Ludington's Direction in Late 2024, Same as Early 2024

[XLFD]

This is part 2 of a review of 2024 in terms of what happened with Ludington city government, part 1 is here and covers the first six months of 2024.  In 2024, Ludington continued a trend away from serving the people of Ludington, from communicating with them and providing public information, and from being accountable to them.  We haven't found evidence yet this year that they actually work for the benefit of the people, but rather that their purpose is to take more money and rights from them.  This was all we found in the first half of the year, and it continued unchecked into the second half with the total rework of the city's zoning laws into an unforgiving form-based code and malicious criminal prosecution initiated against the journalist that points out the city's own lawbreaking.  

Again, we look at city actions as taken at city council meetings and welcome any city apologist to submit any counterexamples to the thesis that city hall came after your rights and property in 2024 (after doing the same thing a bit more furtively in 2023).  Let us expect more in 2025.

July 

We began July with a look at how it was deeply corrupt and unlawful for Third Ward Councilor Jeanne (Hoax) Oakes resign and immediately become the interim city manager following Mitch Foster's resignation.  All councilors would disregard the word of the law in order to install their peer into that position, giving her a pay raise of 2167%.   Ignoring the people's charter clear wording, city leaders including multiple attorneys, allowed this council appointment to stand.

8:  At this council meeting, it was learned that city leaders sold their plastic-board skate rink for pennies on the dollar without letting the businesses who originally bought into the idea any knowledge about the sale.  The council would fill Oakes council seat by appointing Tim Large to it without any consideration of others, bucking the traditional method used: accepting applications for the position and voting amongst themselves.  When Hoax retired from executive director of the Community Foundation, she was succeeded by Tim's wife, Andrea Large back in 2017 raising more concerns about the ethics behind this move.  

The council did repeal the ordinance that established the city's contract with the USDA for the deer cull in perhaps the one move that saved the people from having any more of their money wasted on pointless and expensive culling activities in places without complaints regarding deer, but their act was solely done due to a lawsuit filed by Terry Grams, whose terms would be settled following the city's opting out of this contract.  The city would do the right thing only because they were forced to by litigation-- but they also raised city taxes by over $300,000 a full half year before they were supposed to.

22:  The actions in this meeting were mostly neutral, with nothing of interest other than City Attorney Ross "Sewage" Hammersley trying unconvincingly to explain why the council's two rounds of voting which elected Hoax to be a councilor back in 2023 was not an election because it was not done by the people.  Meanwhile, the city charter in three places have public bodies electing officers in the same manner, and they use the term "elect" exclusively.  The Hoax continues with the council's full buy-in.

August:

12:  We exposed at this meeting the waste of money to hire Double Haul Solutions for the city manager search, ignoring two other lower bids from competent companies in order to use one that offered Mitch Foster (whose position came open) as the city's consultant and thereby spending extra taxpayer money.  They would raise the rates that poll workers would get for their service so as to have them go into effect for the fall election.

26:  At this meeting, the city did their annual elitist chore of exempting themselves from state reforms meant to cap health care costs for public employees, thereby costing the taxpayers more money to give city workers the best health care insurance.  The City Marina and Cartier Campgrounds received extra general fund money replenishment to help the two enterprise funds pay for new docks and bathhouses without going deep into the red.  

Attorney Hammersley would effectively explain why the city "won" a lawsuit by appeal as regards the charter revision vote but not explain why the city spent tens of thousands in both legal costs and revision attorney costs for the victory, and still not be able to do the revision because of time running out to do so.  Nor how all such costs could have been obviated if he had done his job and did not try to hide the costs of a charter revision before the vote happened, in violation of the Home Rule City Act.

September:

9:  Shortly into her tenure, ICM Hoax (pictured above) would take a two-week vacation and would be paid about $3000 from the taxpayer for doing so, according to her contract.  Despite us being told all along that the new K-9 unit would be paid for by a non-profit, the city at this meeting would devote $6000 to the salary of the LPD dog handler, an additional expense we were not told of and would see more of later.  Though prompted to discuss lifeguards, mere minutes after the council formally recognized four young men who rescued a man from drowning, they ignored the call to consider adding this service (which could be funded through disbandment of the beach patrol).  The council would re-enact a PILOT from 2023 which would once again offer a developer decades of tax relief, at the expense of the rest of the city's property owners.

23:  A meeting with a light agenda, where they needed to renew the Sand Bar's social district because of a change of ownership.  Social districts only began because of the draconian societal shutdowns of 2020 in Michigan which made it nigh impossible to run a successful business serving alcohol without them.  In normal times, they only result in additional costs to the business and an additional source of revenue to city hall for effectively doing nothing other than allowing people to drink all through the downtown's public spaces, which was frowned upon before 2020. 

Deb Leeper of Nashville indicated that her rental property (a small business) was hit with an inspection fee jumping from $1500 to $6000, which we found to be an unlawful increase.  Had the council actually read what they pass at meetings, they would have noticed that, but they appear to believe that they are still owed the $6000.  

Lastly, I informed the council that I was being criminally charged for a couple of made-up crimes by the city.  When a city can have their contracted prosecuting attorney charge you for driving with a suspended/revoked license when you haven't ever had such license restriction and for trespassing in a public city park when it's otherwise open to everyone else, then as a councilor you should be concerned whether you've taken revenge and lawfare too far.  None of our councilors have a problem with it, however, even though I would remind them several times more of it.  When I again mentioned it at the special meeting on the 30th when they selected the new city manager, they focused only on my Trump shirt rather than the outrageous and spurious charges against a city critic.

October:  

14:  The council was reminded at this meeting that they were set to effectively take an extra $4500 from Ms. Leeper according to their established written policy, but they would not recognize this theft, or the illegal impoundment of another woman's car.  Fortunately, LPD Chief Christopher Jones would quietly return the money for the illegal seizure of property (over $200) to the woman after the meeting with the threat (and filing, then later dismissal) of legal action against the LPD.  This is at least the third illegal impoundment of vehicles by the LPD I have uncovered, who assess incredibly high fees for the 'service'.  

The purchasing policy was changed to bypass competitive bidding, reduce accountability, and promote cronyism. Apparently, they wanted to justify no bid contracts and grant themselves the ability to ignore the lowest bids when competitive bidding is used.  Legalized corruption right in your face.

The council refused to grant the woman who had her car unlawfully impounded a FOIA appeal of a request for any part of the police report associated with the illegal seizure using an inapplicable and unjustified FOIA exemption to show once again that they act against transparency, even when it's someone other than this reporter.

28:  We reminded the council via email how their latest policy did not allow anybody to comment through correspondence on agenda items as I could not attend this meeting.  They would ignore competitive bidding once again in selecting a roofer, wasting everyone's money and making sure that future contracts by cronies would be inflated, but they legalized this corruption at their last meeting. 

The Ludington Unified Development Ordinance (LUDO) would be explained in some detail and the community wasn't impressed with the negative consequences of the form-based LUDO which were not featured in the presentation (attorneys and realtors would come forth at the next meeting).  The city was reminded by Jeff Henry and Ray Karboske that the 'public marinas' have received many millions from the state unlawfully in order to maintain and improve these supposed 'enterprise zones' and revealing that impropriety through their litigation with the state.  Having problems paying your property taxes?  Know that your money is going to an unlawful fund that allows some multimillionaire a better place to store his yacht.

November:  

11:  The city was reminded at this meeting that their standing committees were once again exerting governmental authority rather than being strictly advisory and thereby violating the Open Meetings Act.  They would later (in December) have the issue mentioned involving residency, come before the council for proper approval.  They would later be reminded that having a quorum of the city council at a committee meeting where matters of public policy are discussed is indeed a violation of the OMA, a point which the violator would contest, suggesting the whole council could attend such meetings, as long as only three of them deliberated.  Such violations indicate that the city is trying to go back to a time where they made many of their decisions at the committee level and depriving the people of being part of the process.

Jones was reminded about statements he made in the media saying that the LPD's new K-9 unit would not be funded in any way by the general fund and we saw that over $800 was stolen from the general fund for dog food and pet insurance. 

25:  At this meeting, the LUDO was scheduled to be passed but wasn't due to an email reminder from this reporter sent to the council and attorney indicating that changes made to it since its first reading made another first reading necessary.  They took a 'loan' from the general fund to help pay for the campground bath house.  The loan would be repaid by the predicted sale of city property-- where the money from the sale would go to the general fund anyway.  Not a loan, this is paid for with the city's general fund exclusively, money which shouldn't be going to an enterprise fund. 

December:  

9:  A sign of hope; two councilors, one a lame duck, recognized that the people didn't like the progressive form-based LUDO and voted against it.  Unfortunately, all others voted for it, with some last-minute amendments potentially making the passage unlawfully passed.  If passed, this was arguably the greatest power grab by the city made during the year and will likely lead to more profit by the city from zoning-related issues.  

They would pass the 2025 budget, hiding pay raises (some exceeding 4%) but only after hearing how they violate the law by setting rates six months before the hearing and making amendments of the prior budget five months too late--and after hearing Councilor-elect Mike Shaw tell them they should consider lowering taxes in 2025 (oh, the sour looks on their faces when they heard that).

They would devote $100,000 more from the general fund to the Cartier bath house project by using the same 'loan' scheme and were reminded that using the general fund for private charity (in this case, Shop with a Cop) or unauthorized-public expenses (dog food/insurance) was against the state constitution.  

23:  For one more time, Mayor Barnett would not let a citizen finish his sentence when the time was up, even though the new comment rules state he must allow that to happen; and he does, when the comment is favorable for the city. 

Thanks in advance if you can show us all one instance where Ludington city government broadened our citizens' rights, respected their property rights, and/or improved on their own transparency and communication skills in 2024.

[Willy]

If most towns had only 1 or 2 of the situations that you have categorized most people would think that the town would be run fairly well if those problems had been dealt with and corrected in a proper way. But this is Ludington and all through the year there are gross examples of corruption and mismanagement and those in charge think  that there's "nothing to see here". Looking at the misdeeds as a time line shows just how badly Ludington is being run and that a shameless group of people  have been entrusted with Ludington's well being and future and they are failing miserably. One of the grosses deeds you mentioned is the  paid vacation taken by Hoax at taxpayers expense. What a sleazy thing to do. Taking a paycheck for using unearned vacation time using the public's money. If she had any scruples,she would return that money and resign. 

Excellent summery regarding what is going on and who is responsible.