Ludington's Fly on the Wheel and Flywheel

[XLFD]

A lesser-known lesson from the renowned fabulist Aesop involved a short fable involving a fly sitting on the wheel of a chariot totally in awe of his own self-importance by remarking what an awful lot of dust he was raising.  The moral of the story was that vain people tend to imagine themselves the cause of great results when they actually do nothing.  The phrase "a fly on the wheel" is used today to describe an otherwise insignificant person who acts as though they are driving an important enterprise.  

Ludington City Manager Kaitlyn Aldrich has a significant position at city hall, but she has become the proverbial 'fly on the wheel' by making a habit of getting the city into contractual obligations without having the authority to do so.  As we have noted often before during her short tenure thus far in Ludington, the power to authorize the making of contracts on behalf of the City of Ludington is the official and absolute power of the city council, as mandated in the city charter. 

Aldrich seems to believe that city purchasing policies allows her and department heads to make purchases up to a specified amount, that's true enough.  But these policies do not override the city charter's final words on the needs of purchases that put contractual obligations on the city to be approved by the council.  This is why we have historically seen the council formally approve contracts that fell well under the maximum purchasing limit (at the time) of the city manager or relevant department heads.  

This becomes especially critical when the city manager wants to spend taxpayer money on speculative considerations, as what will be related here.  While one might justify her secret and unauthorized hiring of the Plante-Moran law firm as being in the city's interest to explore new sources of revenue and at least two other unauthorized contracts made and signed by her that worked to absolve the city of liability for destruction of public records and hiring an outside law firm to defend the city's alleged breaking of a contract, we find this latest unauthorized trek into corruption without any directed municipal purpose.

Flywheel Momentum is a consulting company who "help community leaders get housing built — from policy to production", at least this is what they say in their tagline.  One can readily look through all the compiled council and standing committee minutes for meetings and quickly determine that Flywheel is never formally hired by the city-- or even mentioned at all until March 2026.  Of special interest is in the May 18, 2026 minutes of the Finance Committee, where we see the city manager devoting $14,500 in city funds from ARPA and her own budget to a Flywheel contract which was supposed to come before the council on June 8th:

It would not be on the June 8th agenda, or any agenda since then, so this contract conceived in May 2026 in front of three accomplished councilors (including two attorneys) at a standing committee meeting is definitely unlawful if Flywheel is providing the city services, and thanks to Aldrich's admissions at the last council meeting, they apparently are being employed by the city for some purpose, which seems to be for adding expenses to code enforcement and rental inspection.   

Foregoing the formal acceptance of this contract by the council could possibly be characterized as a simple mistake under the normal contract-approval process, if Flywheel wasn't already working on behalf of the City of Ludington for over a year looking at whether it would be feasible for city hall to get directly involved with developing the Foster School property.  To nobody's surprise, there was no contract between the two parties then either as they acted as consultants.

Looking at the Flywheel site, the going rate for the simplest of similar consultant jobs run around $20,000.  The total extent of Flywheel work product and secretive payments made to them through the 'city manager contracted services budget line' are difficult to determine without a little help from a city known historically for its abuse of public records laws (FOIA), but what we do have is a nine-page power point presentation on Foster School dated May 2025 showing that Flywheel was advocating for dense housing in the footprint of a demolished school, with 91-123 housing units in that block alone.  

A little over a month later, the city council would call a closed session at their July 14, 2025 meeting to discuss a potential purchase of land and in true City of Ludington fashion would never divulge what land they were considering purchasing.  Authorities like the Michigan Municipal League recommend and advise cities to be open about what property they are considering before going into closed session, courts advise this as the best course too. 

No city official has ever confirmed or verified that Foster School was the object of that July 2025 secret session, but the May 2025 power point about the school and the city's clear designs noted therein, makes this the only culprit property one can imagine.  This would further explain the city's reluctance to admit what property purchase was under consideration in the closed session, as at that time the property was not foreclosed and not for sale.  The logical conclusion is that the closed session was illegal as there was no statutory purpose to go into closed session at the time!

Should we really be surprised that a city manager who unlawfully and repeatedly gets the City of Ludington under contractual obligations without any council approval is violating the Open Meetings Act by improperly going into closed session to thwart public oversight into the crazy notions offered by those illegally retained consultants?   If you still believe our current council takes their job and their responsibilities to the people seriously, then why are they rolling over and letting the city manager violate the laws of our state and our city charter so openly?   

[Freedom Seeker]

Good story, X. Not a fable. Very frustrating. It just seems Aldrich is young and inexperienced to break the City Charter repeatedly and State Laws FOIA ... or reckless to think she can get away with it. Either way she is arrogant to not follow or learn rules.

Frustrating that the City Council has no backbone to stop her, especially after the Andy's fiasco, but there is so much involved in finding a new city manager with the way MML is involved in the cities, imo, promoting "corporate-like" managers that know little about the area they are moving into. These MML-promoted city managers often are young and inexperienced and do anything to get a job that overpays and makes them self-important; imo, the crux of what fuels the arrogant, know-it-all fly on the wheel ready to break laws to get and keep that carrot-dangling, high-paying salary.

Same with other, ignoramuses, like the CDD--arogant because they are getting overpaid (relatively speaking per local average wage), living off the tax-payer while despising the hand that feeds them.

[XLFD]

If I were a betting person and could definitively confirm or refute the following theory, I'd put a fair share of money behind it.  The CDD with her Mercedes mentality has effectively mentored the new city manager on the way things are done at city hall, and it's not according to proper MML rules set for ethical governance. 

The telltale signs are there and who would be surprised that Government Heather wouldn't be throwing her two decades of seniority in corrupt practices around as best practices for an unripe city manager who didn't have the benefit of being taught the ropes by the prior city manager, who had mostly good experiences in the position.

[Golf~6~Romeo]

Jefferson warns and describes our current tyranny.

"When a (hu)man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property, and justly liable to the inspection and vigilance of public opinion; and the more sensibly he is made to feel his dependence, the less danger will there be of his abuse of power — The abuse of power, that rock on which good governments, and the people's rights, have been so often wrecked."

I doubt current Ludington leadership is well read enough on history not to repeat it. I've seen enough since I've been home to know this to be true.

They are either malicious or ignorant, either is unacceptable, unsustainable, and must be destroyed to rebuild.

It's time to make an omelette.

[XLFD]

Before we decide to make an omelet, let's look at the current sunny side up of democracy as concerns Ludington.  We see some scrambling going on; the five positions up for election are being vacated by the incumbents (only one is term limited), all five but the clerk has undergone at least the first part of the recall process since their last election.  

Those four positions each have two people running for them and the amazing thing is that there are clear distinctions between the candidates in each case.  The voters have an opportunity to make a statement of change towards a responsive and responsible government if they vote for Hoekstra, Kazmarski, Iafrate, and Brody.  If they vote for either Stibitz, Case, or Vanderwater, they will get more of the same crap we're getting now.  

Truly, even if you're in the even wards, you can only vote for two of these positions, but you need to vote and you need to vote against the machine and/or vote for the ones who want to fix it.  It's the same choice, and if we can't even poach a win for the people by getting at least three of these reformers in, maybe an omelet is warranted.

[Golf~6~Romeo]

Chatting about it in this forum isn't enough. Not enough reach.

This current leadership apparatus has proven hostile to small business. I'd like to see the chamber host an event where downtown small business owners may have dialogue with interested candidates. We have the reach💪🏾

[XLFD]

Great point, there is a big disconnect between city hall and the businesses, even when they are physically adjacent to each other.  The DDA seems to be more of an arm of city hall dispensing and/or withholding favors rather than being a useful tool for businesses not favored. 

This would be the best election to re-establish the connection as each office features no incumbents that might decide it would be safer to sit out rather than participate in such a forum you mention.  I would love to host a real debate myself, asking tough questions that would not be in anybody's comfort zone, expecting answers that aren't political doublespeak like what you get at the COLDNews/WMOM/Synergy/MCP forums. 

Have the candidates actually distinguish themselves from each other while at the same time show us what they truly have passion for in seeking the office.  How nice would that be.