whose pay was not frozen?

[Angela]

Sorry I missed the council meeting Monday nite, I can't find the minutes online yet, was anyone there? I see theay are saying most city employees will have their pay freezed, but who are most and who are the ones that are getting raises? WTF last meeting I went to no one was getting a raise now all of a sudden some plp are? Sounds kind of fishy to me.................. thats Shay for you!

[XLFD]

According to Tuesday's LDN, page 5, they have a list of the affected salaries due to the wage freeze. Here are the changes I see:

Wastewater Treatment Supt.: $55,397 up to $61,717/year
Assessor's Office Clerk-PT: $10.20 down to $10.00/hour
Senior Custodian-PT: $9.20 down to $9.00/hour
Marina Manager: $39,000 down to $35,000/year

The first employee's wage was increased due to increased responsibilities due to changes in the dept.
The others getting pay cuts were due to them being new employees. Also, if you recall, the appointed treasurer's salary was decreased substantially due to a new employee taking the post. Anyone know anything else about the wages?
As I am fiscally conservative, I like this as a start, but there is a lot of fat still to trim, IMHO.

[AQUAMAN]

Well, last Feb.? or so they gave a bunch of ppl raises across the board, now, with the public asking why over and over, they finally woke up and said, ok, now we get it, we'll give some reductions in pay too. Trouble is, the two don't even come close to balancing out. See the stats. posted. The city budget sheet, which I have a 63 page copy of, shows categorically on pg. 60 the following: Fund 777...Investment Pool Fund...this is the savings account of our dear broke City of Ludington. Money Market Savings Acct.: $1,079,367.84....Investment Pool CD's...$4,100,000.00...National City - Treasury Note...$1,747,632.51...National City Money Market SA...$501,687.22... Accounts Receivable...($8,215.12) for a grand total ending 10/31/09 of $7,420,474.45. Does this sound like the city of Lud. is broke and running red ink??? As taxpayers, we should be sharing in those riches in property tax refunds, galore! And they plead they can't afford lifeguards for 2010 at $26K for the entire summer! This clearly goes to show, we have been overpaying taxes and fees for a long time. Maybe some of these savings are prudent, up to about 25% or less, but the other $5Million?

[XLFD]

Aquaman,
How about doing some more research on this issue (the big bank balance of Lud), and opening a special thread about it in the 'Torch and pitchforks' section of the forum. It is kinda despicable to think the city has so much in savings and shirks so many responsibilities and duties it has by the law to its citizens. Bad roads, bad sidewalks, missing sidewalks, public safety, et. al.

I look forward to seeing a detailed report, if you are willing; it might get back the lifeguards for the cheap price. Plus, I'll give you a special 'attaboy' reward if you do it fairly and explicitly. Accept, amigo?

[AQUAMAN]

I'd be happy to, with some time later. Right now, I thought I opened a special present before Xmas to all, I'd kinda like to see how many more are awake and reply too, and see what their thoughts are on this bonanza of monies that the cc and Mayor won't talk about in public. Imagine what the public at large was to do if they found $7Mil. is in the kitty for the taking, and politicos are hoarding it! I believe my same post at LT was deleted too. I was lucky to get that document, last time I asked, Shay came on the phone demanding over $300 for the cost of employee time and trouble. But, you already know about that stunt at city hall, dontcha? This time the new treasurer abided by my request without the Shay interference stunt. Maybe others are getting tired of the coverup too at long last. And, I haven't even penetrated the books at the city marina, an entirely different set of books, also with hoarded $Millions unspent and invested poorly. Waiting for a rainy day. I say those days are already upon us financially. The people need to know, we're all getting bilked for no reason except greed and power.

[Victoria George Cook]

What a racket!!! I look forward to seeing your expose, and hope others can help you if needed. I might be able to do some long distance help, and I know X likes to do the runaround (it keeps him in shape during the off-season). Take your time and do it up right, like maybe a Valentine's day gift.

[Angela]

I for one would like to know more about this $$ the city is hoarding from us! If you need any help tracking down info or anything - let me know I'd be happy to help in anyway!

[AQUAMAN]

Ummm...it's not to difficult to get info., usually. Just call or visit city hall and ask for a copy of the most recent budget, about a 1/2" thick, 63 page document, from the treasurer. It should be available to anyone, freedom of info. act. The new treasurer now, Alice?, was polite and cooperative to me. The City Marina budget would be even more interesting too, if available. I didn't ask yet. Try to time it when Shay is on vacation/sick might be an advantage too. He likes to be involved in every little detail when it comes to public requests for anything it seems like.

[AQUAMAN]

Here's one item some could investigate. What is the current City Manager's salary/expenses in other like-sized towns like Ludington? Over or much under $85K? Towns like Frankfort, Manistee, Whitehall, Charlevoix, Leland, other smaller towns south too. Some claim Shay is getting a normal or underpaid salary. Personally, I'd bet otherwise. I think that would be a bone of contention for the next budget session if evidence proved so.

[XLFD]

As Aquaman says, anyone can get a FOIA request for information regarding the paperwork /budgets of public bodies, and you should only be paying for copies, postage, and clerical time used to retrieve the documents, if the request is difficult to process.

Shay is Ludington's official FOIA coordinator, a known micro-manager and is likely to process your request, no matter how mundane. If you get quoted a few hundred bucks for a request, he is probably breaking the law, which is fairly explicit. This will be visited in the future...

When considering John Shay's salary as compared to other CMs, don't forget to consider the fringe benefits which top over $66,000, and that the city management department is budgetted at $226,800 for 2009.

[Mary A.]

Unfortunately I can't make these public meetings because of distance. I'm not a resident of Ludington ... yet. But I do pay high non-homestead taxes. I have limited recourse when my taxes continue to go up every year, and I don't see any accountability from the city regarding how tax revenue is spent. There are a lot of us in this boat, I imagine, who are held captive by our status as property-owning non residents.

[XLFD]

As a non-resident, you won't be hit as hard as the residents by the latest increases in fees, mainly for local services and utilities, but you should expect to have property taxes adjusted about as high as they can by law, so as to make up for their shortfalls caused by fiscal imprudence over the last couple of years. There is very little accountability, as Torchbearers will attest to this year.

You can still write or e-mail the city about your concerns you have, since taxation w/o representation is an evil thing. Expect to be ignored the first couple of times, these local politicos don't believe in acknowledging their constituents until they start getting ugly.

[AQUAMAN]

Actually, my experience with the local political machine is they ignore individuals, squeaky or not, until such time there is a presence of, "strength in numbers underway". The more people that complain, over and over, in writing, or at meetings of the council, about any issue, the more likely they are to change their minds or back down. Without many voices of concern coming forward, the issue is just swept comfortably under the preverbial rug. Because they know in their hearts, most of us are just Cowards, sheep, chickens to be plucked, etc.. Afterall, a comfy ship is one that does not rock, when enough people come forward and rock their boat, they quickly run for cover.