Week in Review: Fixing Prices
"Again, I’m going to defer to the expertise.”
Note: Beginning next week, the HCR will be published on Wednesdays.
Week in Review
City Council, Monday, February 3
Airport Hangar Rents
At the last meeting, Council approved $105,000 hangar renovations. It was presented with two options for increasing hangar rent prices after the completion of those renovations, but deferred the discussion to this meeting. The first option entailed raising hangar rental prices to $200/month, and the second to $150/month. Council discussed the price raise as follows—
Councilman Bruns: “I’m fairly confident that we could get the $200/month, and I think we should go for that. . . It’s our job to get the best deal we can for the people of Hillsdale.”
Councilman Flynn, attuned to those subtler feelings that on occasion irk the Multipliers: “I did have an opportunity to talk with Ginger [Moore] today, and I asked about this, and she tells me that anything over $150/month, pilots and owners and companies get real jittery. . . I would defer to her expertise in this matter.” Replacing the outdated doctrine of Vear Deference with a new doctrine: Flynn Deference:1 “Again, I’m going to defer to the expertise.”
Councilman Socha, glad to be of use: “I think we should start at the $150 and see how the increase goes. . . Easier to increase than to come back down.”
Councilman Bentley, contra Socha: “It is easier to decrease it than to increase it. We are having trouble increasing it right now. Two-hundred is perfectly reasonable.” Contra Flynn: “Experts don’t determine prices; markets determine prices. So let’s find out what the market is.”
City Manager Mackie, on the experts: “The amount was taken to the Airport Advisory Committee. . . and they agreed unanimously that $150 would be the best place to start.” On hangar demand: “There’s very little turnover.”
Mayor Paladino, on the City’s preference for the well-Developed: “We’ve been raising prices across the board. . . Dial-a-Ride. . . Sandy Beach fees, dock fees, parade fees, all of the DPS fees across the board. . . all of these things have been doubled. . . We have been hitting our average citizens fairly hard.”
Councilman Jogger, free market theorist by day; fixer of prices by night: “I would think that we would start at the lower number, see how that works, and if there seems to be excess demands, we can come back and raise it.”2
Motion for the $200/month hangar rental price from Bruns, seconded by Bentley. The motion failed, 5-3, with Paladino and the aforementioned in favor; Flynn, Morrissey, Socha, Stuchell, and Jogger opposed. Flynn—a man for the Multiplier Class—motioned for the $150/month option, seconded by Socha; passed 6-2, Bentley and Bruns opposed, Paladino flipping.
The Council majority’s approach to raising fees is yet another demonstration of their preference for out-of-town Multipliers over Hillsdale residents: all fees that ordinary people can (once could?) afford are pressed to the limit; the Multipliers meanwhile receive renovated facilities in exchange for partial increases. Council trembles in fear before the outlandish prospect of our guardian angels abandoning Hillsdale Municipal for Jackson.
JB Office Building OPRA Renewal
The proprietor received an OPRA tax abatement two years ago and failed to complete the required work on the property within the allotted timeframe. She requested a two-year extension for the completion of the work (not an extension of the abatement itself).
Economic Development Coordinator Sam Fry: “What we would be looking at here tonight is whether or not to grant that request for an additional two years for the project. . . The length of the certificate would not change.”
Paladino: “I’ll say the same thing I’ve said about all of these OPRAs: I wish there were a middle ground. I think in a case like this. . . we should collect the taxes that have not been paid to date because there has been no progress on the project. I have again been told by City Staff that this is impossible. I find that somewhat hard to believe, but apparently it is an up or down vote. . . You could essentially just use [the OPRA] to defer taxes into the future.”
Bruns, in agreement: “If that sort of thing is impossible. . . I am skeptical of issuing any OPRAs going forward.”
Attorney Toby, with newfound legal creativity: “One way you could do it is to shorten the total period of time that the OPRA was for if this were to come up in the future, and that at least gives you some leverage short of revoking the certificate, because it’s going to expire, to make sure that the people have actually done what they said they were going to do.”3
Motion to approve by Socha; seconded by Flynn. All in favor. As usual, the Council—including Paladino and Bruns, who went for the OPRA renewal immediately following their anti-tax abatement rhetoric—failed to hold the abated party accountable.
Officer’s Compensation Committee
The City has several vacancies on the officer’s compensation committee, a board that sets the salaries of elected officials.
Bentley: “I think the mayor should be paid a lot more. I think the mayor should almost be like a job.”
Road Diet Discussion
The discussion was instigated by a public comment from Shannon Gainer: “I am against the. . . bike path that goes to nowhere. . . We do have a beautiful bike path that starts at Baw Beese, goes six miles or more all the way to Jonesville.”
DPS Director Jason Blake: “We have a third party doing a design for the roundabouts.”4
Bruns: “Is there a public desire for roundabouts?”
Blake: “There’s a lot more grants out there for roundabouts.”
Bentley: “Before we vote we should discuss having a meeting for the people. . . The people should be heard on this.”
Upcoming Events
County Commissioners, Tuesday, February 11
External Links
“CL wants to be done with the Dawn Theater.” Andrew Gelzer.
“The EDC, then, was created as a means of creating semi-independent corporate welfare organizations, placing taxpayer money and city property into the hands of these boards for redistribution, with an inherent bias toward corporate interests.” Jacob Bruns.5
“I am appreciative of the fact that he lives in the 35th district and understands Hillsdale.” Jennifer Wortz on her legislative director, Jonathan Meckel.
“Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America.” Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia).6
“With only six states trailing Michigan in fourth-grade grade reading, it’s time for lawmakers to consider bold solutions to this growing education crisis.” Mackinac Center.
“This policy will reorient transportation dollars to lower-density communities where there are more single-family homes, family life is often more affordable, and family formation is higher.” Brad Wilcox.7
“The principles of the Founding and the documentary evidence reveal overwhelmingly that America’s Founding Fathers rejected birthright citizenship.” Kevin Portteus.
“We must bring our involvement in the war in Ukraine to an end as soon as possible.” Josiah Lippincott.
“Liberal institutions were historically sustained by a powerful hybrid of traditional civic, national and religious identities with liberal ideals. . . . Shorn of these rooted communities, a fully ‘disembodied’ liberalism has become a pure creature of appetite and will, rather than a civilisational project.” Sebastian Milbank.
“Teachers are now something between daycare provider and HR manager with little technical expertise.” Dissident Teacher.
“Nietzsche was the first philosopher of the post-Christian right & maybe the last philosopher in a long tradition that stretches back to ancient Greece. Nobody as powerful has shown up since.” Titus Techera and Hadar Hazony are engaged in a close reading of Nietzsche’s Beyond Good & Evil.
Whereas Vear Deference was expressed in an unpolished and unquestioned (and yet, in the end, not entirely unwholesome) loyalty to the apparent fiscal savvy of particular staff members, Flynn Deference combines a dedication to expertise more broadly with what Fauxglin has called “liberal avuncularism”: therapeutic, “good vibe” unity chatter meant to conceal what Ms. Swan might phonetically refer to as Flynn’s “milk toast” liberal opinions.
Flynn’s “neither confirm or deny” comment from last week, therefore, is more than just a not-so-subtle hint at his potential mayoral candidacy; it was and is his entire political platform. He’s for what you are for; he feels your pain—that is, until a higher “necessity” (say, frequent flyers getting the jitters) compels him to serve the whims of the Developmental Mind in SADs, Airport cash, and Answers in the Pages. What would he say about LifeWays or criminal law enforcement or property tax maximalism, if asked? Would you believe his answers?
According to Airport Director Ginger Moore’s reports at prior meetings, there is a wait list for hangars at the Airport. Does that constitute demand?
But perhaps our favorite Jogger has given up on his theories and placed his faith in the state. See his 2015 op-ed for the Lansing State Journal for more passages like the following: “state legislators can protect ratepayers by passing regulations that properly align utility incentives with desired goals to use less energy, lower costs and transition the state to generation from cleaner and more efficient sources of energy; including renewables like wind, solar, hydro and biomass.”
Paladino: “So we can use the total length of the OPRA as leverage. . . We have been embarrassed a bit with the IFTs and the OPRAs.”
From what we could gather, at the Carleton-Broad intersection, as well as the Howell-Broad-North intersection.
You’ve heard of a one-horse town? The EDC can now tell potential investors—new stakeholders!—that this is a three-or-four-Substack town, with the potential for limitless expansion.
The future selects its own society.
Think of all the roundabouts you’ll be able to build because Hillsdale College is a Catholic “conversion factory.”
Spending money just because it's available in a grant is moronic. This type of thinking has to stop. It's not your money.
Do we not have serious people on the council?
Public works projects should only be undertaken if they satisfy a critical need, not to keep traffic engineers employed.
Roundabouts?!! I spent 2013 - 2019 in Abu Dhabi. While there, I saw at least two dozen roundabouts removed and replaced with sensible common "smart" traffic lights - the kind MDOT should be upgrading our obsolete "dumb" lights with that would, without a "Road Diet" scheme to weasel more grant dollars, cure what ails Hillsdale traffic.
Sheikh Zayed had been impressed by all the hubbub in Great Britain where roundabouts were increasingly popular in the 1970s & 1980s, having been promised as solutions to all things traffic. Wiser for the wear and toll on families, the locals I lived among were more interested in controlling recovering public safety and controlling traffic flow than they had been enthralled by European traffic engineers' promises a few years earlier, and opted to spend millions a year on replacing the revolving hazards.
There are rare and special places where roundabouts have room and can work, but neither the Broad/North/N Howell Streets nor the Broad/Carleton intersection have a) room or b) ability to work to improve traffic safety & flow. Just say NO to roundabouts.
What is needed is M99 routed at Osseo's Dollar General up Lake Pleasant Rd to E. Bacon past all the manufacturing properties there (where trucks want to go) & then onto E Carleton. If we're not up to pushing MDOT to make that route right, we at least need to keep their engineers out of the business of offering up roundabouts as "solutions".
"There are no solutions, only trade-offs." Thos. Sowell.