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2004: The Year in Local Politics
By Robert E. Martin
But
if national politics wasn't enough to make one actively seek a pristine private
island in a warm climate to purchase and retire upon, local politics could
certainly help seal the decision. The
question running through all of these stories is not how they could happen; it
is truly what we the people as citizens of this great country intend to
do about it in 2005.
History may be nothing more than the set of lies that society agrees upon, but
the future is unwritten. And to quote the late great George Bernard Shaw,
"Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we
deserve." At
the heart of the controversy was STARS Chief Wilfred Beal, who received a
base pay of $88,275 that included 138 annual paid days off and also
managed to install a private shower in his office, purchase $34,000 worth
of furniture, and run up $600,000 of office renovations that included
cherry tables & cabinets, and $1,200 in silk flowers. After
claiming a fund balance existed that included projected revenues of
$9.4 million - over three times the amount of money allocated by Saginaw
City Council in their annual Federal Block Grant allocations that witnessed the
layoff of more police officers in the City in 2003 - it was subsequently
revealed that the STARS budget was predicated upon figures that included
passage of the defeated millage request, was based upon a $4 million
funding stream that never existed, and in fact spent the entire
reserve fund while borrowing even more operating money in the process,
consequently depleting Saginaw County reserve funds down to bare-boned levels.
Claiming they provided 776,000 passengers with rides last year, inside
sources have reported to the Review that the figure is much closer to
3,000 or less passengers. In a
move that stunk with racial overtones that was based upon an agenda that
deserved no place in a multi-cultural and diverse city such as Saginaw, the
heart of the matter centered upon the issue of financial stability. Those that
opposed Kimble stated concern over mounting deficits and the failure of the City
Manager to properly reconcile the budget, while Kimble and her supporters
focused upon the role that ex-Fiscal Services Director Karen Lawrence-Webster
played by allegedly failing to supply needed budget information to the City
Manager in a timely manner. Issues of bounced checks and questions of embezzlement that still have not been answered or fully addressed continues to hang over the heads of Council members as 2004 draws to a close.
Although we do not know how far the City of Saginaw is in the red, projections
seem to vacillate between ranges of $800,000 to $1.5 million dollars. A
recall effort to remove Soza and Thurin from office was successfully mounted,
only to be terminated at the end of the year when supporters of the recall
argued that with voter approval of a new Saginaw Charter Commission in
the November election, energies would be better devoted to devising a new
workable City Charter that could muster voter approval, notwithstanding the fact
that both Soza & Thurin are up for re-election next year. With
the city bleeding jobs and losing population at the average rate of 900 people
per year for 40 years, due in part to the perception of an unstable City Council
and an irresponsible 50% city income tax hike, citizens now are waiting
for the newly elected Charter panel to devise a viable path of salvation for the
city's future. How
this will be achieved is a different question. Despite receiving 11,226
votes and the largest margin of victory that any question placed before city
voters has garnered in the last 50 years, roughly half of those elected to the
Commission are opposed to the idea of opening the City Charter to a ward-based
system.
Moreover, as 2004 draws to a close, it is highly questionable whether one of the
elected Charter commissioners - Al Holiday - can legally maintain his
position on the panel.
According to the Home Rule Cities Act (MCL 117.18 - Charter Commission) No
city officer or employee, whether elected or appointed, shall be eligible
to a place on the commission.
Moreover, according to an opinion of then Michigan Attorney General Jennifer
Granholm, "a person serving as a city officer or employee may run for
election to the office of city charter commissioner, but if elected, must resign
from the city office or employment before assuming the office of city charter
commissioner." In
accordance with this, commissioner Larry Coulouris resigned from his
other committee appointment, however Al Holiday is still a member
of the
Saginaw Housing Commission. Stay
tuned for how they'll manage to resolve this one! For
over six months now Dow Chemical has been engaged in ongoing closed-door
talks with Lt. Governor John Cherry and The Granholm Administration.
On November 4th,
Cherry released a statement, following the passage of a Dec. 31st
deadline, noting "We continue to have productive talks with Dow, and have made
progress toward an agreement, which is much more important than a deadline. We
will continue to hold talks as long as progress is being made toward an outcome
that all parties concur addresses the dioxin contamination. We fully intend to
keep the public informed of progress in these discussions, and any potential
agreements reached through the discussions will be available for public review
and comment before being finalized." For those living with the dangers of dioxin in their backyard, this is an unacceptable situation. According to Michelle Hurd-Riddick of The Lone Tree Council, "Behind the formal framework of these 'negotiations' is a serious breakdown in the civic process and public health protection. We all agree there are times when private meetings are needed to address concerns of interested stakeholders. A cooling down period in June may have been needed but it is unacceptable for this closed process out of the public and media's view to continue into its sixth month. Dow is not the only stakeholder in this process. People living in Dow's dioxin everyday of their lives deserve to be part of this process. Taxpayers supporting public parks and the citizens as the rightful owners of these natural resources are being denied, until after the fact, a place at the table. It is important how our government chooses to conduct our business."
"The
Interim Response Activities defined by law and required by Dow's license are
intended to protect public health. Lansing needs to address those IRA's or
answer why they are not being released."
Indeed, The Review was curious as to what type of negotiations and
communications Saginaw County Board of Commissioners Chairman Todd
Hare, Controller Marc McGill, and Public Works Commissioner James
Koski were having with Dow, so sent a Freedom of Information Act request
asking to review all communications each has had with Dow. Our
request was met with a response from each, stating: "In regards to Mr. Martin's
request, I have not had any communications with Dow Chemical regarding dioxin."
HmmŠso are we to believe that none of these pivotal individuals have spoken with
Dow over the past year regarding dioxin?
Perhaps I should have requested any exchanges conducted via mental telepathy.
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