MACKIE HITS THE GROUND RUNNING AT HIS FIRST COUNCIL MEETING

Elected officials and the general public alike arrived at Hillsdale City Hall early Monday night for a meet-and-greet function to introduce themselves to newly-hired City Manager David Mackie, and many of them stayed for his first Hillsdale City Council meeting afterward, nearly filling the gallery in the council chambers.

For the council, it was mostly business as usual.  All councilpersons were present except Emily Stack-Davis, who was excused.

In opening public comments, concerns were raised about the future of the Hillsdale Board of Public Utilities in light of the closing of the Endicott Generating Station in Litchfield.  Jeff King of the Airport Advisory Committee noted that the committee had been left out of the Citizen Participation Plan, and requested that it be added.

Several major matters of business were on the agenda, beginning with the departure of City Attorney Lew Loren, effective August 15th.

After Mayor Scott Sessions read Loren's letter of resignation, Councilperson Brian Watkins expressed his appreciation for the attorney's service, joking "I understand why you're going, and I would retire today if I could myself."

Councilperson Adam Stockford also thanked Loren, and asked if, were it appropriate, the city attorney could suggest names for consideration as his potential successor.

"It's my understanding," Loren replied, "that there will be either a committee to research it or a committee as a whole of council, serving as a committee of the whole, and at that time, if the committee requests that, I certainly could do that.  But I hesitate to do that right now publicly, because I might be putting somebody in the line of fire that really doesn't want to be there."

"Sure," Stockford responded.  "This is not something that you just give to the lowest bidder, so I appreciate that."

Included in the meeting's agenda packet was an e-mail from Mayor Sessions to City Clerk Michelle Loren, forwarding a message from City Attorney Loren with suggested next steps.  Among those options were sending the matter to the Operation and Governance Committee, forming a special committee, or the entire council taking on the matter as a committee of the whole.

Sessions stated in that e-mail, and reiterated in person at the meeting, his desire to be included in the process, as the city charter gives the mayor appointment authority and gives council authority of approval for that appointment.

"A committee of the whole," Councilperson Bruce Sharp began, "I would feel a lot better after the mess we went through with the city manager, and we had three or four applicants, and we didn't see any of them until the very end.  And the flak we caught on that from the public was not... enjoyable at times, when we had to say, 'well, we didn't know who the other people were.'"

"I feel a committee of the whole would be better suited," he continued, "because that way we all have involvement in it.  It may take longer, it may not; it's just, put the applications out there, we'll see who's interested and go from there.  I'd feel more comfortable having Lew involved in it, too."

Watkins added his support for either a special committee or a committee of the whole, noting that a committee of the whole would be preferable, but it might be difficult to align everyone's schedules.  He also added his desire to include City Attorney Loren in the process.  Councilperson Sally Kinney also voiced her support for a committee of the whole.

Councilperson Patrick Flannery cited time constraints as the basis for his suggestion to create a special committee.

"I don't think there's a lot of time before August 15th to get this through, and we started looking at how many weeks to allow the RFQ [request for qualifications] to come back, time to be able to review them properly, to interview some of the candidates.  It would be extremely difficult to get something, someone in place before August 15th, and we only have one meeting in August before August 15th."

"I would suggest a subcommittee of three," Flannery continued.  "You [Mayor Sessions] would be the chairman of that committee, and that here at this meeting, we set clear expectations of what we would expect out of that committee; whether it be a list of who the people are who applied, whatever people want out of that."

"I think that would have been extremely helpful to me as a member of the O&G Committee, because frankly, when we went into it, we had no guidance from council on expectations, and it would be helpful if, here, we set that."

Councilperson Stockford wanted some clarification on that timeframe, asking if there was a rule similar to the 60-day limit for interim city managers found in the city charter.

"It was my understanding that, at one time, Lew had said that he did work when he was asked to do work, so is the city attorney an everyday job, or is this just something that we could go to a local attorney when we needed them if we're spending a little extra time trying to find the right fit?"

"If you would do that on a temporary basis," Loren replied, "you could do that, but you surely don't want to do that on any kind of long-term basis, because there's a whole range of problems that arise with continuity of involvement.  For instance, there's a pending real estate contract right now that's going back and forth, back and forth, and the history of that is important to know."

"There's not any magic in August 15th," he added.  "I just tried to pick a date that would accommodate Council some.  I didn't want to do a 30-day notice; I thought that that was awful short, so I kind of pushed it out a couple weeks.  The council meeting after August 15th is August 17th, and you could certainly go through a city council meeting without having a city attorney present.  It's not a requirement for the city attorney to be present at the city council meeting, it's just a good idea."

Councilperson Sharp followed up that thought.

"It's a good idea because of questions we might have.  Regarding something that came up in the past, a couple council meetings ago, when we were approached about Open Meetings Act violations or something like that, it kinda put us in an uncomfortable seat.  At the time, we didn't know what the answer was, so we treaded lightly."

"Whatever firm we do consider hiring," he suggested, "make sure they have some form of legal representation here for us every time we have a council meeting so we cover our bases.  That's my only concern; I just want to make sure we don't misstep across that boundary."

Mayor Sessions then asked Loren if he would be willing to delay his resignation date until the first week of September or on an as-needed basis.  Loren said that if the council requested that, he would do so.

"I've been doing this for the city for 44 and a half years, and a couple weeks here and there really isn't going to change my life one way or the other," he added.

Councilperson Watkins reiterated the need for timeliness and responsibility, and moved to use the council as a committee of the whole to start the process as soon as possible.

Councilperson Flannery requested clarification on the structure of the process, which Mayor Sessions explained was simply that the council, as a committee of the whole, would make recommendations to the mayor, who would then present his decision to the council for approval.  Watkins added that, upon the success of the vote he moved for earlier, the mayor should begin the process with Loren.

Sessions pointed out an RFQ form passed out to the council and requested that they note any changes they would like made to it.

Councilperson Sharp had one such change already, suggesting that the requirement for the city attorney to be at all committee meetings would be costly to the taxpayer, and that the language should be changed to state that the city attorney should be at all city council meetings instead.  The mayor clarified that the form came straight from the Michigan Municipal League web site, and that it could be changed to reflect that.

The final timeline decided on was that all changes to that form would be presented to Mayor Sessions by July 10th, at which point he, City Manager Mackie and City Attorney Loren would review the changes, then send out or otherwise make the form available to law firms responding to ads placed in the media.  Additional discussion would take place at the regular council meetings on July 20th and August 3rd before an appointment is made, if possible, on August 17th.

That vote passed 6-1 with the lone dissenting vote coming from Councilperson Flannery.  The subsequent vote to accept City Attorney Loren's resignation passed unanimously.

Public hearings were held for the economic development projects involving Creative Constructs, Inc. at 42 Union Street and Marvo Properties, LLC -- the property ownership branch of Mar-Vo Minerals, Inc. -- at Stock's Mill.  No action was deemed necessary, but the hearings were open for council questions and public comment.  Economic Development Director Mary Wolfram made those presentations.

Councilperson Sharp brought up the possibility of the state legislature passing a road funding bill that would soon cut funding from economic development resources.

"Actually," Wolfram replied, "I have their assurance that because we got in under the wire and we have that letter of intent, which we received for this project back in December, that that funding is secure.  So for both of these projects, we have a letter of intent, and that is secure."

"They're going back and forth about where they're at on that;" she followed up, "whether they're going to write any more letters of intent.  We have projects sort of in the pipeline, and that's a great judgment call as to whether we're going to move forward with those projects and hope they get funded or drop the ball, and there's been a lot of discussion, but right now, we're covered for these two."

Councilperson Stockford had a question about statistics included in one of the application forms, quoting a few portions that drew his attention.

"'In the City of Hillsdale, 10.3% of the general population lives in poverty.  15.7% of residents over age 65 live in poverty.  Overall, 25.2% of populace makes less than $15,000 a year.  Over 17% do not have a high school diploma.  Unemployment is higher in the City of Hillsdale than in the county, the state, or the nation.  The median household income is lower than in the county, the state, or the nation.  The number of residents with disabilities is higher in the City of Hillsdale than in the county, the state, or the nation.'  And so on and so forth.  Those are very disturbing statistics to me."

"They are," Wolfram agreed.  "We are in the process of updating the Master Plan, which would be the document that this came from."

"Just so you know, we're kind of in a funny moment in time in this Master Plan, community development plan, because we're in the process of redoing it," she continued.  "There's been Planning Commission meeting after Planning Commission meeting on updating the plan, and there's going to be a public hearing on that new plan."

"Some of those statistics are not far off," she concluded, "and it is unfortunate, and it's something we should really all be concerned about."

Planning Commission Chairperson Laura Smith stepped up to the podium briefly to clarify that the current Master Plan, having been passed by the council in 2008, contains figures from the 2000 census, however some crosstalk between Smith and Zoning Administrator Alan Beeker might suggest that the figures in the Master Plan come from a more recent American Community Survey, which the United States Census Bureau conducts continuously between census years.

Wolfram clarified that whereas the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application for 42 Union Street was specifically designated to deal with blight, the application for Stock's Mill was for a CDBG grant to help create jobs.  While the statistics are decidedly negative, they are presented to prove to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, who administers the CDBG program, that there is a genuine need for this type of grant in our community.

Mar-Vo Mineral owner David Wheeler took the podium to address any questions the council had, and Councilperson Sharp led things off with his gratitude for someone doing something with the mill, asking Wheeler what the next step was.

"We're real excited about getting in there," Wheeler replied.  "We're in definite need.  Our growth rate is continuing and we're really pressed for space, so it's just a matter of going through the processes; the environmental reviews and stuff."

He added that the process has taken longer than he had anticipated.

"We originally had a purchase agreement with [current property owner] Dr. Horton for seven months, and I thought that that was plenty, and that expired, so we've rewritten it, he re-signed it, for quite a liberal length of time that made sure it was covered.  As soon as the ink's dry, we want to be in there renovating."

Wheeler went on to say that Mar-Vo is too busy manufacturing product to simply shut down and move immediately, but that once things slow down in November or December, the moving process will begin, allowing them to be ready for January or February of 2016 when things pick back up again.

"It's exciting, and it's definitely what we need," he added, "and I think we can make something happen there that sorely needs to happen."

Sharp asked how many jobs Mar-Vo plans to create, and Wheeler replied that they're committed to creating four at first, but the company's growth rate has been in excess of 30% over the last four years.

"This will enable us to develop new products," Wheeler explained.  "That [growth] has been almost exclusively our deer mineral product.  We've developed two more products.  One is actually completely ready to go.  Tomorrow, the first load of packaging is coming in."

"The potential is for a lot more than those four jobs," he concluded, "but I'm very comfortable with those four happening within the time frame of the next two years."

With the public hearings closed, Laura Smith once again addressed council, this time to give the Planning Commission's annual report.  She summarized the activities of the commission over the past year, including fifteen projects, four planning reviews, and a Michigan State University Citizen Master Planning course taken by the commission, which she encouraged all city government officials to take themselves.

Smith also addressed the city's Master Plan, which she noted is to be updated every five years.

"Last time the Master Plan was done was in 2008," she explained.  "We began the update when there was a lot of turnover in the city, and when we returned to doing the update, we decided that it didn't just need a minor revision as we had originally planned, it needed far more of a deep revision, especially since so many of us had gone through the master planning course and had a lot of ideas that needed to be implemented in the city."

"We are very familiar with the statistics, some of those that Mr. Stockford brought up, with the socioeconomics of the city and the needs of the city, so we really needed to take our time to add all of those factors that help the city in grant writing, that could the city to acquire dollars that would help us in the best way.  That would help us to really put a plan together that could be measured."

"In the past," she continued, "the Master Plan did not have measurable goals, and as well know, a goal needs to be achievable, attainable and measurable.  So we decided that we needed to rewrite the Master Plan goals so that they were achievable."

"Hopefully, Mr. Mackie will have a very nice Master Plan to work with, and it will hopefully open up many doors for the city."

Smith announced that the public hearing for the new Master Plan will be Tuesday night, the 21st, at 5:30 in the council chambers at City Hall.

Councilperson Stockford asked Smith about some zoning changes made around the college campus, and Smith explained that much of those changes were done through changing legal definitions, which led to the use of form-based code.  She expressed her desire to see the entire city eventually transition to form-based code.

Alan Beeker stepped up later to explain that form-based code is a presentation-oriented method, verbally describing the look and feel that a zone should conform to rather than strict usage definitions of residential, commercial and industrial.  He added that this is much better suited to mixed-use properties or zones.

Councilperson Flannery asked what the commission had coming up after the Master Plan is passed, and Smith replied that the Master Plan itself breaks down all of the goals within it into timeframes within which those goals should be accomplished.  She stated that roads are one of the primary issues, as well as the aforementioned form-based coding transition, and continuation of site planning projects already on the list.

Smith came back to the topic of the Census statistics once more.

"I think it's important, when [the Master Plan] comes out, that Council reads the statistics.  I think we need to know those income levels so that we can be honest.  I think we need to know that we have citizens that are living in poverty so that we can think, 'how do we help?'  We have a civic responsibility as citizens with one another and neighbors.  This just isn't an issue that is about an ordinance [solution], this is neighbor helping neighbor."

The remaining items on the agenda were mostly brief housekeeping issues:

• The council voted unanimously to appoint City Manager Mackie as the city's FOIA Coordinator.
• After clarification that her term ended with the departure of former City Treasurer Susan Arnold, the council voted unanimously to reappoint Katy Price as Deputy City Treasurer.
• Once Mayor Sessions added the Airport Advisory Committee to the text on the earlier request of committee member Jeff King during public comment, the council voted unanimously to pass the Citizen Participation Plan.
• The council voted unanimously to name Mayor Sessions the duly authorized representative of the city to sign the MEDC application, sign contracts with the MEDC, and sign all grant payment requests for the projects at 42 Union Street and Stock's Mill.
• The council voted unanimously to approve Gary Wolfram for an additional term on the Economic Development Corporation, effective for six years until July of 2021.

The final major issues dealt with came during City Manager Mackie's report, which he began by thanking the mayor, council, staff and citizens for his appointment.

"I think this is a great opportunity.  As Laura Smith had indicated, this is a good time to be in Hillsdale.  There are a lot of good things going on, and I'm proud and excited to be a part of that."

Mackie brought up two issues, beginning with the joint meeting between the Hillsdale Board of Public Utilities and the City Council.  The discussion was mostly centered around scheduling and what would be most sensible in terms of timing in relation to other meetings.

The council voted unanimously to hold the meeting on July 14th at 7:00 before the BPU Board's regular meeting in the council chambers at City Hall.

The second issue Mackie raised, related to the first, was the opinion of the lawyer that the BPU Board had independently hired to review their authority as given in the city charter.  That opinion had been placed on hold indefinitely by the City Council, as the BPU Board did not have the authority to use city funds to hire the attorney without council approval.

However, Mackie stated that it was his understanding that the attorney had done most of the work already, and he trusted the lawyer's independence, expertise and professionalism, so it was the City Manager's suggestion that the council receive and review that opinion in preparation for the upcoming joint meeting.

The council voted unanimously to receive and review the opinion.

In the final public comment session, District 1 Hillsdale County Commissioner Ruth Brown thanked City Attorney Loren for his years of service and welcomed City Manager Mackie before announcing a law enforcement training course being put on by the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Hillsdale County.  That will take place at the Hillsdale Intermediate School District facility on September 23rd, and is free for law enforcement and dispatchers.

Dennis Wainscott announced his write-in candidacy for City Council in Ward 1.

Councilperson Sharp took the opportunity in the council comment session to address an e-mail received from Holly Carpenter about equality in children's sports and health concerns related to an incident she had experienced at Fields of Dreams, and thanked Key Freese for addressing Carpenter's concerns.

"Do girls matter?" Sharp seemingly quoted a question from the message.  "Yes, they do.  Everybody's equal in this town.  Sports or otherwise, they do matter."

"Also," he shifted focus, "it's good to see there's more than one person running in the 1 Ward.  We actually have, what, two people now in Ward 1?  And one in Ward 4 so far.  I hope we get more people involved."

"It's not easy sitting in this seat," he advised.  "You are under the line of fire.  You have a bullseye on your back if you're not careful what you say and what you do.  Always remember what you say -- my wife's always taught me, remember what you say; what comes out of your mouth, because you will be held accountable when you say it."

"So, many times, you see me here with a dumb look on my face, because I'm not gonna say it, 'cause I can hear that voice in the back of my head telling me 'don't you say that!'  It's a hard job sitting here.  But you do your research and you ask your questions on a lot of thing that have been going on around here lately, and I've done that, and I've found out a lot of things, and it's an eye-opener being on council."

"It's not an easy job," he concluded, "and it's a thankless job at times, but I enjoy what I'm doing, and I'm gonna do the best I can as long as I'm on council."

Mayor Sessions thanked all involved, and the meeting was adjourned by unanimous vote.

The next regular city council meeting is Monday, July 20th at 7:00 in the council chambers at City Hall.

The joint meeting between the Hillsdale City Council and the Board of Public Utilities is Tuesday, July 14th at 7:00 in the council chambers at City Hall, to be followed by the BPU Board's regular meeting.

CORRECTION: This article previously stated that Councilperson Bruce Sharp had thanked City Clerk Michelle Loren for her help in addressing Holly Carpenter. We have since learned that Councilperson Sharp directed his gratitude to Kay Freese. We apologize for the error.

HILLSDALE'S LEGAL COUNSEL TO RESIGN

Hillsdale City Attorney Lew Loren has tendered his resignation.

In a letter to Mayor Scott Sessions dated June 30th, Loren writes that he is retiring from the practice of law.

"I have been in the process of closing my law practice for some time now," the letter states, "and this process has reached the point that it is now necessary for me to terminate my legal relationship with the city."

The letter gives an effective resignation date of August 15th, 2015, but Loren adds that he will step down if his successor is appointed before then.

Loren's resignation letter is contained within the agenda packet for the upcoming regular City Council meeting.

Also included in the packet is an e-mail from Loren to Sessions, forwarded within an e-mail from Sessions to City Clerk Michelle Loren, detailing the responsibilities for finding a new legal counsel for the city as according to the city charter.

In the forward, City Attorney Loren points to Section 4.9 of the charter which states that the Mayor shall appoint the City Attorney with the approval of the Council, implying that council participation is necessary in the selection process.  He goes on to say that Section 4.14 "specifically states that the Mayor and Council shall appoint a City Attorney for an indefinite period to [sic] shall serve at their pleasure."

The attorney concludes that the selection process could be referred to the city's Operation and Governance Committee, which he says is the only standing committee that "seems to fit."  He goes to say that the council could also form a special committee, or the issue could be referred to the council itself acting as a committee of the whole.

In the message from Mayor Sessions to City Clerk Loren, Sessions asks the clerk to include in the agenda packet his recommendation that the matter be referred to the City Council as a committee of the whole.

The matter will be discussed at the City Council meeting on Monday night, July 6th at 7:00 PM in the Council Chamber at Hillsdale City Hall.

The Time For Privatization Has Come

Every time I've said this in the past six weeks, something new has come up, so let's see what happens this time:

Never let it be said that nothing ever happens in this town.

...any new scandals break in the few seconds since I typed that?

Seriously, if the Good Ol' Boys had set a goal to keep me on my toes this week, they're succeeding.  Not that they're pushing me to my limit -- far from it -- but there's so much to cover in this space right now that you'd think we're approaching critical mass of corruption and incompetence in local government.

Well, you know, now that I think about it...

• BPU Director Rick Rose was "suspended" just days before his unrenewed contract expired... because he threatened to get a gun and kill the four council members who voted against renewing his contract.  In front of a BPU employee meeting.  With plenty of witnesses.  And this is the guy who, in that very unrenewed contract, was given a glowing review in which he was praised for his "character" and how "professional" he supposedly is.  Given that the language was written by Interim City Manager Doug Terry and City Attorney Lew Loren with input from the BPU Board, it is absolutely infuriating to look back at that assessment in contrast to what has come out in the time since.  This is the professional character that Terry, Loren and the BPU Board members admire so much?  What does that say about their character and professionalism?
   
• That "suspension" was originally an outright termination for cause.  Sources tell me that Terry changed his tune after he had informed the City Council of the termination, and that preferential treatment of Rose is very much thought to be the reason for it.  Yes, Rickie J. Rose threatened to murder City Council members, and he was merely "suspended" after it was announced that he had been fired.  Can you think of any other motivations for that change?  Because I certainly can't.
   
• Hillsdale Community Health Center was named in -- and almost immediately settled out of -- a federal antitrust lawsuit brought by the Justice Department and State Attorney General Bill Schuette.  Community Health Center of Branch County, Allegiance Health up in Jackson and ProMedica Health System in Toledo, Adrian and Tecumseh were also named in the suit, but according to the Hillsdale Daily News, the suit "lays much of the blame on HCHC administrator Duke Anderson as the one who 'orchestrated agreements to limit marketing of competing healthcare services,' which is an anti-trust unreasonable restraint of trade."
   
• Anderson, as a member of the Board of Public Utilities, has also been behind the push to keep Rose on as director and seemed to play the lead role in the Board hiring an independent attorney -- which the City Council abruptly shut down, as the BPU Board does not have that authority.  This and Anderson's involvement on other local governing boards has all raised many questions about conflicts of interest that go well beyond simple "gentlemen's agreements."
   
• Oh, and by the way; that lawyer the BPU hired to find a loophole in the Council's authority over them?  That's going to hurt the Board more than help them.  You watch.  They're not going to like what's coming.

That all of this ties together through Duke Anderson -- though, let's not kid ourselves, he's far from being the only guilty party -- shows just how much power one corrupt person can accumulate in this community when we aren't paying attention.  Trust me, it is no coincidence that these events have only occurred since you and I turned our attention to local affairs again.  The Good Ol' Boys were betting on us not looking in their direction, and they've lost that bet.

And then we have the failure of The Great Litchfield Municipal Power Experiment.

The Michigan South Central Power Agency has, essentially, collapsed in on itself, forcing them to shut down the 55 megawatt coal-fired Endicott Generating Station in Litchfield, their largest production plant, next year.

Sure, you might blame the once-impending EPA regulations that the Supreme Court just overturned and are no longer a factor (and let me be the first to double-sarcastically say "thanks, Obama!").  But truth is, this is a municipal power consortium operating a small plant that just isn't worth the hassle anymore, and municipal power isn't viable to begin with.  Word has it that the books are a disaster.  That it's lasted this long -- since 1982 -- is only a result of stubborn refusal to admit failure.

So I take it back.  We're not approaching critical mass.  We're there.

Last night, a special meeting was held at the BPU between Hillsdale Mayor Scott Sessions, Councilperson Adam Stockford, Doug Terry and MSCPA General Manager Glen White.  I'll have further details on that in a later piece, but the basics should be pretty obvious.  We're all fairly familiar with the power generation technology out there and the scale to be considered.  We don't want to do anything off-the-wall crazy and, say, build solar roadways across the county -- though I do admit, that would be pretty awesome.  Expensive, as-yet unproven, and entirely impractical on a local meteorological basis... but awesome.

No, in the grand scheme of things, we've got three options available to us.

Option A -- and this was discussed at the meeting -- we can go back to local power generation... which is just as unviable as the MSCPA was.  That was why the consortium was formed in the first place and why it failed: government owned-and-operated utilities do not generate enough revenue to work.  They simply don't.  That has been proven repeatedly.

Option B -- also discussed at the meeting -- we shift sources around.  Not all of our power is coming from Endicott.  According to Stockford, the Litchfield plant currently accounts for 41% of the city's electrical generation.  The remaining 59% comes from several sources: 29% from American Municipal Power (AMP) at their Fremont Energy Center (AFEC) in Fremont, Ohio; 22% from various hydroelectric plants mostly co-owned with AMP; and 8% from other sources in the market.  The plan Stockford says is most likely to be considered is to increase the amount from AFEC to 35%, 26% from hydroelectric plants, and the remaining 39% from the market and/or some other source or sources yet to be named.

Option C -- and this is what we need to be considering -- we simply privatize.  Sell off the equipment and contract with a private company.  I'm sure Consumers Energy would be glad to step in.

Option C would also give us the opportunity to do the same with the waterworks side of the BPU which, in all honesty, is a complete disaster.  It's not just the ancient and inadequate pipes that we have to replace every time we repair a road or one of them breaks -- with no money to do so.  It's that the utility is so environmentally unsound right now that the regulators have just about had it with us.  Which, again, we can thank Rick Rose's mismanagement for.  Why should we spend piles of money that we don't have to make the necessary repairs when we can take the short-term financial hit and benefit from contracting with someone who is capable of stepping in and doing the job?  The prudent choice is pretty clear.

We always complain about the streets in this city.  Think of the money privatization would free up to do something about them.  Indianapolis did it.  And while we're not quite on the same scale as Indiana's largest city, if there's a chance that we here in Hillsdale can free up some capital by selling off our municipal utilities, we need to seriously look into it, especially if that money can be applied to the one recurring complaint that everyone in this city can agree on.

Don't get me wrong: I'm under no illusions that everyone would just jump on board with the idea.  Of course, the Good Ol' Boys hate it.  Kevin Shirk -- who, keep in mind, was Lew Loren's partner -- was asked by the City Council to research the idea, and he came back with the answer that it was "unrealistic."  I wouldn't expect any different from their side.

On top of that, we're talking about local jobs that local people fill.  Those are hard to come by these days, and suggesting anything that might eliminate some of them isn't exactly going to be the popular thing to do.  But I'm willing to live with being unpopular.  I've been through that phase before.  It was called junior high school.

And I'm not the only one.  There are others out there floating the idea.  When the jobs come at the ever-increasing expense of the taxpayer and they're not making economic sense in the long run, something has to give.  We can't just keep throwing money at the problem because... well, we don't have any money.  It would take a three-fifths majority in a ballot referendum, but it's doable.

Besides, this whole municipal utility business has been one of the biggest (and growing) sources of corruption and controversy in the past six months.  If we sell it and contract with a private company instead, we're not only saving money in the long term, we're eliminating one of the institutions that the Good Ol' Boys rely on to force their will on the public.  Take away their opportunities and you take away their power.

Pun very much intended.

UPDATE: ROSE THREATENED TO MURDER COUNCIL MEMBERS

New details have emerged in what is now the suspension of Board of Public Utilities Director Rick Rose.

On Thursday, June 25th, sources confirmed that Rose had been terminated for cause.  The termination was made known to members of the City Council that day by Interim City Manager Doug Terry, who under the city charter has the sole authority to terminate the Director of the Board of Public Utilities.

However, in a reversal of course the next day, Terry informed council members that after he had discussed the situation with City Attorney Lew Loren, he decided not to terminate Rose, but to instead suspend him.  Terry also informed the Hillsdale Daily News of Rose's suspension, but with no mention of prior intent to terminate him.  Terry declined to offer the cause of Rose's suspension pending investigation.

We now know that cause.  Sources have confirmed that Rick Rose had called an employee meeting at the Board of Public Utilities and verbally threatened to use a gun to murder Hillsdale City Councilpersons Patrick Flannery, Bruce Sharp, Emily Stack-Davis and Adam Stockford, all of whom cast the dissenting votes that resulted in Rose's contract not being renewed.

The Michigan State Police, as of this writing, are still investigating.

We'll bring you more as the story continues to unfold.

BREAKING: BPU'S ROSE FIRED

Hillsdale Board of Public Utilities Director Rickie J. Rose has been terminated for cause.

According to sources knowledgeable about the situation, Interim City Manager Doug Terry took the action Thursday afternoon.  The cause for termination is not yet known.

The turn of events comes just days prior to the scheduled ending of Rose's contract with the City of Hillsdale.  At May 18th's regular meeting, the City Council rejected a proposed new contract for Rose on a split vote of 4-4.  That vote ensured the ending of his employment at the termination of his current contract, which the city administration says is June 30th.

Rose's employment has recently been a point of contention both amongst the city's citizens and within City Hall.  After he was arrested and charged under Michigan's "super drunk" law earlier this year -- his third arrest and second charge for operating while intoxicated -- many questioned his suitability as the leader of a city department and utility company.  Additional concerns about his leadership on various issues internal to the Board of Public Utilities were amplified in the wake.

On June 8th, the Board of Public Utilities held a special meeting at which they hired their own independent lawyer to determine where authority over the utility company fell to the Board itself as opposed to the City Council.  Several councilpersons, at the Council's following regular meeting on the 16th, raised concerns that the BPU directors had overstepped their bounds.  Questions about the Board's motivations, particularly questioning their relation to Rose's employment, were also raised by members of the Facebook group Hillsdale's Hot Debates.

A special meeting between the Hillsdale City Council and the Directors of the Board of Public Utilities to discuss these issues has been called for, but not yet scheduled, and determinations made by the independent counsel have been placed on hold indefinitely.

We'll keep you up to date as more details become available.

That Flag, As Explained By A Yankee From The South

Author's Note: I'm writing this for my Northern friends, but those of you south of the Mason-Dixon would do well to read this, too.

If you've never heard me say it before, I'm a born and raised Miamian.  Yes, Miamian.  As in Miami, Dade County, Florida.  305.  The Magic City.  The Capital of Latin America.  The real largest city in Florida (suck it, Jacksonville; you'd be no bigger than Tampa if you hadn't incorporated all of Duval County).

Now, as you might imagine, Miami is about the furthest thing there is from being a Southern town.  There's a reason I like to call it "New York South:" it basically is.  We're both massive metropolitan areas.  We're both cultural melting pots.  We're both very cosmopolitan.  And we both despise Boston with a passion... though, let's be fair, Yankees fans: we Dolphans have far more to complain about, being that you only have to put up with the Red Sox while we have to put up with the Cheatriots.

However!

All that being said, Miami is not representative of the rest of Florida.  Calls for the region to secede and create its own state have been popular practically since Tuttle, Brickell and Flagler all signed on the dotted line.  South Florida is its own little habitat separate from the rest of the state.  We've never really gotten along with those crackers, and we never will.  And before you get offended at my use of the word cracker, let me remind you that, being a native Floridian, I am allowed to use it.

Florida for the most part -- save for a few havens of sanity in the other major metros -- is still very much a Southern state.  It was, after all, the third state to secede from the Union (and the third to be readmitted).  Touristas are mostly spared from it, but if you travel to the rural areas, it's painfully obvious.  And I don't mean "painful" as in "wow, this is an embarassingly stereotypical Southern design aesthetic," I mean "painful" as in, "oh, wow, there are still Tennessee Army battle flags and overt racism flying proudly here."

There was even a Stainless Banner hanging over the west entrance to the state capital from 1978 until 2001.  It was part of a display alongside the French, Spanish and British flags as a commemoration of previous governments that had ruled the state, but the Confederate flag, in particular, was always controversial.  It was Jeb Bush who, as governor, ordered it and the others removed with the intent of placing them in a museum instead.

Given this disparity between my hometown and my home state, it's entirely accurate to say that I am from The South, but I'm in no way a Southerner.  In fact, it wasn't until I moved to North Carolina and lived there for three years that I really had my first intimate experiences with Southern culture.  And even then, it was a somewhat watered-down version that isn't truly representative of what one would call the Deep South.

That move, however, did give me the incentive and opportunity to study the history of the Confederacy from people who had grown up immersed in a modern culture that both embraced and rejected it.

It was the first time I had ever learned that what people today call "the Confederate flag" is not, in fact, The Confederate Flag, but rather the aforementioned Battle Flag of the Army of Tennessee.  The real Confederate flag was originally the Stars and Bars (yep, you've learned that one wrong, too), then the Stainless Banner, then the Blood-Stained Banner.  At no point was the Tennessee Army battle flag ever an official flag of the Confederate States of America.

It was also the first I had learned of the true economic disaster that the South had become.  Not as a result of the Civil War, but as a result of the fact that the Confederates were just plain terrible at running an economy, much less a country.

It was also the first I had heard the argument that the Confederacy was about states' rights rather than slavery.  Which, I have to admit, is a compelling argument.  And, to a certain extent, it's true.

Now don't jump out of your seat and scream at me.  Sit down.  Cool your jets.  You didn't really think I was going to leave it at that, did you?  Because, if so, you really need to get to know me better.

Fact is, slavery was the issue.  That was always the case.  That's undeniable.  Every historical record from both sides plainly and clearly explains that the cause for the states' rights argument was slavery.

The framing of the argument over slavery is where the states' rights argument comes into play.  It is true that the Southern states saw growing abolitionism amidst increasing federal control over the states as a threat to the very core of their economy -- which, of course, it was -- and they took the stand that the states should make the determination for themselves on a state-by-state basis about the rights of their own people.

Gee, doesn't that sound familiar?

So when you hear someone say that the Civil War was actually about states' rights... they're telling you half of the truth.  It's an attempt to influence you toward the belief that Washington has grown out of control and reached that point long ago.  Which isn't in and of itself entirely wrong; Washington is out of control, and that growth in power has been happening essentially since the Constitution was ratified.

Which brings us to the root of that argument: federalism.  You have to remember that we as a nation existed for several years as a confederation before we became the federation that we are today, and that the Constitutional Convention only came to the three-fifths compromise because the South refused to participate if the North insisted on counting slaves as people.  They were opposed to federalism from the very beginning because they knew that abolition was going to happen eventually, and that would have been the first step.

Hell, why do you think the phrase "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" was used in the Declaration of Independence rather than the original "life, liberty and property" wording?  Abolition was in the plans all along, and the South wouldn't have even participated in the Revolution if slavery were to be abolished right out of the gate.

This proves definitively that the states' rights argument between North and South was always about slavery.  Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

But the argument against federalism simply does not stand up to scrutiny anyway.  We transitioned to a federal form of government because the confederation was collapsing due to its inability to get anything done... history from which Montgomery and Richmond obviously did not learn jack squat.  The Confederate States of America collapsed for, essentially, the exact same reasons; that collapse was merely exacerbated by the fact that they were fighting a war for their very legitimacy as a government at the time.

So using the Confederacy as an argument against federal control today doesn't make any sense at all.

Neither does using "the Confederate flag" (which it isn't) as a "symbol of Southern heritage."  Since that heritage is entirely centered on slavery, one cannot make the argument that it has nothing to do with race without inherently contradicting themselves.  And yes, there are more than plenty of people -- some of whom I know personally -- who still make that argument.  I have no problem telling them that they're wrong.

I'll do the same to anyone I see displaying the Tennessee Army battle flag here in Hillsdale County, as well.  And yes, I've seen it flying in areas of this county.  As I'm fond of telling friends who've never been here, there are parts of Michigan where you could take a wrong turn and think you somehow wound up in Alabama.

Fact is, that flag is toxic.  I don't care how you think of it, I don't care what sort of modern-day twisting of intent with which you attempt to excuse yourself, I don't care what ignorance of history you might claim.  If you display that flag, you are not only declaring your allegiance to a racist country (the entire purpose of flying a flag to begin with), you are displaying the wartime flag of a military unit that killed people to uphold that racism.  It is the identifying symbol of deadly force used to enslave black people.  That is its entire purpose.  It exists for no other reason.

I can say that authoritatively, not because I'm a Yankee from the South, but because the Confederates, exactly like the terrorist who recently killed nine black people in a South Carolina church, made their racist motivations clear by -- of all things -- literally opening their mouths and saying so.

Yes, the flag in front of the capital building in Columbia does have everything to do with the murder in Charleston.  They both are rooted in racism.  Period.  End of discussion.

Episode 414: "Security Door"

The unamusing recent actions of the Directors of the Board of Public Utilities remind me of a scene from my all-time favorite sitcom, the oft-overlooked late 90's gem NewsRadio.  In this particular episode, station manager Dave has had a glass security door installed between the elevator and the bullpen, citing a rash of petty theft in the office -- which the staff contends is actually just Dave's tendency to misplace things.

Throughout the first half of the episode, Dave finds various employees attempting to defeat the door's purpose.  Drive-time anchor Bill tries to tape the locking mechanism open so that he won't get locked out when he uses the bathroom.  Station engineer Joe steals Dave's wallet in an effort to prove that the door won't stop anyone from doing so.  And staff reporter Matthew attempts to convince Dave that a bird flew into the door and died, which Dave investigates only to find that Matthew had simply placed a Cornish game hen at the window ("and you didn't even bother to defrost it!").

The scene relevant to our fine city's political situation today comes when Dave walks out into the bullpen and sees the security door propped open by someone's desk chair.  As he removes it and closes the door, he reminds the staff that the door is to be kept closed at all times, and that he doesn't want people circumventing the security system.

"Dave, we're not 'circumventing' it," secretary Beth corrects him; "We're just trying to get around it."

Such is the position of the BPU.

As reported by the Hillsdale Daily News, the utility's board of directors -- a board appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council to run a department of the city, mind you -- up and decided to hire their own attorney... ostensibly to "know the rules of the game" as board member Duke Anderson put it.  They sent this nameless, faceless, but oddly pronoun-specified Grand Rapids municipal affairs lawyer a copy of the city charter and directed him to interpret the section about public utilities.

And therein lies the problem.  The city administration's position, as reiterated numerous times by both Interim City Manager Doug Terry and City Attorney Lew Loren at Monday night's regular city council meeting, is that the BPU is a semi-autonomous entity.  They have their own budget, they have their own board, and while they answer to the city council on major affairs, they are allowed leeway to make their own decisions in matters of operating the public utility company.

Which is mostly true.  Buuuuuuuuuuut...

The city council contends -- and they're correct -- that said leeway does not include the right to hire independent counsel of their own volition.  That action requires approval from the city council, because as a department of the City of Hillsdale, the BPU's legal counsel is, by default, the city attorney.  Outside counsel has been brought in by the city in the past to resolve matters that the city attorney does not have the expertise to make a conclusion about, but that's done at the council's discretion, not that of any one department.

As the Daily News reported about the June 8th BPU personnel committee meeting, "The question asked [of the outside attorney] was who had control and final authority as well as the responsibilities and processes between the council and utility board."

That information is very clearly laid out in both the city charter and the code of ordinances.  There is little to no ambiguity about it.

That says to me -- and anyone with half of a functional brain who is willing to use it -- that the BPU board hired their own lawyer just to get the interpretations they want so as to "get around" recent directives from the city council, namely those regarding the termination of soon-to-be-former director Rick Rose.  They want him to stay, and they're willing to play dirty to make it happen.

To make matters worse, the city attorney who is, as detailed in Section 4.15 subsection (e) of the city charter, supposed to be making these determinations for the city -- because, you know, he's the freakin' City Attorney -- once again abdicated his duties and refused to research any of this.  The lame excuse he gave the council for that insubordination at Monday night's meeting was, and I quote, "I don't like spending the city's money without you guys telling me you'd like me to do that."

Keep in mind, that's what he gets paid to do anyway.  Reading the city charter would not have cost the city a damn thing other than his regular pay.  He literally sat there Monday night and told the council to their faces that he'll happily take taxpayer money to do absolutely nothing.

Forgive my language used in justified outrage, but I'm pretty sure at this point that if you look up "cocky bastard" in the dictionary, Lew Loren's picture is the only definition.

Oh, and what ever came of that outside attorney's reading of the city charter's section about public utilities?  He said it was too complicated, and that he'd get back to us by the end of the month.  Which is how we know that this is nothing more than a ploy by the BPU board to circumvent the law.  If I can look this stuff up online in twenty minutes and come to an easy conclusion about where the lines fall, a lawyer should have no problem doing the job even more quickly.

You know, the job we're paying LewLo not to do.

The city council, absent Councilpersons Brian Watkins and Sally Kinney, were not happy about any of this.  In fact, it was Councilperson Emily Stack-Davis who brought it up, because Terry said nothing of it in his report to the council.  He wasn't even going to mention it.

I mean, why should he?  It's not like it's explicitly in his job description "To see that all department heads of the several City Departments completely and faithfully perform their respective duties" or "to keep the Council fully advised at all times as to the financial condition and needs of the City."

Besides, he took his report session as an opportunity to thank everyone for his time as interim city manager, because he's out of here.  "This is my last city council meeting," he said.  David Mackie takes over from here.

Don't take that the wrong way: it's not that Terry doesn't give a damn.  He does.  He sides with the BPU board on this issue.  That's obvious by his actions alone, no matter how much he swears up and down to the council that there's no malicious intent.  He'll simply assist the board in widening the rift before he goes because he arrogantly believes there won't be any repercussions for him to face.

The sad fact is that if no one on the council bothers to step up and dig deeper into all of this, he very well might be right about that.  Despite their recent show of backbone, if decisive action isn't taken very soon, the council may have their power usurped after all.  Wrongfully, yes, and if this has to go to higher levels of government to resolve, it will be resolved in the council's favor, but they might lose this battle, which will be costly to the taxpayers even if they ultimately win the war.

Later in that same NewsRadio episode, Beth and Matthew find Dave sitting in a chair by the security door, staring at it.  When asked what he's doing, he replies that he's watching to make sure the door closes.

"Dave, it's closing." Beth exasperatedly insists.

"It's not closed until I hear it... click."

Matthew looks back at the door behind him and shakes his head.  "Didn't click."

"Maybe it did," Dave claims as he gets up to close it.  "Maybe we just couldn't hear it over all the chatter."

The station manager pushes the door just a bit until it audibly locks into place and says definitively, "There.  Now it's closed."

At which point the door abruptly shatters into millions of glass shards behind him.

My suggestion to the Hillsdale City Council: fire Lew Loren, dissolve the BPU board, and appoint qualified electors of the City of Hillsdale in their places.

And buy a shatter-proof security door.

Addendum: The city council voted 4-2 to direct new City Manager David Mackie to schedule another joint meeting with the Board of Directors where the two bodies will discuss this matter.  The date for that meeting has yet to be determined.

Talking To Me 101: Lesson #2

I'm going to take this week off, A: because I'm somewhat drained after last week, and B: because the one thing I do want to write about this week doesn't really require my input at the moment, which would just consist of me echoing things that have already been said by other people anyway, so unless and until I hear something that needs saying and isn't being sayed (yes, that was intentional), I'll hold off.

So, until next week, I will leave you with another in a series of lessons about how to talk to me.  Have a good weekend!

Council Asserted Their Authority, And It Was Glorious

I'm speechless.

Okay, yeah, you and I both know that's a lie.

But I am left sitting here trying to rack my brain for anything left to say that wasn't said by the Hillsdale City Council at Monday night's meeting.  Several of the council members -- particularly Adam Stockford, Patrick Flannery, Emily Stack-Davis and Bruce Sharp -- not only stood up for what was right, they put the city administration back in their places for the first time in... well, probably as long as any of us can remember.

See, here's the thing: Hillsdale's city government is a council-manager setup with a weak mayor.  That's not an insult to Scott Sessions, that's the actual terminology.  It means that the mayor -- while being the president of the council and an elected, at-large voting member of the council -- is not the chief executive officer of the city.  That duty falls to the city manager, an appointed position, hired by the council to perform his job at their direction.

Such council authority is also in place over the city attorney and, aside from the fact that they're elected positions (for now), the city clerk and treasurer, as well.

Collectively, these offices are referred to as "the city administration."  They are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the city's government, but they do so under the directives and oversight of the City Council... at least within the scope of their office as according to the city charter, city code and state law.  If the scope of the office and the law -- or additionally, as in this case, advice from the state -- contradicts what the council wants them to do, it is their responsibility to clearly explain the situation to the city council.

That has not been happening.  Certainly not recently, and perhaps for quite a long time that we're only marginally aware of.

Let's start with the issue of soon-to-be-former (and I'm relieved that we can now officially say that) BPU Director Rick Rose and the rush to resubmit an adjusted version of his proposed contract renewal.

We knew it was coming.  Interim City Manager Doug Terry had at the very least implied his intent just seconds after the first vote shot the original version down, and he later made it explicitly clear that he wanted a new version that might sway the "no"-voting councilpersons.  This was not exactly a surprise.

However, it hadn't been on the agenda for Monday night's meeting, and consequently, not even Rose himself, by Terry's own admission, had been informed that it had even been written.  Terry wrote the new language to alter the contract just that day, as he told the council, and that being the case, only City Attorney Lew Loren and unnamed employees at the BPU were aware of its existence.

This did not please City Council.

Since none of them had any time to actually review it -- and it certainly wasn't presented to the public for review -- even those who were in favor of continuing Rose's employment found reasons to object.  Councilperson Brian Watkins and Mayor Sessions both weren't happy about the fact that it still, essentially, amounted to a three-year contract, which was the stated reason for the alteration.

Terry clarified that, yes, it was still three years, but it could be terminated at any time; an explanation which seemed to satisfy Sessions and Watkins.

Flannery, however, was on the freakin' ball.  He brought everything with him: the city charter, the council rules, and the calm but stern attitude necessary to enforce them both.  When he told Terry that this matter could not be moved to a vote unless the motion was made by a proponent of the prevailing side, Terry took every approach he could think of to weasel his will through anyway, but Flannery metaphorically slapped him across the face like a parent would an insolent child.

When the councilperson said he wished we'd had a school teacher there to explain the meanings of words, Terry's face was just about three shades lighter than "tomato," and on a personal note, I probably looked like I was having a seizure right there in the gallery, because I was trying that hard to hold in an outburst of uproarious laughter!

Stockford's stand on the August election issue was just as impressive.  He had the same necessary stern and authoritative attitude in the face of LewLo's protestations.  There was no excuse for him not to have brought any of this to the council's attention.  None at all.  And Stockford made that absolutely clear.  The only thing that wasn't said but was blatantly obvious was that, once again, this was not an accidental omission on Loren's part, it was obviously intentional.

Loren, for his part, didn't appear to be as shaken about it as Terry was about the contract vote, but he should have been.  He snuck one past council this time.  In the future... well, let's just say, there'd better not be such a future occurrence.

Tying this back in to Thursday night's illegal special meeting: Doug Terry wants to talk about the spirit of the law?  Let's talk about our current city clerk and city attorney's relationship and Section 5.13 of the Hillsdale City Charter.

Because, again, you cannot ignore the fact that Michelle Loren is Lew Loren's daughter.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: he was the city attorney first, therefore she never should have gotten that appointment when Robilyn Swisher resigned.  That never should have happened.

And yet, here's the situation as it stands:

1. We just had a special meeting between the BPU and the City Council on Thursday night that was made illegal and invalid under the Open Meetings Act because Michelle Loren (I allege) willfully and maliciously refrained from posting the proper public notice on the city web site by the required deadline, then fraudulently backdated it when she did post it well after the deadline had passed.
2. Lew Loren was conveniently on vacation Thursday, so not only was he not present for the meeting, he failed to inform anyone of the violation and crime that his daughter (again, allegedly) committed.
3. Lew Loren, claiming the advice of an assistant attorney general as his basis, unilaterally changed the date of ballot language that would change the city clerk (and treasurer) from being an elected office to an appointed position, and did so without informing the city council ahead of their vote that the date had been changed when the specific directive given to him by the council was that this language was to go on the November ballot.
4. The August election date is set aside as a primary under a combination of language from both the city charter, city code, and state election law.  That being the case, as Stockford pointed out Monday night, according to city charter Section 3.12:

"If, upon the expiration of the time for filing nomination petitions for any elective City office, valid petitions have been filed for no more than twice the number of candidates for the respective offices to be elected at the following regular City elections, then no primary shall be held with respect to such offices."

We have only one candidate on the ballot for the seven seats needing to be filled. That is not enough to trigger a primary, which means that there SHOULD NOT be an August election at all.

5. Lew Loren, despite having this fact pointed out to him by Adam Stockford at Monday night's meeting, actually took the Hillary Clinton route and, quite literally, said "What difference does it make?"
6. Conventional wisdom says that August is typically a very low-turnout election, especially in an off-year like this, so it can only be assumed that the proponents of these ballot proposals are counting on that low turnout for success.
7. It stands to reason that if the office becomes appointed, the most logical choice of person to occupy it would be the person who does so now.

Given all of this information combined, the idea that there is a conspiracy here between father and daughter to perpetuate at least Michelle's power is becoming harder and harder to deny.  In fact, the case to be made is really rather damning.

But the good news is that they know we're on to them.  There are quite a few people involved here who have been watching both this blog and the conversation at Hillsdale's Hot Debates.

Emily Stack-Davis, in discussing this situation Monday night, made a point to her fellow councilpersons that seemed the opposite of the conventional wisdom I mentioned above, but really, it wasn't.  What she was trying to tell the proponents (and yes, I know the definition of the word) of these ballot initiatives is that yes, the citizens ARE paying attention, and this is going to fail if you keep it in the low-turnout August election, because they will come out just to tell you "no" for the second time.

The way I see it, there were two reasons why the council didn't take any further action on it that night.

One, they realized that they were partially responsible on the grounds that all of them failed to read through the entire language and, thus, voted to approve a date that they had never intended to approve.  They know they screwed up, and they're taking their lumps.  I don't particularly like that mentality or the fact that they've adopted it, but that's what I believe is happening right now.

Two, they realize that Stack-Davis was right: we are going to show up in August, and we are going to roundly reject this bunkum.  Or at least that's what I'm hoping for.  You need to help make that hope a reality.

That said, the fact that Stockford and Flannery stood firm and boldly against a city administration that's been used to getting its way says to me that the City Council isn't going to be so lax in the future, and the administration is going to have to shape up, as well, because they will be held accountable.

This is what happens when you get involved.  You and I, we set this ball in motion by paying attention, informing the public and getting people motivated to act.  I believe that the council has taken our discussions here and on Hot Debates as a sign that they have the public support necessary to take the control of the situation that they never should have given up in the first place.

And that means we're not done yet.  The race has just begun.  We're not here to harp on a couple of city employees.  We're here to set the course straight.  We're here to ensure that the law is obeyed, and that those who circumvent or outright disobey it -- especially those who do so intentionally -- will face the consequences.  There is no other way to keep this city's government or any government honest and properly functional.

Like I've said before, I don't want to be the leader of this army.  I'm more of a trumpeter at the front line.  But sometimes the trumpeter plays back to the troops to boost morale, and this is one of those times.  What happened Monday night was amazing.  It is absolutely something to take pride in, because YOU helped make it happen.  So let's rally ourselves, refresh our spirits in the knowledge that we are making the difference we sought out to make, and let's march on.

When all is said and done, the world must know that we here in Hillsdale take our city motto very seriously.

Council to Administration: You Work For Us

It was, throughout, a contentious dialog at the Hillsdale City Council's regular meeting Monday night, and it resulted in several pointed ultimatums from the governing body to the executive employees who work for it.

At the opening of the meeting, Mayor Scott Sessions noted that City Clerk Michelle Loren would be late to the meeting due to a function at her daughter's school.  Another employee took the position at the meeting in her absence.  All councilpersons were present, along with Interim City Manager Doug Terry and City Attorney Lew Loren.

Before approval of the agenda, Mayor Sessions asked City Manager Terry if there were any changes, and as anticipated, there were.  Terry requested that a new item be added: a new contract proposal for Rick Rose.  Sessions entered the new item under the Unfinished Business heading, as it was a continuing matter from the previous, joint special meeting on May 28th, which was itself a result of the previous contract proposal failing by a split vote at the May 18th regular meeting.

The only person to approach the podium during the initial public comment session was Pamela Osmun, one of three write-in candidates for the City Clerk race in the November election.

"I'm kind of disappointed and, quite frankly, confused," Osmun said, "that there would be a special election being held to vote on whether the citizens of Hillsdale want to elect or appoint the city clerk and treasurer's office."

"Ma'am," Mayor Sessions interrupted, "this is not on the agenda, so this is just on agenda items only."

"Hold on," Councilperson Adam Stockford interrupted in turn.  "According to the agenda, the clerk and the treasurer are on the agenda, and as such--"

"Okay," Sessions acknowledged Stockford, then turned the floor back over to Osmun.

"Thank you," Osmun continued.  "At this point, there are people actually running for this position; the citizens should be able to vote for the best person for those positions, according to the charter.  I'm confused as to why we need a special election when it should have been either on the May ballot or even put on the November ballot.  I don't see why we should be spending funds for a special election in the middle when it could have been put on either ballot, and I would like to ask: how is this not a change to the charter?  And when was it decided to have this special election approved?  I've been to several of the meetings, and I have never heard about it on the agenda at all."

When the time came for council discussion on that topic a few minutes later, it was Councilperson Stockford who took the lead.

"I'd like to talk about what the woman who took the podium earlier was speaking about.  I had no idea we were holding this election in August, and I do fault myself for that.  But I looked back at our language, because first of all, I found out about it because I saw it in the newspaper, and I said, 'that's not right.'  I remember us speaking about this being on the November ballot.  So I went back in our minutes, and I saw that at our March 2nd meeting, we all voted.  Of course, it passed five to three; three of us voted no.  But the majority of council voted to allow the city administration to develop language for the November ballot, spelled out in those specific words."

"Now, when the language was brought back to us," Stockford continued, "the date had been changed to August.  Like I said, I know it's my own fault that I didn't see that, but why would I be looking for that when our directive specifically stated 'November election?'"

"I surfed through the Secretery of State web page and our own city charter," he went on, "and found that this election is considered an off-year city primary, so I started looking through our charter for any words on a primary, and our charter states that if more than twice the number of candidates for any office are running for any particular position, then we hold a city primary.  If that doesn't exist, then our charter says we have to cancel the city primary."

"So what I want to know, Stockford asked, "is why are we holding this election in August when we don't have to do it?  Why are we spending money to do this?  And this is a very serious issue; this is talking about changing our charter.  I do appreciate that it's going to the voters, and I opposed that, but I accept the fact that it's going to be going to the voters.  But why wouldn't we do it at the November election?  Why would we spend the money to hold an extra election?  If this is a special election, why didn't we discuss in a the least bit holding a special election for this?  And why was our directive to the city administration disobeyed?"

"I've got a number of questions," he closed, "and I do want some straight answers to them.  So whoever I can get those from, it'll be well appreciated."

Councilperson Emily Stack-Davis mentioned her recollection that discussions of the ballot issues involved confusion at the ballot box over having to both determine if the positions should be elected or appointed and electing people to those positions.  Stockford agreed, and added that he understood concerns about the confusion that would ensue if someone wins their respective election, yet those positions become appointed by virtue of the ballot issues.

After a brief period of silence, Stockford asked for input from the council, but received none.  After another silent moment, he then asked the city attorney and city manager for their input.

City Attorney Loren replied first, explaining that the process for language approval is a back-and-forth conversation with the Attorney General's office, and that the official assisting him in that process was concerned about the date of the elections in question.

"[He] pointed out the fact that if you hold the election in November and the ballot proposals pass," Loren explained, "and you have people elected to the office, there's going to be a conflict between the two that could only be resolved by some sort of court proceedings.  He said that he was unaware of any case law that spoke to that issue, and there certainly is no statutory law that speaks to that issue.  The charter itself does not speak to that issue.  So the suggestion was that it would make a lot more sense to have that done in August.  That's when the August date first appeared."

"The language that was finally developed and informally reviewed by the Attorney General's office was then submitted to council for your review," he clarified.

"Now if somebody didn't like it," he added, "or if council as a whole, before the vote, didn't like it, that would have been the time to speak to that."

"I understand that," Stockford replied sternly.

"Okay, well, okay, but that's the history of it," Loren continued.  "And council then voted to put each of those ballot proposals on the ballot.  So that's where we stand today."

"Is this a special election?" Stockford pressed further.

"I don't know if it's-- I guess it's--" Loren stumbled.  "It's arguable, because there are four regular election dates."

There was an uncomfortable pause as Loren searched for words.

"And I don't know that it really makes a whole lot of difference.  You have to understand that this language, aside from the fact that it was adopted by this council, was submitted initially to the Attorney General's office, and the attorney general approved that language as being legal and consistent with law.  It was then sent to the governor of the state.  It was reviewed again for that kind of consistency, and approved.  So I don't see that there's any kind of a conflict between the language and any charter issue."

Stockford wasn't having that.

"Our charter speaks specifically to special elections, so if this was to be considered a special election, then our charter does address that."

"Well, what difference--?" Loren again stuttered, "I guess-- I don't even-- you could call it a regular election, a special election, or any other kind of election.  Council did pass resolutions that set the August date as the date for the election.  It was in the resolutions that you passed."

"Well, I mean, I voted against it," Stockford replied, "but you're right, I missed the August date."

The councilperson then turned his attention to his colleagues.

"You guys are all alright with holding extra elections; spending money on an election that we didn't have to hold?"

"I voted against it," commented Councilperson Bruce Sharp.

Councilperson Emily Stack-Davis then asked the ultimate question at hand:

"Did you feel that the August elections were highlighted, that anything would have changed at the meeting?"

"I honestly don't remember seeing that, so I can't honestly say," Sharp replied.

He added that he understood the language to have referred to November, but that he understood and accepted Loren's explanation.

"It does make sense," he concluded.

Mayor Sessions then presented his point of view.

"I did read the ballot language the first time, and at that time, there was not any date on the ballot language.  And then there were some changes that were made to it that were notated to us, and the second time it was sent to me, I did not read thoroughly, completely through it, because I just went over the actual changes.  So I did not notice the date, because the first time, there wasn't a date.  I did not read as thoroughly through it, which I should have."

Councilperson Brian Watkins was next, and he explained that he understands the objection and the outcome.

"I don't really think any of us caught the August change, which doesn't speak well of ourselves at that point.  But I would have supported that for the specific reason that it was changed was that it makes to have that decision made before you get to the ballot box, as that language specifically spells out when that charter amendment takes affect as prior to the election."

"I can see, too," Sessions added, "what would be different between a special election and a lawsuit.  You're gonna have to pay out money on both of those."

The conversation then came back to Stockford.

"I'm not the city attorney, but I can't see where we would get in trouble or open ourself up to a lawsuit, because it seems to me that the city charter is the final word on our elected offices.  As I pointed out in an e-mail earlier, if somebody owes money and taxes, and they're elected by the people, the charter says their election is invalid.  So if our charter says that it's an appointed position, then the election of anybody is invalid.  The charter trumps.  It's our governing document."

"And that's my other concern," he continued, "is that we're talking about holding an election in an infamously... low-turnout... off-year August primary; which I still contend that it is a primary.  It should have been canceled per our charter, because we don't have anywhere to look; Michigan law is silent on it.  We're talking about whether it passes or fails; it does so with the vote of about four or five percent of the population.  Super-low turnout.  And changing our charter is a serious affair."

"I don't feel like any of my questions were really answered," Stockford lamented.  "Who changed the date to August?"

"I did," Loren admitted.

"You changed the date to August?" Stockford confirmed.

"I did," Loren reiterated.  "I put August in there, and then I submitted it to you for approval."

"I think we need to start talking about red-line changes," Stack-Davis interjected.  "The council packet for today is 150 pages, and none of the 'highlighted changes' are highlighted."

"Also," she continued, "some of your responsibility -- while the final decision rests with this council, but also -- as the experienced executive advisors, too, highlighting those changes and having this discussion while we're voting on it is pretty important."

"The other thing I'll say as a council member," she added, "is that August is prime vacation time; people go out of the city, and even though I disagreed with it when we voted on this, we as a council decided that we were moving forward with this decision.  So to support that, you're going to have a better turnout in November, and more likely to succeed in seeing what the voters want."

She went on to explain that the clerk position had been an appointed one in the past, but a similar low-turnout off-year election was used to pass a ballot initiative changing the position to elected as it is now.

"I'm concerned that this will go one way or the other in the very highest way if it's in August versus November, when it's in front of more people, and they're expecting to go to the polls anyhow," she concluded.

"If there's a conflict, which one are you going to choose?" Loren prompted.  "And how are you going to support it?  That's the reason that the Attorney General suggested August."

Loren went on to say that he and the Attorney General talked about charter provisions in particular, and the it was pointed out to him that the only resolution for such a conflict would be some sort of declaratory action in court.

Stack-Davis asked if it would be possible for the three write-in candidates for city clerk to simply be informed that their potential election hinges on the ballot issue vote.  Loren replied that he was not certain, but that he would ask the Attorney General and report back to council with the answer.

Stockford was given the floor once again.

"I'd like everyone to remember that the last time that there was an election for city clerk and there was also an election for the charter amendment, the last council was comfortable with putting them on the same ballot.  They were both on the November ballot.  I know for a fact because I ran that year for clerk as a write-in candidate.  And there was also a charter amendment on the ballot to make the clerk an appointed position."

"No," Loren quickly jumped in, "that was to make it an appointed position in case of a vacancy mid-term.  It didn't have anything to do with the election to the office."

Sessions then recognized Interim City Manager Terry, who gave some background on the history of the ballot proposals as an argument that the motivation behind the date change was not deception, but an ability to keep the position occupied more permanently.  He also reiterated Loren's concerns about a conflict between the ballot questions and any election that might take place at the same time.

"There was no attempt to hide it or not red-line it or anything like that.  It was simply... we were controlled by the events and the review of Lansing.  And that's as clear as I can possibly be."

Councilperson Sharp reminded Terry of the $18,000 pay raise that the Officers' Compensation Committee gave to the city clerk position, which may have resulted in the increase in candidates.

"No pay raise for the city treasurer," he stated, "just had one."

Terry, taking that as potential ammunition against current City Clerk Michelle Loren, emphatically stated that she is not receiving any more money than she had been when serving only as deputy clerk.

"All we did was, she makes the same, and we just balanced it out," Terry said.  "We're not going to mislead the public that she received this tremendous pay raise.  Her salary is the same."

Sharp clarified, "I'm just stating the fact that that $18,000 pay raise all of a sudden made the job a little more interesting, and that's where we may have picked up some extra people."

"Unfortunately," Terry responded, "these fine people who are willing to serve our community weren't applicants when we vigorously had advertised that.  I wish they would have been, because a lot of this would not even be discussed--"

"I commend them for doing what they're doing now." Sharp quickly interrupted.

"So do I," Terry corrected, "however, we've already faced a commitment on the part of the council to take this to the electorate and have this decided, and I believe that is, at this point, the opinion we have to respect and observe."

Councilperson Stockford was again recognized.  "Just to close out, I accept all of your answers.  I guess I don't want to question your guys' motivation; I don't know what lies in your heart.  But I would appreciate it that, when this council makes a specific... directive... that it's followed.  And that if changes are made to our specific directive, that it's highlighted, so that when we sit up where, we know that what we told you guys to go do, you didn't change a little bit, you didn't tweak it a little bit, bring it back to us... in a bastardized state."

"I guess I'm willing to leave it at that," he said.  "I'm willing to leave it up to the people.  I think they'll show up in August, too.  But at the end of the day, I would appreciate that when we make recommendations or when we give the city administration directives, that they're followed to a T.  And if you guys decide to go down a different route, that we are made well aware that you did so."

At that point, Interim City Manager Terry apologized for the confusion.

"There was no ill intent, and we will try to do a better job of highlighting those decisions and those dates."

Mayor Sessions then recognized Councilperson Stack-Davis.

"I'm just curious how well this is going to succeed when you now have three candidates running for clerk, going door-to-door, getting their friends to come out and vote.  Now their friends are going to come out and vote in August, and for you all on council who might be in support of this, this is not a good sign."

She further described that moving the ballot issues to August will now result in people who only want the position to be elected to come out and vote, which clearly is not the will of the council in wanting to make the position appointed.

"I'm concerned about that.  If no one else is, I'll rest my case and we'll move on."

"Of course I'd be concerned about that," Stockford added with a smile.

The conversation about that topic settled, the next item on the agenda was the newly-added discussion about the revamped proposed contract for Rick Rose.

Mayor Sessions gave Interim Manager Terry the floor, at which point he laid out the situation's history.  He stated his case that this reworked contract was not being proposed out of defiance, but rather a belief that the initially-proposed three-year contract "was not palatable to City Council" due to the time period proposed and the lack of a succession plan.

This new three-year contract proposal, which Terry explained that he had just written today, would not only provide a plan of succession, but would attempt to find a replacement for Rose within 18 month, at which point Rose would take on the role of training his successor for the following 18 months or less.  He cited major BPU projects currently taking place or that are in the pipeline as making such a succession and training plan a necessity.

Councilperson Watkins led off discussion, saying that he supported the original contract, and he would support this one as well if not for the fact that it remains a three-year contract.  He stated his belief that this would be interpreted negatively by the public as the administration simply re-submitting the same contract.

Mayor Sessions echoed Watkins' sentiments, and added the suggestion that the 18 month terms in the new contract language be reduced to 12 months.

Terry then made it known that the contract could be terminated at any time.  He also stated that Rose was not aware of the new proposal and had not seen it.  In creating the document, Terry said he attempted to stay in line with the Board of Public Utilities' assessment of Rose's talents.  He also reiterated that the major projects and power purchase agreements required Rose's expertise, and that he felt three years will be faster than anyone thinks.

"I had City Attorney, Mr. Loren, late this afternoon review it," Terry said.  "He corrected some grammatical errors, but other than that, the substance of this is my... doing, so... please... come after me."

Councilperson Stockford asked about the termination clause.

"You said it can be terminated at any time, but that's terminated by the Board of Public Utilities or the city manager."

"That's correct, and that is how it stands now," Terry answered.

"I'm aware, thank you." Stockford replied.

After a long awkward pause, Mayor Sessions asked if there was any further council discussion, and seeing that there was none, he asked if there was a motion to approve the new contract.  Councilperson Watkins made the motion, and Councilperson Sally Kinney supported.  Sessions then asked if there was any more council discussion.

And that was when the bottom dropped out.

"Mr. Mayor?"

"Councilperson Flannery."

"Point of order.  According to our adopted council procedures, Section 10.5, 'a motion to reconsider can only be made by someone who's on the prevailing side of the matter.'  Mr. Watkins was not on the prevailing side."

"Okay.  Alright, thank you," Sessions muttered.

"There was no motion made," Flannery emphasized.

"Alright," Sessions replied a little more clearly.  "Thank you for bringing that to our attention."

After about five seconds of silence, Terry spoke up.

"I'd ask clarification for 'prevailing side.'  If it's a 4-4 tie, is there a prevailing side?"

"Well, if we want to get technical about it," Flannery explained, "we want to read it verbatim.  'A motion to reconsider may only be made by a proponent of the decision or action for which reconsideration is sought.'  So 'proponent;' what's 'proponent?'  A proponent is someone who argues for something; who makes a point for something... for the decision.  The people who voted 'no' on this, the people who voted 'yes,' were proponents on two different sides.  I was a proponent on the side that was 'no.'  The contract did not pass because it was a tie; which, according to statute, in order for something to pass, it has to be a majority vote.  A tie is not considered a majority.  So it failed.  So those who voted 'no' are on the prevailing side."

Terry, seemingly still confused on the matter, asked for clarification.  "Proponent or o-pponent?"

"Pro-ponent," was the simple reply from Flannery.

Terry attempted to further argue the point.

"The city administration brought before this council at this particular council meeting the hope that this contract would be by, and of course, motion made, and second by proponents willing to adopt the contract as presented to this council.  Those voting 'no,' would that not be considered 'opponents' to that action?"

"It's a proponent of the side that won," Flannery unwaveringly stated.

"'Proponent' depends on which side you're on.  But what you're proposing right now is Section 10.5.  It's something that was put into our procedures to protect decisions that were made.  Because what could happen is, here... let's say Mr. Stockford wasn't here one day on a 4-4 tie.  All of a sudden, people realize, 'hey!  Mr. Stockford is not here.'  It would allow council to bring up motions again in the future, to have a vote on something that didn't pass."

What this does is," he continued, "it protects the side that won.  That if, for some reason, people are absent from a meeting they're eyeing to attend, those who were on the failing side can't take advantage of that absence to bring something and put it back onto the agenda on short notice.  As this was today, as... I received no notification we were going to do this until I got to my meeting and had this in front of me.  That's what this is protection against; Section 10.5."

Flannery added, "If you want to sit here and argue what 'proponent' is, that's fine.  But what I'm telling you is what's in our Section 10.5; what 'proponent' is.  I'm no expert on grammar.  If I would've, I would've probably asked one of our instructors at our local school to come in to explain to us what 'proponent' means.  But, from my humble education that I have, I can tell you right now -- and also, from my experience in Robert Rules -- it's the proponents who were on the winners, and the fact that this was a tie means that the people who voted 'no' in this case were the ones who won.  So therefore, a motion can only be made by those who voted 'no.'"

"And if you want to go back and forth, we can on this.  But I would suggest we move on."

Terry, whose body language suggested much displeasure with being dressed down, replied somewhat tersely at first, but measured his words as he continued.

"I work for you, council.  I'm not here to debate with you, I... am bringing something forward, and felt that this was a... subject that was of great importance, and... again, this was no attempt to hijack or to mislead council.  I felt very strongly that it was an attempt to try to give... consistency and longevity to the BPU under a controlled course.  By way of direction, if that's how council feels, then again, I work for you, and I follow your direction."

A deafening silence fell upon the room as the members of the city's government appeared at a loss as to what to do next.  Finally, Mayor Sessions pulled it together.

"Okay.  What does council... want to do... at this point... in time... toward... that motion?  Does the council have... any discussion that they want to... go forward?  Because... we're looking at a time when... we won't have a director... so..."

Flannery was recognized.

"Assuming that the new city manager's contract passes this evening, I would suggest that we ask our interim city manager and the new city manager to work together to begin a search for a new BPU director per the decision of council."

"Is that a motion?" Sessions asked.

"No, that is not a motion," Flannery replied.  "I think our vote was the decision and a direction to staff."

Seeing no further council discussion, Sessions moved on, and the matter was closed.

As such, Rick Rose is no longer the Director of the Hillsdale Board of Public Utilities, and a search for a new director will begin as soon as possible.

Notably, when Sessions asked Terry if there were any additions to the city budget and taxes, Terry's "not at this time, Mayor," was loud enough to fill the room well above the amplifying power of the installed sound system.

Those resolutions passed unanimously, as did the OPRA application for Creative Constructs, Inc.'s overhaul of the former Alsons building at 42 Union Street earlier in the evening.

Also passed unanimously was the designation of a new Neighborhood Enterprise Zone for residential development, now known as NEZ #2.  It consists of the city blocks between Fayette Street on the south and and College Street on the north, and between Park and West Streets, West and Manning Streets, and the properties lining the east side of Manning Street.  This zone will provide tax exemptions for further development and renovation of housing in that neighborhood.

The next item on the agenda was the hiring of new City Manager David Mackie, who was present at the meeting.  Councilperson Sharp was the first to comment.

"I'm not thrilled about the starting wages, but that's been discussed in the past before.  But other than that, we need to have a full-time, truly dedicated to the city -- only the City of Hillsdale -- city manager.  So I'm in support of this contract.  And, um, heh!" he chuckled, directing his words to Mackie, "Welcome to the City of Hillsdale."

Mayor Sessions brought attention to an issue he had with some language in the contract.

"I have a problem with Section 7, 'Benefits upon Termination without Regard to Cause.'  In it, it says 'but Hillsdale elects not to extend or renew' the contract.  The severance will be paid whether the contract is renewed or not, or extended.  I have a problem with the contract in that regard."

 With that out of the way, the motion was made for approval of the contract by Councilperson Watkins and supported by Councilperson Kinney.

Mayor Sessions then took the opportunity for final council comment on the matter to express the full breadth of his concerns.

"There's nothing personal about this, it's just business," he began.  "I do not support this contract for several reasons.  As I have stated before, I do not agree with the salary; the $95,000 a year.  I think the salary should be a progressive salary from year to year.  I also think there should be incentives, and in the contract, there are enough-- er, not.  And then I also found this about the 'Hillsdale elects not to renew or extend the contract, but will pay the settlements.  So with that said, if this contract is approved, I will honor the decision the council makes.  I will be looking forward to working with Mr. Mackie as a city manager.  I will do everything in my power and my ability to work with Mr. Mackie, improving and moving the City of Hillsdale forward in the best and most positive way."

That led directly into the roll-call vote, and Mackie's contract passed 7-1 with Sessions being the lone "no" vote.

David Mackie is now our new City Manager, and as stated at previous meetings, he will begin working with Interim City Manager Terry for a period of roughly two weeks to allow for a smooth transition.

Next, updated Freedom of Information Act rules were made necessary by state legislative action, and they passed unanimously, as did the permit for Night Magic Displays to put on the city's fireworks show on the night of July 3rd.

And lastly, the Hillsdale County Intermediate School District Special Education Parent Advisory Committee presented Dial-A-Ride with their 2014-2015 Excellence in Special Education Award in the Business Domain.  Interim City Manager Terry took a moment to thank Judy Buzo and the Dial-A-Ride staff for all that they do for the community.

Public comments in the final session included more thanks for Dial-A-Ride, announcements about upcoming events at the airport and in downtown, and additional concerns about the firing of Rick Rose and his drunk driving arrest.

In final council comment, Councilperson Watkins suggested that the Public Services Committee meet and establish the search process for the new BPU director.  He went on to make a motion to that end, but there was some confusion as to whether or not that was allowed during council comment.  When asked, City Attorney Loren said, "I don't see why not; it's still a part of the council meeting."  Thus, Councilperson Stack-Davis seconded the motion.

However, Councilperson Flannery clarified that, as expressly stated in the city charter, the city manager has sole appointment power to the position of BPU director.

Councilperson Stockford agreed, and added that there should be a Public Services Committee meeting soon, anyway, in order to coordinate with the city manager on the search.

Both Interim City Manager Terry and City Attorney Loren suggested that now-Manager Mackie join the committee in order to be involved in the process early on.  As he approached the podium to address the issue, Councilperson Stack-Davis broke the monotony by humorously asking, "Would you like to join our committee?"

"Sure!" Mackie began good-naturedly.

"Basically, over the next month, I'll be finishing my duties with Taylor.  I'm training my replacement and/or using my vacation time I have accumulated, so I will have time available to come out to any other meetings if necessary in advance of July 6th."

"I definitely think, as council," Councilperson Sharp added, "we need to sit down with you and go over things, discuss what we see down the road, what our plans are for you, and help you that way.  We definitely do have to sit down with you, though, and have a meeting.  Public meeting, so the public knows; none of these OMG vio-- er, excuse me, Open Meetings Act violations."

"You bet," Mackie answered.  "Based on the contract language, that is required, so that's definitely something I would be willing to do, to have clear direction from the council and mayor."

Councilperson Stack-Davis asked if, in regard to the BPU director search, if it would helpful to have the BPU board, the Public Services Committee, Doug Terry and David Mackie all meet to coordinate.  Mackie agreed, and as such, the motion made by Councilperson Watkins was restated with Stack-Davis as second.  Flannery remained in his position and objected to the motion.  Upon roll-call vote, the motion passed 6-2 with the dissenting votes coming from Flannery and Stockford.

In further council comments, Councilperson Stack-Davis requested that the clerk's office add page numbers to the agenda packets.

"I know that we switched over from Granicus to Livestream; it's a different setup.  But if you put in page numbers so we can follow along, and also for the general public, too.  I can imagine approaching a stack of 150 pages or more is a little overwhelming."

She also requested a standing calendar of elections, upcoming events and deadlines, constantly updated and placed in the agenda packets.

"It'll be good for us to be aware of things that are upcoming, and good for us to plan back from deadlines.  If that's okay with everyone else."

That was the end of the meeting, and before adjourning, Mayor Sessions congratulated City Manager Mackie and thanked Interim City Manager Terry and the council, committees and staff.  Councilperson Kinney moved to adjourn, Stack-Davis supported, and the voice vote was unanimous.

The next regular meeting of the Hillsdale City Council is Monday, June 15th at 7:00 PM in the council chambers at Hillsdale City Hall.