorance, incompetence, corruption, etc. But it's always nice to know that when the time arrives the lowly citizens who foot the bill for all this nonsense can relieve themselves at the City Marina's plush toilet rooms any time they want as long as they have a$100,000 boat parked in one of the now flooded slips.  Your last paragraph just says it all. God almighty, $52,700 in legal fees spent on an avoidable situation. The only word that comes to mind is insanity. I might also add unbelievable or even stupid. Foolish would probably fit. I guess I'd have to add moronic just to accurately  describe the situation. 

[XLFD]

If the report is worth millions, but the City of Ludington can't afford it, maybe we can get Heather to solicit a grant from the State's Department of Public Information (M I DOPI).  

The City spent upwards of $53K in total for an exercise which had several clear benefits in the end to the public, benefits that would have likely not have been instituted had not the lawsuit shown several ways the City under Shay and the old guard city council violated the Open Meetings Act throughout the years.  I want to explain this shortly, but since the resolution of our lawsuit may be postponed until at least the next meeting due to the City's OMA violation of going into closed session without a 2/3 vote at this meeting, I must defer for now.  

Just in case you had more ways of describing the City's actions over the years, their latest OMA mistake could push those legal fees significantly higher.

[AQUAMAN]

Just an old saying I remember from the JFK administration at a press conference during the Cuban crisis in 1962: (JFK): we expect you to point out our errors as you observe them and ask for answers on how to improve. However, errors do not become mistakes unless you fail to correct them. We intend to correct our errors as necessary and when you point them out to us. (Paraphrasing). The COL Councilors obviously have not heard this saying, as they continue down the path from decades past, to keep making obvious errors, and with faulty mistakes staying on the record. Narcissism is alive and well with these people.

[XLFD]

Here's the JFK quote, just think if the city council ever adopted this as the way local public policy is treated:  "No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as a wise man once said: "An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it." We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them."

[Freedom Seeker]

Excellent ideal and confidence that a true, honest leader should emulate. Thanks for reminding us, Aquaman.