I went up to Manistee earlier today to see their City Manager Thad Taylor (seen below) and give him some money he says I owe the City of Manistee (COM).  I should have taken a camera operator, because what happened was reminiscent of a classical Mike Wallace bit on 60 Minutes.

 

The reader may recall that on June 2, 2017, I filed a lawsuit to disclose certain police records pertaining to the March shooting of Lee Pat Milks in his own house by Manistee Public Safety Officer Doug Vansickle (lounging below) who was allegedly there on a code enforcement complaint.  Ironically, the only records the COM gave to me were code enforcement records, in which no complaints for that address past January 2017 was within.  They originally refused to even give me those records, but when they did they sent them with a hefty price on them.

 

The amended FOIA response granting those code enforcement tidbits in an electronic pdf file as requested was asking me to pay $18.43 immediately for the privilege.  The cost estimation sheet is printed below:

Nearly $20 for 11 pages of non-exempt records seemed quite a lot to me, and in looking for what they wish to charge me, you see 11 copies at 10 cents each and what equates to a charge for half hour of a detective's time.  Neither were applicable to the response, as state law (MCL 15.234) does not allow a public body to charge for electronic copies (subsection 1(c)) nor does it allow for 'labor' to be charged "unless failure to charge a fee would result in unreasonably high costs to the public body because of the nature of the request in the particular instance, and the public body specifically identifies the nature of these unreasonably high costs."  (subsection 3).  

Detective Josh Glass must be incredibly inefficient or dense if it takes him between 30 and 45 minutes to look up code enforcement records for one address, nonetheless the response never specifically indicated why such an action would pose unreasonably high costs to them-- hence they waived the right to collect that fee.  

At least that's what I thought when I had this as Count 2 in my FOIA lawsuit but City Manager Thad Taylor thinks I still owe him for that, insisting that until I pay the COM that amount, he will not fulfill any other FOIA request without 100% payment up front.  This has led to queueing and some other equally or more ridiculous fee determinations not based on law as my most recent response shows:

If you wonder what the $246 FOIA response is, you may be surprised that it's for my original request of the one police incident report regarding Milks and the one use-of-force report.  Think of that; two standard reports without any investigation done by the COM police, probably a half dozen pages, at the low, low price of $246.  And Thad didn't even itemize the fees at all.  That's a special kind of city-manager-crazy that I haven't seen in Ludington.

In counts two and three of my lawsuit's complaint, I infer that the city manager is engaged in an act of public extortion.  The only element of that crime which hasn't been in play for misdemeanor charges for the city manager is that I haven't paid him for these unlawfully high and unreasonable fees.  So today, I thought I would go and try to pay my outstanding debt-- the $18.43 Thad charged me for the code enforcement records.  Surely, he would allow me to pay that obligation he says I owe the COM that I dispute, and sign (or even co-sign) the receipt that showed I paid $18.43 in cash in order to get those records.

So I drove the 28 miles it takes to get from my house in Ludington to the city hall of Manistee with three pennies, four dimes, three dollar bills, a $5 bill, and $10 bill in my pocket, ready for paying the beginning of this tab off.  I parked a few blocks away for my safety, and walked into the building, noted that the city manager's office was up on the second floor, went up and entered a room where a woman sat behind a stately desk, with a placard with a name on it that I recognized from my FOIA responses, Cindy Lokovich, who helped answer many of the FOIA responses on behalf of the city manager as his executive secretary.  

I asked if the city manager was in, she asked the reason for my visit.  After I told her my name and the reason for my visit, she seemed to have a change in demeanor of being pleasant to being a tad testy, and informed me that Mr. Taylor was in a meeting and would be in meetings throughout the day.  I couldn't help but notice the entrance to Thad's office to the left of me was open, she nervously looked over there at least once, and she was directly intent on sending me down to the first floor to pay the treasurer the money I had.  

I was politely insistent on wanting Mr. Taylor to sign any receipt that I would receive, and told her that if she has the authority to act on behalf for him as she does in the FOIA responses that she could walk down to the treasurer with me and co-sign the receipt acknowledging exactly what the payment was for.  She scoffed at my offer. 

I noted I'd rather wait until Mr. Taylor gets back from one of his meetings and take a minute to do the same with him.  She was reluctant for that to happen as we walked down to the first floor, where the kindly clerk or treasurer was willing to take my money, but Ms. Lokovich was unwilling to also sign the receipt to indicate what the money was paying for and who it was on behalf of.  

Neither of us would budge from our positions.  So here I was willing and able to pay my $18.43 to settle the amount they charged me for records they sent me, but they weren't willing to recognize on that receipt who in the COM was requesting the money and for what.  They just wanted to give me a generic receipt as if it was a valid debt of $18.43 I owed.  I would rather not get the treasurer, clerk or anybody else in trouble that didn't try to extort money from me on multiple occasions.  Just the person who has the criminal audacity to ask for $246 for two simple police observation reports.  I walked out when it became clear that Ms. Lokovich would not allow that to happen.  

This evening I sent Manistee City Manager Thad Taylor an E-mail message expressing my dismay and requested some remuneration for not being able to pay him off as my intentions were.

"Thad,

I tried to catch you this Thursday morning but your secretary told me you had a full day of meetings and would not be reachable all day. That was unfortunate because I had $18.43 on hand in order to settle a debt you have declared I have with the City for receiving 11 pages of code enforcement reports. Ms. Lokovich was very willing to have me pay the money to the treasurer, but she was unwilling to co-sign the receipt I would need to show me exactly what it was that I was paying the $18.43 for.

That seemed a reasonable condition for paying off this debt, but your executive secretary would not have any part of it. At the courthouse, you seemed confident that the $18.43 was proper and legal, so I'm confused as to why she would not do it herself or allow me the opportunity to meet with you so you could take care of that business. Maybe she or you are having some doubts that the $18.43 and the other charges on your ridiculous FOIA responses are legit. I sure would be if I were you.

Title 31 of the US Code Section 5103 says "United States coins and currency... are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues." I drove 28 miles, two ways to settle the debt, I wasn't able to because your secretary wouldn't sign a receipt to specify what the payment was for and who was requesting the payment. That seems rather crooked, and I would have asked you about it had you not been either hiding in your office or at some 'meeting' and away from a phone.

Using 2017 IRS standard mileage rates for business travel at $0.535 per mile, I would say the City of Manistee owes me $29.96 for the 56 miles I travelled without being able to consummate my business. It took me a little over an hour of driving, even at minimum wage that's a little over $10 add another $2 to $3 for the 15 minute runaround I got from Ms. Lokovich and I will settle for a rounded $42.

If you want an invoice showing your obligations before you pay up, let me know in your reply. It looks likely that I will have to buttonhole you at the 2-13-18 work session of the council to pay you the debt you claim I owe the City of Manistee of $18.43. I hope you can tell the camera operator what that $18.43 is specifically for, as well as put that on the receipt. If not, I'll have to charge you for another fruitless trip to the city you are running into the ground."

It's going to be an interesting work session on Tuesday.

Views: 662

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

The influence Richard Wilson has on the City of Manistee is appreciable; when Manistee's city attorney weasel George Saylor III is not able to attend a Manistee council meeting, which happens regularly, guess who replaces him.  These guys have very few morals, I found that out when they and 51st Circuit Court Judge Richard Cooper's son Craig defended the COL in my very first FOIA lawsuit held in front of Craig's dad. 

See it for yourself here where they potentially screwed either Filer Township or Manistee, nobody really knows because the public was kept from any oversight of the agreement: "A proposed Amendment to the Agreement has been drafted by Richard Wilson on behalf of Filer. The  City Attorney [George Saylor] has  reviewed  and approved  the  Agreement [for the City’s collection  and  treatment  of  wastewater  for  Filer]. Mr.  Wilson  and  the  City  Attorney  are partners in the same firm; however, the language amendment is only being made to satisfy the  requirements of Filer’s financing so there was no request for review by outside counsel [or the public]."

Both of these guys are unscrupulous as your stereotypical lawyer and I wouldn't feel comfortable as a Filer Twp resident or Manistee resident in this drafting of a major agreement with zero public exposure and zero comments by officials at open meetings.

Typical BS from a gov't. employee. Now watch him not show up Tuesday for the CC mtg., ha, or get a cop to oust you from the mtg..

Thad Taylor, has been a city employee for 41 years now, ousted from Cedar Springs in 2015 as city mgr., formerly worked in Alpena, orig. from Greeneville, a former cop, then firefighter, then zoning admin., then public safety admin., then interim city mgr., guy must be about 63 yrs. of age now, always on the public payroll, never on private pay. Just a casual background research on someone never working privately, so another gov't. life-timer.

Thad Taylor should be John Shay's best bud, since the Manistee search for a replacement city manager a couple years ago showed that there are not a lot of quality city manager candidates looking to relocate in this area. Corruption czar Kevin Bookout was originally the top pick until his past was brought to the city's attention by me and then the former Missouri mayor he once wronged.  Taylor then rose to the top of the list, but he had some questions over his tenure at Cedar Springs, a city about half the size of Manistee, where three members of the council voted against retaining him shortly before his move to Manistee.  

Cedar Springs took 9 months in finding a replacement without its utter destruction, I would dare say their citizens and Cedar Springs government flourished over that time based on my contacts with Thud Thad.  Manistee's difficulty in finding a replacement city manager in 2015 is likely a reason why the city leaders are wanting to put the charter amendment to raise the approval of the CM contract from every year to multiple years on the ballot again.  

That is very sad because there are several charter amendments I could devise that I think would be popularly supported and wanted that would empower the citizens and/or keep their elected officials in check.

Looked at the Manistee budget for 2017, Thad boy makes $149K plus $50K in expenses/benefits. Another 40 year stooge on the public payroll that has acquired the ability to be aloof, arrogant, and condescending mixed into his swell personality. Good luck with any success with this type, lol.

I left a phone number with Thad's executive secretary yesterday to allow him the opportunity to call me to settle our debts.  In our nearly 5 1/2 minute phone conversation today we weren't able to come up with a way that was mutually satisfactory.  I just want a receipt that shows exactly what the $18.43 I plan on paying the treasurer is for, imply that it's a legal debt by applying his signature, and for him to leave that with the treasurer for her to sign when I give her the money.  He won't sign anything, he explosively said he wouldn't, even when he was reminded that he signed the original FOIA response calling for the money and has signed multiple other FOIA responses saying that he won't compile other FOIA responses until I pay this $18.43 followed by other fantasy amounts for others. 

The guy needs to man up and show that he believes what he's doing is not public extortion.  It is, Thad, and you're going to cost Manistee quite a lot in hiding behind your undisclosed records with this illegal scheme.  Chances are, the local prosecutors won't do their job anyway, so why is he so afraid?

I insist that if he won't accept my money, he needs to do his duty in sending me all of the simple FOIA requests I made ASAP.  If he doesn't, I told him not to be surprised if I contact some agencies or file another lawsuit.  He hung up before I could tell him I was going to visit him at Tuesday night's city council workshop meeting. 

Better take several witnesses with you and some video cams., you're probably going to need them.

RSS

© 2024   Created by XLFD.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service