Letter to the Editor: Responding to the city manager

Dear Editor,

I’m very glad to read that the city manager will take the time to respond to The Clarkston News, if not the public. (The Clarkston News, Feb. 16, 2022)
It does show the power of a local newspaper.
Let’s take a look at what he has said, keeping in mind that the Clarkston Sunshine and Clarkston Secrets posts reference things that actually happened and are verifiable versus the city manager’s make-believe world.
The city manager states, “As a matter of policy, the city does not respond to comments made on social media, which may or may not be factually based.”
Where is this policy documented? When did the city council enact it? I can’t find it anywhere and don’t recall it ever being discussed or adopted.
Section 4.2 of the city charter says, “The Council shall determine all matters of policy of the City and adopt ordinances and necessary rules and regulations to make the same effective.” Michigan’s Open Meetings Act and the city charter requires that it be done at a meeting open to the public and recorded in the meeting minutes.
How did this happen without violating charter and law, or maybe there is no such policy?
As a side note to the issue of social media, the city had a Facebook page at one time. It now seems to be gone. How did that happen? Once again, it wasn’t by any known action of the city council.
The same lack of lack of legitimacy applies to the mayor’s often stated policy that the city council has no obligation to respond to public comments and questions.
While they may not want to respond, or have no answers, it does raise the question of why they are there if not to inform, respond to, and represent the public that elects them?
How about the city manager’s statement that, “This is an active case in the Oakland County courts and, as such, we are unable to comment on any aspect of it.”
As far as anyone can tell, the city’s legal filings are not shared with the council or public, even though they are public documents and available to everyone, as Ms. Bisio has done now and in the past through her Clarkston Sunshine and Clarkston Secrets posts.
There is no known rule or policy for not commenting on legal matters, but perhaps this is another one of the city’s secret policies that are used when the administration and council do not want to respond to the public and explain why tax dollars are being spent.
“The people shall be informed so that they may fully participate in the democratic process.” This quote is from Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. You will no doubt recall that the city fought this for five years only to lose in the Michigan Supreme Court. Not much has changed even with that loss and the city manager has now reinforced that informing the public is not what the city government wants to do. It appears the city council agrees with him.
Then we have the Mill Pond Inn bed and breakfast in the residential area of the city. It is in violation of both the past and newly revised zoning ordinance. It does exist by court order, another legal battle the city lost, has been there for something like 20 years, and has had no documented complaints, as is true of the other short-term rentals that the city has now banned.
Where is this “separate agreement” the city manager speaks of and are others able to take advantage of such special arrangements? Everyone knows that special agreements are common in the Village of Clarkston, but no one wants to talk about that.
Let’s look at other issues that the city routinely ignores:
As I noted, the city charter states that the council determines all matters of policy and adopts the necessary rules and regulations to make them effective. So how did the public comment policy for council meetings change from the end of 2021 to the beginning of 2022? Why are the policies for the council, commissions, and boards all different? Why are meeting minutes often not available as required by Michigan law? There is no documented discussion or action by the city council for any of this. Yet another violation of the city charter and Michigan’s Open Meetings Act? Good luck getting an answer.
What about council resolutions and ordinances? Charter section 6.9 requires them to be codified every 10 years, furnished to city officials, placed in the local library, made available for free public reference, with new ordinances and resolutions printed annually. I am not aware that any of this has ever been done for resolutions and only partially for ordinances.
Try to find the approved versions of resolutions and public notices. They are not in the approved meeting minutes, and I have yet to find them on the city website.
The city manager references old versions of ordinances and cites requirements that do not exist.
What rules and policies does the city operate under and how does anyone find out?
What about city committees? They are listed on the city website even though many of them are inactive and the listed members no longer involved with the city government. Most of the online committee information is from 2017 or earlier. On that note, 2017 happens to be the same year the current city manager was hired.
Perhaps the city manager will explain why much of the information is so dated, incorrect, or non-existent. Maybe there is an unwritten and unapproved policy for this too.
The council often authorizes the city manager to sign contracts that they never see. Charter section 12.1 requires they be signed by the mayor and clerk, not the city manager, presumably after the council has read and approved them.
That’s not the way things are done because why would the city council want to know what they have authorized or follow the charter?
The list continues on with a sign ordinance that violates constitutional requirements as determined by the United States Supreme Court, ongoing spending in violation of law, charter and ordinance, open meeting violations, and expensive emergency repairs to city vehicles which can legitimately be attributed to poor maintenance practices.
Few care, certainly not the elected city council, and the mayor would rather write about the dreamy history of the Village of Clarkston than present-day issues.
While it is easy to criticize the city manager, who was hired even though he had no municipal management experience, the fault lies with the council who ask few questions and do as little as possible.
There has been no known review of the city manager since he started, even though I am pretty sure it is required by his contract. I’m not sure the present council would even know how to do this.
The city manager has had substantial pay raises every year with no reason given other than some other city managers make more. No one asks if they are also more qualified because no one asks questions or challenges the information the city manager puts in front of them.
I no longer live in Clarkston but did for 41 years. I served on the city council, the Historic District Commission, and with many local organizations.
It is very troubling to read about the ongoing decline of the city’s government while they continue to charge the charter maximum tax rate, reduce services, and ignore the public that must pay for it.
The residents and taxpayers of the City of the Village of Clarkston deserve better, as does everyone.

Sincerely,
Cory Johnston
Lake Orion

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