Ludington City Leaders Working for You in 2024? Not Quite.

[XLFD]

At the beginning of 2024, we lamented over many of the problems that arose in 2023 in Ludington in Same Auld Ludington Syne.  In that article, we looked primarily at many of foibles of city hall towards the end of the year; in this one, we will look at what the city did in the full year of 2024 (in two installments) to show a point that became more evident towards the end of 2023, a point that should concern every Ludington citizen and property owner.

The point:  Ludington City Hall is operating totally against the interests of its citizens in amassing power and wealth for the city corporate.  

The city corporate can only take action through its city council, that's what the charter tells us, such actions can only take place at meetings open to the public, that's what the Open meetings Act tells us.  If we can demonstrate that all actions taken by the council this year were not taken to enrich the rights or wealth of the citizens, and instead to enhance the power and wealth of city hall (or be effectively neutral in both regards) we will succeed in that task.  We invite readers to offer counterexamples as well as any city administrative acts that may have had a positive effect for the city, otherwise we cover each council meeting and actions that weren't neutral in effect.

January:  

8:  All neutral

22:  Three ordinances were introduced that subtly reduced citizens' rights.  The first suggests that it procedurally makes splitting lots easier, but it does so by taking approval out of the hands of the elected city council and giving that power to the appointed planning commission, who have less political repercussions in denying such requests, and due to a LUDO passed at the end of the year, have less discretion to do so.  The second ordinance forces some citizens into city rental inspections they previously did not have to endure because they have other equivalent inspections by the federal government.  The last prohibited all non-government signs from being in the street right of way, unless approved by the city administrator; they exercised this authority (albeit with favoritism) this summer.

February:  

12:  They would pass the three ordinances.  They would also set city manager goals (see above) which ironically came one month before CM Mitch Foster would seek a new job out at the college and stressed employee retention-- not to mention a goal of improving communications with the public.  As for the latter, they would introduce new rules guiding (and restricting) public comment expression and three months later, cut off commenting on all of their social media platforms.  This would also be the meeting where they chose a company owned by a close friend of Foster, Allyson Brunette, spending roughly 30% more of the taxpayer's money than what the low bid came in at.  

26:  The city would violate the people's charter and infringe all of our rights by offering a simple motion to allow for vendors to sell alcohol from the city's concession stand, even when existing law adopted by ordinance forbid such sales except in very limited situations and with definite parameters.  To amend an existing ordinance, a new ordinance must be passed with the proposed amendments therein and should contain a repeal clause.  

March:

11:  A light agenda with neutral components other than a consideration of a FOIA appeal where the city attorney offered a fee estimation worksheet that was never approved by the city council in order to get around $250 for a couple of five-minute videos without any redactions (other videos of the same arrest were provided by the MCSO without redactions or cost.  This would start a pattern of FOIA non-compliance that would suggest that all police videos (regardless of whether any redactions were needed, would cost hundreds of dollars in review and redaction.

25:  Another light agenda as Foster concentrates more on finding a new job, the council does pass a resolution to make a temporary sign permit cost $25 rather than for free, as it had been, in order to recoup their clerical costs apparently.  The council would tacitly endorse a letter of trespass placed on me by an LPD captain in regard to Cartier Park when I was trapped there by their deer cullers and almost shot due to their improprieties.

April:

8:  Eclipse day saw the council do the same by changing their FOIA Policy to be much worse, allowing for charges never found in the state's FOIA and to try and cover up their attorney's past FOIA transgressions.  Their first attempt at muzzling the public during public comment in 2024, the city attorney, Ross "Sewage" Hammersley, would be sent back to committee (where it was never looked at in the first place) in order to fix some of the problems in conflict with the First Amendment that Councilor Bulger likely saw.  I had asked well before the meeting to play a video of LPD in action, but the mayor would not permit it; however, Councilor Wally Cain would once again take about 10 minutes to badmouth me (and anyone who dared think like me) at the end of the meeting.  

22:  The city council would formally back their FOIA Coordinator in assigning outlandish fees to bodycam videos of three LPD arrests, two of which had no exemptions.  In doing so they ignored the LPD's own current policy passed in 2020 pictured above, which disallowed them from having a different fee schedule than the city.  At this meeting, Hammersley states that the police's own FOIA policy originally justified the $25 per video charged in the first appeal, when that actual policy (which I got through a FOIA request as it was not publicly available) had no such per-video fee on it.  Corrupt public attorneys lie to take away your right to inspect public videos that should be made available, "Sewage" showed throughout the rest of the year that he was corrupt and was probably only kept in check by Foster.

May:

6:  The City violated section 8.4(2) of the people's charter in order to funnel more money over to their enterprise funds at the city marina and the campgrounds at Cartier Park.  This law is to make sure that the enterprise funds are not unfairly competing with private entities offering the same services by flooding them with general fund cash from the city.  Bigger though was that they passed a new public comment policy through resolution and used its unconstitutional edicts to throw me out of the meeting when I used light background music during my second comment.  If a policy is made that has punitive effects, like removing a person from a meeting for having light musical accompaniment to his public comment, it should be passed through ordinance, not by motion or resolution that has immediate effect even before its publication, that's not only my view, but that of the Michigan Municipal League. 

They would spend the last half hour of the meeting considering whether to spend many thousands of dollars of taxpayer money going after a few hundred dollars of certain court costs they could claim by dint of their appeal of my win at the local court being successful.  In the end, they decided against it, but signaled that when someone catches their errors in the future that they may financially go after those who pursue justice against the city in good faith even if it costs the rest of the taxpayers plenty. 

The city would also pass more 2023 Budget amendments in order to presumably balance their books before the audit was submitted.  State law does not allow them to amend budgets after the fiscal year has ended.

20:  Foster's resignation would be formally accepted, as would a landscaping proposal for HV Marina that had the council choose a much higher bid over one from a local contractor and only offer that they would do it sooner.  They wasted extra money on what turned out to be a lie, once extra records were received through FOIA, and likely got a worse product.  They would tacitly admit the fact I noted that they needed an ordinance to change the rules for selling alcohol at the beach concession stands by introducing an ordinance that would pass at the next meeting.

June: 

10:   A light transitional agenda saw no action other than the aforementioned ordinance for beach alcohol sales passed.  However, Councilor Jeanne Oakes resigned and would be named as interim city manager in what seemed like a last minute, but planned out, decision.  As this was a fully paid city position, Oakes would legally be disbarred from such employment due to her conflict of interest as detailed in the people's charter.  She would wind up with many months of city manager salary, despite going on a paid two-week vacation later on (again, preplanned).

12:  At this special 'open' meeting attended by a quorum of councilors, I was expressly prohibited from going to the meeting and so was the general public.  They held a strategic planning session at the HV Marina Clubhouse, a site where I was told that the general public was excluded and I was singled out because I was under the impression that it was a public facility that my local and state taxes were paying for to compete with our other private marinas.  Likewise, public officials ignored the various signs disallowing the general public from parking in the marina's parking lot.

24:  The elitist city council would show that they have no problem with background music or singing in council chambers, if it's their own.  It would be pointed out that their late budget amendments (already noted) and early millage hikes proposed were both unlawful (and takes extra cash from the citizens).  They would have a reception afterwards for Foster on his last day, with everything paid for by the citizens, of course.  

SUMMARY FIRST HALF OF 2024:

Looking as hard as possible in 2024's first six months, the Ludington Torch tried its hardest to find any action taken by the city council that worked to either broaden the rights of the citizens or allow them to keep more of their hard-earned money.  We couldn't find any.  

We did find multiple violations of the city charter and state law that broadened the powers of the city and enriched the city's coffers above and beyond what they already had, and even saw a councilor greatly increase her own power and pocketbook potential by unlawfully and unethically take a position she was not permitted to take.  We saw someone thrown out of a meeting unlawfully, we saw the general public kept from attending a meeting, we saw policies changed for the sole purpose of quieting and silencing the general public.  

I welcome any contrarian to look through any resource and find an instance, any instance, in this period where they did some policy or action that their constituents could be proud of or could benefit from.  We will next look at the second half of the year, which will be about as sad as this from what I have chronicled.

[XLFD]

In looking for a saving grace for the city, please consider any of the following:

1) Did the City improve an existing, necessary service?

2) Did the City provide or improve an existing, necessary service at a better value or rate?

3) Did the City provide a new, helpful service at a fair rate?

4) Did the City reduce any tax or fee for services?

5) Did the City improve any aspect of their accountability in any way?

6) Did the City improve on their transparency in any way?

7) Did the City improve any facilities freely accessible to all members of the public?

8) Did the City improve any mode of communication with members of the public?

9) Did the City cut any unnecessary expense or wasteful program?

10) Did the City show any inclination or sign for doing any of the above?

These were the main metrics I used in looking for positive changes at the city level, there are probably more.  If you do find something which could go on their positive list of things they did between Jan-June 2024, please share it, because I've looked and found none; however, several things mentioned in the article run counter to these ideals.  

[Freedom Seeker]

It is a sad commentary of a narcissistic city hall.

[XLFD]

That's a brilliant, one-word assessment of what ails Ludington and their current regime.  According to WebMD, there are 5 ways to identify a narcissistic person (in this case, the 2024 council, the mayor, and the former unlawful interim city manager):

Sense of Entitlement:  A common sign of people with narcissism is the belief that they are superior to others and deserve special treatment. They believe that others should be obedient to their wishes and that the rules don’t apply to them. (check)

Manipulative Behavior:  Another common trait of narcissism is manipulative or controlling behavior. A narcissist will at first try to please you and impress you, but eventually, their own needs will always come first.

When relating to other people, narcissists will try to keep people at a certain distance in order to maintain control. They may even exploit others to gain something for themselves.  (check)

Need for Admiration:  One of the most common signs of a narcissist is a constant need for praise or admiration. People with this behavior need to feel validation from others and often brag or exaggerate their accomplishments for recognition. They also like to feel appreciated to boost their ego.  (check)

Lack of Empathy:  Lack of empathy is another sign of narcissism. This means that the narcissist is unwilling or unable to empathize with the needs, wants, or feelings of other people. This also makes it difficult for them to take responsibility for their own behavior. (double check)

Arrogance:  People with narcissistic behavior already see themselves as superior to others, so they may become rude or abusive when they don’t receive the treatment they think they deserve. While they hold themselves superior, they may speak or act rudely toward those that they deem are inferior. (triple check)

Many of these traits were absent or kept under control during the brief era that saw Councilor Angela Serna, Mayor Steve Miller, and City Manager Mitch Foster in place.  

[Freedom Seeker]

I had written a much longer comment but interrupted airwaves wiped it away. In a hurry I wrote a quick summary of my comment. It is what I noticed has plagued city hall ever since I started paying attention in 2010. Any person or group that publicly belittles a citizen (with lies and/or ignorance) is not worthy of being a public servant, imo, and are none other than self-serving narcissists.

[Willy]

Excellent article X. It describes everything wrong with local politics. We will always have bad, unresponsive politicians, this is a given. The real problem lays at the feet of the citizens who continually vote these miscreants into office and then continue to support them even when they corruptly act against the public's interest. The general public seems to enjoy remaining in a blissfully ignorant fog of their own creation and until they wake up and realize that good government actually depends on them, things will never change. I hope X, that you will not become tired of your efforts to clean up the corruption because there are very few people who are willing to put in the effort and sacrifice and make the commitment you have so nobly undertaken in order to expose the septic sewer of local politics. Many thanks to you.

I think it would be a good idea for you to wear a T shirt or sweat shirt with the web sites you are on so that folks who you meet or those viewing the City Council meetings can see where they can gather more information regarding your intentions and what exactly you are discovering about local Governments.

[Freedom Seeker]

Love your cartoon, Willy! And agree that we will always have plenty of corrupt politicians...what I see so evil in Ludington is that extent the "team" goes to to villify X and deceive the public so that the voters don't know the truth or are afraid to step outside the box in the small town.

Year after year a small trickle understands. I keep praying for Mark Barnett to use his "christianity" to look into himself and have an enlightenment. I don't see that enlightenment possibility in John Henderson, who, imo is where the corruption took hold--with his vision and ego. He sold the small town feel. Has this "team" done good for the community? I think to a "fascia" tourist extent but at huge cost to the locals while reinforcing the team's benefits and egos.

[XLFD]

I can understand to a point, about why the city council and mayor would be retributive towards myself, I did help sponsor four recall petitions in 2024 against them for their acts which mostly took place in 2023.  But those recalls were created due to corrupt or already existing anti-citizen actions, so they were already targeting the rest of us, before they decided to criminalize walking in a public park for one person.

My belief is that Mayor Marx wants to scare away public discourse and work against transparency so that he can choreograph council meetings that much better.  Sadly, the rest of our elected servants have sided with him and have mainly remained united against the folks, as seen in their public actions and policies.  

It would be nice to have a priest give an invocation at a meeting that would recognize the challenges to the people from this city hall, but I think we all know that if they did ask for too much Christian behavior from this council that they would not be asked back and curry disfavor from the mayor, who is a CINO.

I like Willy's suggestion about using shirts advertising this forum, but with this current administration, I could see them ending their contract with those who produce the meeting videos if it became too big of a distraction.