Shelby: Town in Turmoil or Healthy Hamlet?

[XLFD]

Sheltered near the middle of Oceana County is a small quiet town of two thousand souls.  Quiet, that is until lately, when a whole lot of shake-ups have been happening in the village power structure.  One year ago, we reported on the doings then as chaotic (Desentz-itized Shelby Village Losing Officials) with the clerk treasurer and four DPW workers quitting during the first year of a new city manager, Aaaron Desentz.

In a new sweep of officials, that same city manager has resigned in June, a freshly elected village councilor, Mary Lulich (she was a concerned townsperson in the link above before being elected in the November elections), resigned on July 9th, while the new city treasurer Susan Denny, just after getting a 30% raise, resigned just before that on July 8th to join a political campaign in Florida.  Her duties are being handled by the new clerk until a replacement is found.

Adding extra suction to the power vacuum is a recall effort on two of the remaining six councilors that is underway.  Petitions were filed with the county clerk on July 7 to recall Ben Michalko and Sharita Prowant from the council. 

The Oceana County Press reports of much of the developments in an article called A Village in Turmoil, which is reprinted in full after a brief rationalization by this author that the chaos currently going on over this last year in Shelby may actually show that the village is undergoing some very healthy corrections.

In the June 8, 2015 meeting minutes p. 4, Councilor Harris reads a prepared statement trying to figure out the best way to accommodate future village administrators by treating them with respect and to forgive the minor mistakes of their employee.  He said this shortly after the relatively new treasurer brought forth a request at the meeting to jump her $12.50 salary up to $16.00, which was granted with a divided vote by her appointer and employer.  These minutes reveal much of the problem with what currently exists-- the lack of democratic accountability among village leaders. 

The most recent Shelby clerks and treasurers have been council appointments/hires, the village administrator is similarly appointed.  These city employees have zero accountability to the people of Shelby, and thus need only play to the favor of a majority of the council.  When a majority of the council designs to do something politically unpopular, these hirelings take the heat by design, so that the council doesn't see the fallout.

The cure for Shelby's apparent ills would be to go to a strong mayor form of government like Colorado Springs and several other large cities and small villages have done after ditching the city manager form of local government.  City leaders need to be held politically accountable just like we insist for our state and federal leaders.  Why does someone from far away with a city management college degree of questionable value make a better leader than someone who grew up in, is knowledgeable about, and wants the best for their town?  It doesn't make any sense to me.

Failing this change, I submit that the Village of Shelby is better off for the quick turnaround in their politicians.  There is nothing much worse than a long-term politician, as evidenced by those who are entrenched in the halls of Congress for five or more decades.  Shelby seems to be running smoothly in their services and their budget and has few other problems besides some hurt feelings at these meetings and some overuse of their "Help Wanted" sign. 

We have our own long term leaders here in Ludington that have been in office for over a decade:  City Manager John Shay, City Councilors Castonia and Holman.  In my opinion, they have long forgot who they supposedly serve.  Mark Twain put it most succinctly:

Please comment on whether you think Shelby is healthy or in harm in the comments after reading the OCP article which explains much of what's happening in Shelby:

By Allison Scarbrough. OCP Editor.

SHELBY — A recall effort is underway to oust two council members from their posts on the village council, and another council member has resigned.

Resident Louis Nichols filed petitions last Tuesday, July 7, in the Oceana County Clerk’s Office to recall Ben Michalko and Sharita Prowant from the council. Council member Mary Lulich resigned from the council last Thursday, July 9.

With all of the finger-pointing and arguing occurring at recent council meetings, Lulich described an exasperating situation. “I’m not a politician,” said Lulich, who was elected to the council last November. “I call it like I see it.

“I’m sorry that the residents voted for me, and I had to do this.”

Lulich said the situation has become so bad that she thinks the council should be shut down and the state should take over the governing board.

In her resignation letter, Lulich states three times: “I don’t know who to believe or trust anymore.

“I’m not wasting my valued and treasured time away from my loved ones for the maneuvers of this current council any longer,” Lulich writes. “It’s utterly frustrating and completely pointless. Excluding Sharita and Ben, the good ol’ boys club of Shelby prevails.”

Nichols, who launched the recall campaign, said, “This has gotten out of hand. I’ve been to all these meetings, and I see what’s going on. They’re being disrespectful to fellow council members.”

In the recall petition, Nichols writes that he is attempting to recall Michalko for “lack of professionalism at a village council meeting – disrespectful of village clerk (Julie Schultz) during council meeting.” In his petition for Prowant’s recall, Nichols states that she “voted ‘no’ on updates to the village water tower to make it OSHA compliant.”

With the recent resignations of Village Administrator Aaron Desentz and Village Treasurer Sue Denny, along with the constant fighting among council members, Nichols said the village is not making any progress. “This village is pretty much at a standstill. They put the brakes on it. We have a village with no supervision.”

Even if his recall attempt is unsuccessful, Nichols hopes it will open up the village council members’ eyes who he is targeting. “Hopefully if it doesn’t go, it will get their attention. We need better representation.”

The next step in Nichols’ recall process is a clarity hearing Friday, July 24, at 10 a.m.  The County Election Commission, which is comprised of County Clerk Rebecca Griffin, County Probate Judge Brad Lambrix and County Treasurer Sheila Gowell,  will either approve or disapprove of the petition language depending on the “factuality and clarity of the wording,” Griffin said.

“If the recall wording is approved, the petitions with the 100 signatures would have to be filed in this office by Friday, July 31, to get on the November ballot,” Griffin explained. “However, if there are challenges, that could delay the process.”

“It’s complicated, and it has more to do with personalities and people than policies and procedure,” said Michalko, who has been on the council for seven and a half years and is currently the mayor pro tem. “The (petition’s) wording isn’t clear enough to respond, but I did get upset at some point in the meeting, and I’m not proud of it.”

Michalko said Nichols left the meeting prior to his rant, but he does admit that he lost his temper. “It was totally out of character, and I regret it,” he said. “I apologized to everyone on the council and to the clerk. I have no animosity toward anybody.”

The councilman, known for his soft-spoken, calm demeanor, said if losing his temper during a meeting is grounds to recall him, then he should be recalled.

“I just want to see the council work in a cohesive manner,” said Village President PauI Inglis, who was elected last November. Inglis, who was the county administrator for 37 years before his retirement, said, “Maybe we can move forward for the benefit of the Village of Shelby without all the finger-pointing.”

Inglis said he does not see the recall process as the way to go in this situation. “If they’re unhappy, they should get other people to run for the positions rather than removing them through the recall process. I would rather see citizens pursue their change of council members through the election process rather than remove them through the recall process.”

In the meantime, Inglis said he’s “not going to allow these kinds of cheap shots going on at the meetings.” But if things don’t improve, Inglis said he will also quit. “I’m not going to be around if they don’t turn things around. If no progress is made, then I will leave.”

Nichols said he considers himself a “watchdog” of the council, taking over from where his late wife, Christina, left off. She was successful in recalling council members Bill Glover and Andrea Garcia in 2007 and 2008, respectively. “Two weeks before she died, she made me promise I’d keep an eye on them,” he said. Nichols said he hopes the other four council members — Inglis, Dan Zaverl, Bill Harris and John Sutton — stay on board. “I don’t want to see the good ones leave,” he said.

OCP made repeated attempts to contact Prowant but was unsuccessful.

[Willy]

What are the exact complaints regarding those that have filed the petition. I didn't read anything about corrupt or illegal behavior by those being recalled. Small town politics is almost like a family feud where small irritating situations get blown out of proportion. Ludington has a far worse problem with it's officials. It's to bad some of the advocates of the recall don't live in Ludington where they could sink their teeth into a truly sorry bunch of politicians.

[XLFD]

Most of the squabbling appears to be character clashes, at least as reported.  I looked at some of the Shelby council minutes of the last year, and there didn't seem to be much controversy until the first June meeting, and then that was mostly produced by the actions of the treasurer and city manager. 

If the petition is based only on what was presented to the OCP correspondent, then it would seem rather trivial.  Our own Dave might have some inside information that could only come from people that live in Shelby and have some idea of the motivations of the people involved.