Wayland City Manager Hoffmeyer's April Fool's Joke

[XLFD]

The Ludington Torch has ran with a series of stories dealing with the City of Wayland, a small community of about 4000 where some strange activities has been happening as of late.  In this Torch story Wayland Police Chief Dan Miller was being fired for 32 violations of City policy.  Local Waylander Shawn McGwire in the comments also provides a timeline and a general synopsis of the events leading up to the firing, illustrating what I and several admitted outsiders have said looks suspicious. 

 

Interim Wayland CM Hoffmeyer --->

 

Now Ex-Chief Miller (XWPD ?) said at that time that the violations are minor and primarily deal with the earlier MSP investigation of confiscated property.  A backdoor information request by this pumpkin has shown that most of the 32 violations are not even minor violations.  The first 18 violations listed by Interim City Manager Terry Hoffmeyer, who took over recently when the Wayland City Council voted out the last one rather covertly, deal with the purported misuse of confiscated property allowed by Chief Dan Miller.   Here are the first two pages of those violations:

 

Once you stop laughing at the pettiness of the violations, you will notice in sections, 1, 9, and 14 a reference to a state law MCL 434.21 et. seq., a section of law based on Lost Property.  Unless my source is wrong, the golf clubs were found in 2002 and kept for these ten years by the WPD Chief.  CM Hoffmeyer has apparently appraised these used, 10 year old plus golf clubs at $200 in his note.  The older model GPS (with no charger) had Hoffmeyer-appraised value at $200, having been taking out of evidence and put as unclaimed property back in August 2010.  The tools are given no value, and so let's presume each has small worth, and note they were also unclaimed property since 2010. 

 

MCL 434.21 defines “Property of minor value”: any property whose fair market value is less than the total cost of preparing a property report, plus the costs of storage and disposition, and which is not collectible currency, contraband, currency, evidence, hazardous material, junk, perishable property, or property of major value.  Let's presume the tools are the only one that falls in this definition.  The other two are "property of major value". 

MCL 434.24(8):  says:  "All property of minor value shall be returned to the legal owner when the law enforcement agency is reasonably satisfied of that ownership. If after 3 months the property has not been claimed by the legal owner, the property may be disposed of in any manner by the law enforcement agency."   This makes violations 14-18 non-violations.

MCL 434.26(1)(b) says:  "(b) If the finder of the [major value] property cannot be located or does not want the property, [the police dept. can] do 1 of the following:

(i) Retain the property for use by the law enforcement agency.

(ii) Sell the property at a public sale and deposit the money from the sale in the general fund of the governmental unit of the law enforcement agency.

(iii) Release the property to a charitable organization as defined in section 2 of the charitable organizations and solicitations act, Act No. 169 of the Public Acts of 1975, being section 400.272 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.

 

Three options are available.  The Chief was admittedly in the process of throwing the 10 year old clubs away, when another worker had an interest in them.  He told that person he could not give them to him, but he could pick them up at the dumpster.  Sounds ethical, to me, particularly since the Chief was getting rid of what he thought was junk taking up space, and put no value in the antique golf clubs.  No unlawful disposal, and violations #1-9 are reductio ad absurdum.

There is no evidence he used the GPS for personal use, nor is there any reason to believe he put much value in the GPS without a charger, nor restricted the use of it by other officers if they wanted to use it.  And hence violations #9 - 13 are non-existent.

 

But once we get past City Manager Hoffmeyer's 18 'property crimes' that weren't, the 14 remaining ones get downright ludicrous, and I apologize to all those ludicrous people out there.  Here's the remaining charges against XWPD Dan Miller, courtesy of Herr Hoffmeyer:

 

Violations #19-23 deal with the service of a PPO on the estranged husband of the Chief's live-in girlfriend, and here is where it gets personal with CM Terry and with the Chief's ex-wife who works at City Hall, as can be seen in #23.  Is there something go on there, maybe?

The law MCL 600.2950(18)  states PPOs for former spouses "shall be served personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, delivery restricted to the addressee at the last known address or addresses of the individual restrained or enjoined."  The officer who seems to have had a problem with Chief Miller "ordering" him to hand-deliver the PPO should have told him that, as if Chief Miller didn't know that already.  I believe the order was a simple request of a favor to his subordinate, who had every right to say "no".  These facts vacate all of the so-called ethical violations presented.

 

The last nine deal with the mishandling of confidential paperwork (#24), the gifting of a city cell phone to a neighbor (25-27), the use of City-owned computers at his house (28,29) and the leaving behind of a password on his own personal computer at his house (30), and two general assertions that imply Chief Miller knew he was violating policies, even if he wasn't (31,32). 

These have the ghost of actual substance, but mostly generate from the fact that the Chief had his bags packed by his ex-wife the night he was moved out.  Later, the ex-wife gets a promotion to full-time receptionist at City Hall the day after their divorce is finalized. 

Are these reasons to fire Chief Miller after so many years of public service?  You decide, but here was his compact reply to the 32 complaints

 

In their short meeting together the next day, Hoffmeyer was given the opportunity to further ask Chief Miller any more questions.  He declined in their three minute confab.  The next day, Hoffmeyer got out the axe. 

Whereas it would be simple to say the Interim City Manager was a jerk for firing Chief Miller, you must also realize that in the City Manager system, the CM does not have to answer to the people, he is hired by the City Council.  He is answerable to the City Council, not the people.  Most people may want Chief Miller to stay, but Interim City Manager Hoffmeyer, who is being replaced by a new Manager after firing the Chief, is only a pawn being used by his bosses.  And will suffer the slings and arrows of the people as he slips back into retirement somewhere else.  While, the corruption stays behind and grows stronger.  That is no joke, unlike Hoffmeyer's list.

[AQUAMAN]

As we can all see by example, the petty nitpicking of a "fixed agenda" is also in place here, just like Ludington. Junk tools, junk golf clubs, junk gps, all more reasonable to dispose of than bother to sell. But, when the "fixed agenda" calls for disposal of any fellow city colleague that doesn't tow the exact same line with the CM, you ax them, and have no one to answer to, as ordered by their own City Council. Sad and reckless character assassination of Chief Miller. I hope he sues the pants off the city there, and wins a big settlement.

[Marty Redman]

The violations I see here are violations of each Wayland citizen, citizens that have been turned around and bent over by a lot of closet posturing by those who want Miller out for some reason.

I got to hand it to you X, here you go bending over backward to help what looks to be a good cop done wrong while almost at the same time ripping on Lud's Chief Barnett's massive butt as far as the acts of intimidation hes done on you and is now doing to AGS.   Trolls take note the attitude here is anticorruption not anticop.

[XLFD]

Very true, I caught the irony of Chiefs Barnett and Miller (and the pun on another "Chief" Barney Miller) actions and the circumstances that led me to distrust one and trust the other.  Since my original piece, I have tracked the story enough to believe that Chief Miller is being indirectly attacked by others at Wayland City Hall; whether the facts I'm going to be getting matches that belief will be the fodder of future stories from the south.

[Sweater Cows!]

ANY electronic without a charger is junk. Especially one more than 6 months old.

My dad bought a used set of golf clubs(bag and all ready to use) at a yard sale for $7.00.(last summer 2011) Maybe there are some out there with massive value but I bet those are not common in police stock piles(they wouldn't last ten years I mean)

I work at home all the time, does the computer store passwords, probably, I tell it not to but who knows what the sneaky things do. And I look at personal stuff at work too, the mind needs a break once in a while, anybody who works on a computer and hasn't checked their favorite social networking sites, checked email or used google for personal interests at work is telling a lie.

[Phil Convissor]

There was 6 particular violations that I believe "Broke the camels back" as far as the Termination of the then Police Chief.

The 6 particular violations I'm talking about have to do with making it personal for himself or where as it could be perceived as him making it personal for himself, was and is his getting involved in and then staying involved in a personal "parenting time" issue between his live in girlfriend and her ex, well before and then after he was ordered not to involve the city in his personal business by his boss, then on top of that, after he agreed with his boss and said he would stay out of it, he basically slapped his boss in the face and does or did it anyway. If I slapped my boss in the face,   what can or should one expect to happen?

Throw in the fact, he may have well verbally written the PPO himself.
And The PPO in this case is no more than a form of "Parental Alienation" 

[XLFD]

I have reviewed some of your Facebook postings Phil, and respect that you believe Chief Miller has done wrong and deserves termination.  Explain somewhat better to me what rises to the level of terminating him:  helping someone fill out a complex legal form and then asking someone to personally serve it does not get there for me.  All I see so far is the rest of Wayland City Hall making it something 'personal'.  But I would like to hear their side of the story if you have it.

[Smashley]

The violations that Miller has been charged with are petty.  However, being in law enforcement, he is responsible for acting as a model citizen with the highest level of ethics.  Miller disposed of the golf clubs clearly knowing they would be taken.  Whether or not it seems petty is irrelevant, the fact is that it’s not legal.

I have lived in the Wayland area my entire life, and have worked in the town for several years, but have never met Miller.  However, Wayland being a small town, word gets around.   There are many people who support Miller, and equally as many who view him as a corrupt individual. Many who support Miller know him personally, and when an issue arises involving those people, it is only natural that Miller will support those he has known for years.  Bias cannot be avoided when a personal connection is involved.  Thus, why wouldn’t Miller’s supporters want him back in office, when they are receiving preferential treatment?  Conversely, many who do not support Miller have had a negative interaction with him, or have an insight into his corruption. 

In a small town there are not adequate checks and balances, especially for those at the top, and unethical behavior is easy to get away with.  Miller, being involved in the police and fire departments for many years, along with having family members hold positions in the city, creates a “good ole boy” network.  Is it a coincidence that when an outsider, Hoffman, enters the picture, corruption is revealed?  I wouldn’t doubt Miller has been involved in much more serious corruption over the years, but there has never been anyone present to question it.  In the years that I have worked in the town, I have consistently heard some horrific rumors about Miller.  Rumors are certainly not fact; however, they usually have a root of truth.  Also they tend to hold more validity when there are repeated by a wide range of people, many being upstanding members of the community. 

[Willy]

The City Manager works at the bidding of the CIty Council so anything that transpired is under their direction. The Police Chief has more to worry about than the City Manager. It sounds like they all want him out.

[XLFD]

Do your part in getting this further looked into.  A grassroots effort is being made through Change.org to get XWPD (chief Miller) reinstated.  If you feel that he got the short end of the stick, sign the petition:

https://www.change.org/petitions/michael-selden-city-manager-of-way...