The Development of Authority, part 11: An Advertising Payment?

[XLFD]

I recently noticed among recent financial records of the Ludington Downtown Development Authority a regularly occurring expense dealing with advertising.  From December 2010 to November 2011, the most recent time period (11 months) I had records for  the DDA had spent $5675.95 on advertising expenses alone.  These entries were noted and sent along via a FOIA request to the FOIA Coordinator John Shay, and it was received back very promptly this included:

 

1) Invoice for $250 for "Advertising" dated 12-20-2010 and given ref. #: 11-01-10

2) Invoice for $250 for "Advertising-Dec" dated 12-29-2010 and given ref. #: 12-01-10

Invoice for $1292.00 for "Advertising-Dec" dated 12-29-2010 and given ref. #: 12-01-10

3) Invoices for $441.00 & $250 for "Advertising" dated 2-28-2011 and given ref #: 01-31-2011

4) Invoice for $503.75 for "Advertising-Feb" dated 3-14-2010 and given ref. # 2-28-2011

5) Invoice for $250.00 for "Advertising" dated 5-23-2011 and given ref. #: 04-30-2011

6) Invoice for $670.00 for "Shoreline Media Inc, Advertising" dated 6-13-2011 and given ref. #: 5-31-2011

7) Invoice for $1181.00 for "June Advertising" dated 7-11-2011 and given ref. #: 6-30-2011

8) Invoice for $250.00 for "Advertising" dated 9-26-2011 and given ref. # 8-01-2011

9) Invoices for $250.00 & $88.20 for "Advertising" dated 10-24-2011 and given ref. #: 9-30-2011

 

One figures with all this advertising money being spent, the downtown should be getting a lot of airplay in other communties that will draw visitors into our area for all of the businesses and fun that regularly occurs in downtown Ludington.  Well, that's a good guess. but let's look at the expense records of what the DDA used for "advertising".

 

1)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online button and maintenance"  Ad1

2)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online button and maintenance" Ad2a

&  Ludington Daily News invoice for "sponsor ads" Ad2b summarized here.

3)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "combined notice"  Ad3a

&  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online button and maintenance" Ad3b

4)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online retail and maintenance" Ad4

5)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online retail and maintenance" Ad5

6)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online retail and maintenance" plus a DDA ad Ad6

7)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online retail and maintenance" plus $900 in other ads Ad7

8)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online retail and maintenance" Ad8

9)  Ludington Daily News invoice for "Online retail and maintenance" Ad9a

& Ludington Daily News invoice for "Cheerleading clinic"  Ad9b

 

A couple of things are readily apparent.  The Ludington Daily News has a monopoly on the ad revenue and they regularly pay out $250 per month for online services provided by the LDN.  But let's take a closer look at what I called "Ad2b"

 

 

Community Development ( Heather Venzke-Tykoski's department) picked up the tab for advertising for several businesses (including $500 for the DDA (DD Ludington Board)).  Does it seem ethical for the taxpayers to pay $1292 to advertise for these private businesses and government organization?  Particularly, when a DDA is limitted to what it can spend money on; self-advertising and advertising for private companies are not such allowable expenses.

 

A look at the advertisers show that there is even more self-promotion by DDA officers in that Blu Moon and Sportsman's are owned by officers on the DLB/DDA, Marilyn Cunic and Julie Payment.  But Julie Payment has another position of note.  She is the Circulation and Customer Service Manager of the Ludington Daily News. 

Sounds like her job is a bit more secure since she's able to bring in money from the taxpayers via the Downtown Ludington Board, where she is a voting member and never has disclosed that her business (the LDN) benefits from this $6000 per year given to that organization.  That extra $6000 and her DDA officialdom has also worked to help assure that the DDA has not received any critical look by that news organization, even when it is highly warranted. 

Oh well, at least the locals get this $6000 worth of positive advertising in their Ludington Daily News about the Downtown Development Authority they pay over $120,000 for each year for.  What would we spend it on otherwise besides raises for City Hallers?  Scary.

[Colleen Plummer]

This is what my 94 yr old father was talking about that's been generational since he was a kid. He graduated from Ludington High School...  Grew up in 4th Ward. This situation is stunting the growth of that town.... how sad

[AQUAMAN]

If I didn't say it before, and wish I had, I'll again state, Colleen, your father is a wealth of knowledge, and wisdom. God Bless him. Stunting the growth of Ludington seems to be a past-time for all too many in the power positions to see otherwise, history tells us so.

[XLFD]

BTW, I have received information that WMOM is not in charge of the Lake Jump this year, Megan Payment (daughter of Julie Payment) who runs the Mitten Bar, is this year's chairperson of the event.  How ironic. 

[Marty Redman]

No advertising beyond the LDN?!  Sounds like Ms. Payment is good at circulating money from the City Hall to her paper. 

X, you should also note that this wasn't mandatory newspaer announcements like some political agencies need to put out.  Just marketing the downtown to those that get the LDN who already know about it.

[AQUAMAN]

Right on cue Marty, when many of these DDA/city committee people have their hands in one another's pockets, whose to decide or tell the good guys from the bad guys. Perplexing at best. Guess this explains more than ever why the LDN must keep facts under wraps, they aren't going to bite a hand that feeds them, are they?  Julie is also pretty good at getting special COL/DDA events held at the Sportsman's Bar, also her family business, cute eh?