Kaye Holman: Freedom of Information Fighter

[XLFD]

Ludington City Councilor at-large Kaye Holman had a couple stacks of papers at her side and made a speech at the Monday 8-13-2012 Ludington City Council meeting.  It was directed at yours truly and the Freedom of Information Act, well mostly at me.  Since I couldn't say anything at the meeting, I include my commentary in red here.  Her diatribe begins after the 26:00 mark.

"Everyone is asking me what the papers are for  [I knew it was going to be part of a visual aid.]  Tom, thanks for coming [you're welcome is what I would say if I had the opportunity to speak, but as per the rules of order, I would have to sit mute for the rest]  These two stacks of papers constitute about 90% of all the FOIAs that we have had to copy, to send to Tom, because of his Freedom of Information [Note: I have had about 30-40 copies sent to me in total, all paid for without any indigency bonus.  I ask to 'inspect' the records, which generally requires no copies to be made, they generally have opted to send it scanned to me via E-mail.  About half of the two stacks were from my one FOIA described in "Innerview with a Vamper"]

Now I believe in Freedom of Information, what that means is, yes, you can ask for it and yes we will give it to you, unless it is an open thing such as we have had lately with the Fetters and a couple of other things we just simply can't [I haven't asked the City for anything regarding the Fetters' shooting, the two investigation records I have asked for, they surely can and must if they follow the law When open governments...]  However, these are the originals of the copies that Tom has gotten [correction: over 98% that Tom has either inspected or received electronic images of.]  We have approximately $6500 in fees, $6500 in fees, but you get a credit if you're indigent (point, smirk), you get a $20 credit (point, smirk) if you're indigent [the $6500 is an arbitrary figure they get when they add in illegal costs such as attorney fees.   I have paid for all the material that I have inspected or received.  I really appreciate you dissing indigent people interested in why their government is doing corrupt acts, Ms. Holman.  Maybe next meeting I'll point to you, smirk and say wealthy, and repeat myself.]

You have approximately 150 hours included in this which includes time for the people who work here, that have to take time from their day [... to do their official duty of providing records via FOIA].  Now consider if you're a minimum wage employee, which is..., I don't even know what minimum wage is now [$7.40 an hour, do your homework, Kaye] , say you make $10 an hour, and you spend 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, that's 15 hours, that's $150 that the City is paying someone to make these copies [again, if copies are being made, they are not following my request to either inspect or receive scanned images].

And I'm sorry, but I consider this a fishing expedition [your speech?]; I think it is done to harass the City [your speech?!]; and I truly believe that or I wouldn't be standing up here [giving your speech?].  We copy actual records [when they don't need to], we have time, we have 100 of staff hours, close to a thousand of staff hours [quick math fact:  1000 hr. X $10/hour minimum wage = $10,000 minimum for these, a bit more than her arbitrary $6500 figure earlier-- is the City paying under minimum wage?  Hardly.] since this whole mess was started.

We have... this is approximately two feet, three feet, something (pointing to stack).  Normally, we get 4-6 FOIA requests per year (hand wave, repeated).  Here we are.  Attorney fees are included in this; now we do pay our City Attorney, our City Attorney is on a retainer but if he's working, and we're having to go to him with many of these if not all [let's ask ourselves why the City uses the $185/hour CA to gauge how best to dodge giving out information for most of their responses.]  Most of them-- OK so if we're paying him X amount of dollars per year [$40,000 plus $185/hr. for special projects] and I don't have those figures [I do.] and I'm not going to give you one [I can.]   If we're paying him X amount of dollars and he's having to take part of that time, and he's taking that time over a course of a year, 40 hours a week, I don't know [I do, its about 7 hrs a week, 28 hrs per month.], which is what most of us work, but because he's got to play with this mess (flourish at the papers), he's now working 50 hours a week [hmm, my less than one FOIA request per week causes the City Attorney to work 10 extra hours that week.  Wow, I had no idea...]

Don't you think, don't you think, that he's gonna say "You aren't paying me enough." [$185 an hour is plenty for these special projects.]  There we are again with the money.  It's costing the City a lot for Tom to go fishing [and I don't even have a marina slip under surveillance by the City!]  I have no idea what he uses them for [read the Ludington Torch and find out, Kaye, or curse the darkness.], I don't care [I do], I don't know [I do know], I'm sure he's not going to tell me [tell you what Kaye, I will go through my whole list of City FOIA requests next meeting and tell you exactly what I was fishing for, the reason I was fishing, and show you the fish I caught, and even the ones that got away.  I'll need more than five minutes however...] 

But I'm having a real hard time with this and that's why, because of this (points to papers), and this isn't all of it; John Shay has them all laid out on his counter and I didn't want to mess up his counter any more [... than I did at the last office party.]  The dollar rate will go up, hourly we're paying these people, and again I don't know what the average hourly rate is here [I do, once again thanks to FOIA], we'll pick the $10 figure [for City Hall workers, guess again, the lowest clerk goes for over $15, the City manager around $70 per hour].

Right back to paying and paying and paying and I frankly don't have any idea what Tom is doing with these [could it be exposing the corrupt City in action, Kaye?] , other than one of my favorite phrases (mumble) the tail is trying to wag the dog [this idiom means:  An item of minor importance dominating a situation-- I don't get it either].  And I resent that deeply, I resent that DEEPLY [I still don't get it either, even with her repeating it.]

I'm going to be here for two more years [knock on wood] and I'm probably not going to shut up (fit of cackling).  Those of you that know me, know that I take it very seriously, very, very seriously [why?], and I don't intend to stop talking about it [but I'm restricted to five minutes, is that fair?] and if I bring more of these out (points to papers) I will [no, puh-leeze not again, have mercy], because I believe it is only fair that (mumble) other than costing the City and its... it's not me, I'm a taxpayer, you're all taxpayers also, right?  Everybody in this room and the people watching are all taxpayers, we're paying for this, we're paying and paying and paying [there goes her paying ramble again], and I have to say again, I resent that deeply.  Thank you

[Wanda Marrison]

It was not Tom Rotta that was givin the thank you for watering the flowers on Ludington. It was Tom? (sorry not sure of the last name)
He sits right up front every meeting. You can see him in the meeting clip. Please give credit to where credit is due. This man donates many hours of his time.

[XLFD]

Don't blame me for not making that fact obvious; Johanna is not the first person to wonder why they were thanking me for watering the flowers.  I would be confused if I knew I didn't water any petunias.  But the two who praised the other Tom didn't make this difference known.

As I said earlier, the guy in front of me was the one doing the watering.  Wanda, you can give me some credit for donating many hours of my time into trying to keep my City clean.

[AQUAMAN]

A BIG thanks and tip of the hat to Lisa (we don't always agree, but I know this, she's pretty sharp, and witty), for this very astute and observant post, really clarifies what is right, and that which is unprofessional. And also, quite unfitting of a council member that is obviously, on the wrong drugs, or maybe the lack of them, see a DR. KAYE, you need attention. First time I've ever heard a CC rant at a mtg. this way!  And I truly hope, the last!

[XLFD]

Lisa, if you are bored and then try to alleviate that through watching the Ludington City Council, you make about as much sense as that Hastings man who wanted to speak to police so he then started stealing bikes, LOL. 

[Lisa O'Brien]

lol

[XLFD]

Her point was to give the COLDNews the basis of a story to further deride and defame the most dangerous man in Ludington, as far as corrupt public servants are concerned.  And if you read page three of yesterdays paper, she succeeded.  

Even though there is plenty of factually incorrect information in the article, it's better than what normally comes from the COLDNews.  Every single thing that Kaye Holman said was taken as factual, and just like all articles the COLDNews has published about me, they haven't consulted me (except for a couple of times back when I was Candidate Rotta).

[XLFD]

Kaye did me an awesome favor when she did this, though she probably doesn't know it. 

MCL 15.233(1):  "...upon providing a public body's FOIA coordinator with a written request that describes a public record sufficiently to enable the public body to find the public record, a person has a right to inspect, copy, or receive copies of the requested public record of the public body."

She gave me a way to describe the public records that were in those two piles of records sitting right beside her, already made FOIA-ready by her own admission.  Yesterday afternoon, I sent the following to John Shay: 

"Under provisions of the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (MCLA 15.231 et seq; MSA 4.1801 (1) et seq) I am requesting to personally inspect the following public records :

The two large stacks of papers that were at Kaye Holman's right at the 8-13-2012 City Council Meeting which were alleged to be 90% of the FOIA requests I had made to the City of Ludington. It is my understanding that since these public records were compiled for Councilor Holman's lecture, the perusal of these prepared documents should not cost anything to view, with my intention of making copies of them-- the ones that have been withheld from me due to unlawfully being priced-out of viewing them. If you still irrationally believe I owe you something for them, be sure to keep that stack at hand, because I will have someone else, other than me or Toni, to do a separate FOIA request on those two stacks. Remember, we just wish to inspect these already FOIA-prepared documents.

If you need any clarifications of this request, please reply expediently to this E-mail address.

If you determine that some of the requested information is exempt from disclosure, please detail what is being withheld and cite the exemption under FOIA.

If fees to comply with this request exceed $20, please contact me at this E-Mail address with those fees enumerated.

As provided under FOIA, I would anticipate my request being filled within five working days of receipt of this letter.

Tom Rotta

The Ludington Torch

[Willy]

X

I would have loved to see you get up and walk out [to the bathroom] in the middle of her pin headed complaints.  The look on her face would have been priceless. I have never seen such foolishness and false and inaccurate  accusations being hurled at a private citizen by an elected Council member. A private citizen who's only trying to get at the truth. Shame on Holman and the Council for showing how petty and vindictive they are.

[XLFD]

Willy,

Ms. Holman is a respected Ludington City Councilor, and she obviously worked a small part of an afternoon putting together her speech; it would have been bad manners to walk out on something that meant so much to her.  Besides, it would have gave her one more reason to dislike indigent people (smirk, point)... and I probably would have been gang tackled by the police and fire chief, expecting the worse.

Besides, by the middle of her pin-headed complaints, I was so amused I had accidentally wet myself, so didn't need to use the bathroom.  Next time I'll bring my pickle jar with me; that's what us indigent guys call a portable bathroom (smirk, point).

[Lisa O'Brien]

okay I had one other question regarding the meeting - why did the gentlemen who spoke after you feel the need to explain that you do not work for the LFP ?? I work in NYC and someone is always wearing some kind of NYPD or FDNY gear - and there is no police or firemen running behind them explaining they don't work for the city - it seemed pretty juvenile.

[XLFD]

That gentleman who spoke after me was Fire Chief Jerry Funk, my boss of eight years on the Ludington Fire Department before I became X-LFD.  A great fire chief, really knows all aspects of his job, but he's devoutly loyal to the City Hall (and his son-in-law is the Mayor), and totally supportive of them, right or wrong. 

He also worked on the City of Ludington Daily News for decades, before recently retiring.  This is the third time he's made the clarification that I am not on the LFD or represent them in any way.

For the record, I resigned from the LFD after nearly 8 years served, because Police Chief Barnett made a tail wagging the dog situation over a bicycle traffic stop which was reported falsely to Chief Funk, my boss.  The other political things happening around the same time (Jack Byers, the Fire Station/Western Land fiasco of 2008, careless political chatter among various LFD members involved in City politics, etc) made the LFD totally unlike what it was when I joined, which was before Henderson got mayorized. 

[AQUAMAN]

Good for you Masse, misery loves company, right? I'll just bet it was a limp slippery handshake too...lol. Btw, you should have said saw, not seen, that's past tense pal...lmao.