Week in Review: Pulling the Staff Card

What is the most responsible way to fine residents?

Week in Review

City Council, Monday, April 15

County Commissioner Update

• County Commissioner Doug Ingles: “LifeWays, located on Care Drive, has requested more space. They currently lease space from the County. The Board of Commissioners have proposed for LifeWays to build a new building on County property, just to the west of their current building.”

Your cash-strapped County Commissioners find it acceptable to redistribute money to this organization,¹ which is quite open about its aim of “increasing access to care.” “Care,” “access,” “mental health,” “visibility”—these vague but nice-sounding words all have very precise meanings for the people of LifeWays—

Public Hearing: Ordinance Amendment for Parking Fine

Parking violation fees will be increased, 9-0 in favor.

Public Hearing: Confirmation of Special Assessment District (SAD) Rolls

The Council discussed the most responsible way to fine residents who live on poorly-maintained roads, striking part of the fine of one resident, and then confirming the SAD rolls as a whole. For context, the municipal code limits special assessment maximums to $5,000 per lot.

• Ian Church, among the Specially Assessed, pleading for mercy: “Given that we own two and one-third lots on Cold Springs Circle, we have been asked to pay $8,333, which is $3,333 more than others are expected to pay, even those with more property. This discrepancy is caused by our lots not being considered contiguous by the Special Assessment. . . I would appreciate it if the Council would consider reducing the amount my family is required to pay towards this project.”

• City Manager Dave Mackie, emoting: “I feel compelled to respond. We did provide a couple of solutions that would have been legally the right thing to do in order to get the lot split appropriately for what the task at hand was, but they weren’t acceptable to the homeowners.” On his zeal for the equal enforcement of the unequally enforced special assessments: “We’re trying to do things appropriately here, without emotion. . . Quite simply, to just waive it, in my opinion. . . would be granting Mr. Church a special favor.” On the failure of residents to “liquidate their assets” in conformity with expert guidance: “We’ve been talking about this since 2022. . . They felt they wanted to come here to ask Council to give them special treatment, and the staff recommends against that.”

• City Assessor Kim Thomas, on special assessment best practices: “I was speaking with the assessor from the City of Jackson and got a copy of their policy. Their residential cap is $15,000.”²

• Vear, in praise of elevated property values: “We started special assessments five or six years ago. Up where my dad lives, off of State Street. . . since that work was done, all I’ve heard is that the property values have increased at a greater amount.”

• Paladino, on arbitrary governance: “Unfortunately we are in the business of exemptions up here. Exemptions, subsidies, tax breaks—it’s all a question of who we want to support. In my time on Council we’ve already given away hundreds of thousands of dollars to wealthy developers. I motion that we strike [one of Church’s lots] from the assessment roll.”

• Mackie again, now quivering with rage: “Just one final comment from me: my recommendation is that you do not support this motion. You’ve never heard me say this in a meeting—I’ve never pulled this card—I think this is the wrong motion for the wrong reason. That’s all I have to say.”³

For: Socha; Stuchell; Wolfram; Stockford; Morrisey; Paladino.

Against: Pratt; Sharp; Vear.

Resolution to Amend PACE Program

The state of Michigan authorizes municipalities to give residents special assessment financing for home “green energy projects” under the “Property Assessed Clean Energy Program.” It is a city-backed loan program. Council enacted this in Hillsdale in 2019, allowing citizens to assess themselves in order to finance solar panels and windmills. The discussion regarding an amendment to the program:

• Todd, PACE administrator, cheerfully reflecting on the prior debate: “It’s been kind of fun to watch talks of special assessments. . . it reminds me of how unique PACE is. . . At the end of the day, no city money is being used.”

• Paladino: “Why is this necessary? Why can’t the industry use their property as their [loan] security?” Todd: “The industry can, but. . . we push property owners to take advantage of government programs. . . to go green.”

• Sam Fry, marketing director, development expert: “[PACE] is another tool in our economic development toolbox.”

All in favor.

Workforce Dwelling Unit Ordinance Amendment

All in favor.

New BPU Truck

BPU will replace two pickup trucks at a cost of $44,700 each. All in favor.

Closed Session: Purchase of Real Property

Doubtless an endeavor that the Council believes will lead to massive future revenues.

Upcoming Events

County Commissioners, Tuesday, April 23

External Links

• “For the second time this month, a recall effort is underway to recall embattled Mayor Adam Stockford. This time, the recall petitioner, Ted Jansen, has included recall language for Ward 1 Councilman Greg Stuchell . . . because Stockford and Stuchell both voted in support of granting the municipal waste service contract to LRS,” Corey Murray.⁴

• “Last week it was for streets, now it’s for trash? As we saw with the previous recall, they’ll just keep throwing junk at the wall hoping something sticks.” Stockford tells Logan Washburn what’s really going on.⁵

• “HCS Hires Ted Davis as Superintendent! The Board of Education voted unanimously to hire Ted Davis as the next superintendent. Mr. Davis is replacing Shawn Vondra who will retire at the end of this school year. Mr. Davis will begin his official responsibilities on July 1, 2024.” Hillsdale Schools.

• “We know value and convenience are top of mind for our customers, and we look forward to providing a one-stop shopping experience that offers both here in Hillsdale.” MLive.

• “I’m sad to say this, but we look at the court system right now and a lot of times the outcomes seem to be related more to a political element, and it just so happens that . . . the judge who got assigned to the case is the only judge that was appointed by Biden.” Senator Jonathan Lindsey appeared on Delaney in the Morning.

• “The State Board of Education has approved a resolution calling upon lawmakers to pass legislation that will make Michigan charter school finances more transparent.” Michigan Department of Education.⁶

• “The lesson goals are to help students share and explore pronouns through classroom discussion and literature to embrace differences and promote acceptance.” DeWitt Public Schools.

• “It is no surprise, under its current Democratic leadership in the legislature and executive, that Michigan chose to defend the surrogacy industry and LGBT special interest groups over women and children.” Carmel Richardson, writing at The American Conservative.

• “This regulation is an assault on women and girls. It makes it a federal requirement that boys be allowed in girls bathrooms in elementary schools. It makes it a federal requirement that men be allowed to play women’s sports, putting their safety, privacy and competitive opportunity at risk.” Betsy DeVos on President Biden’s revision of Title IX.

• “Designating Muslim Americans as an official ‘race’ makes them eligible for affirmative action patronage, which Democrats have used since the 1970s in a cynical divide-and-rule strategy to pay off mostly Democratic nonwhites in return for their votes.” Michael Lind, writing at Tablet.

• “The leader of Iraq traveled to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down with President Joe Biden to meet with the state’s large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s weekend aerial assault on Israel.” Associated Press.

• “About 90 percent of the apple orchards in Iowa in 1992 were gone by 2017, replaced by corn and soybeans.” Helen Andrews reviews Austin Frerick’s Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry.

• “The administrative state undermined Mr. Trump’s first term and undermined my tenure as Britain’s prime minister, forcing me out of office after 49 days.” Liz Truss, writing in the Wall Street Journal.

• “They think it’s murder. And it kind of is. I’m just okay with that. I am. I, I mean, there’s eight billion people in the world. I’m sorry, we won’t miss you. That’s my position on that.” Bill Maher on abortion.

• “Trump’s moderation may be the best the opponents of abortion can hope for.” Matthew Schmitz.⁷

• “The public space is no longer hospitable to spirited yet peaceful politics. It has become a field of conflict where herds of peevish cattle rush to lock horns.” Jacob Howland.

• “Once upon a time, we had this thing in school called shop class. I can’t think of a dumber thing in the history of modern education than removing shop class from high school.” Mike Rowe.

• “The word ‘polycule’ is a synthesis of polyamory — engaging in multiple romantic relationships — and molecule. . . . Perhaps it’s best left to a polycule itself to offer descriptions.” The New York Times.

• “Disinformation only really became a discussion point in response to the Trump victory in 2016 . . . created a marketplace for enterprising start-ups and not-for-profits to claim a specialism in detecting disinformation . . . team and algorithm essentially trained to identify and defund any content [the elitist entrepreneur] finds offensive, not disinformation.” Freddie Sayers, writing at UnHerd.

• “Last year’s average MLB player salary was $4.5 million; it makes a lot of sense to pay Driveline $20,000 in training fees and keep your data to yourself. The math probably isn’t as compelling in your job. But if you think a version of this tango isn’t headed for your profession, I’ve got some thymus oil to sell you.” Josh Tyrangiel, writing in The Washington Post.

• “It is Fukuyama, not Huntington, who appears to have been vindicated by the past decades, at least when it comes to liberalism’s rivals: there are none . . . As a nation state, even the most powerful nation state on Earth, America can be challenged, even defeated. But as a civilisation state, it is without rivals . . . Whilst America successfully universalised its culture, it has not universalised every part, still less the best parts . . . there is a trend towards a sort of ‘corporate socialism’ in which big business and big government manage resources and populations.” Sebastian Milbank, writing at The Critic.

• “Very excited to announce I'll be joining the good folks @uaustinorg as Associate Professor of Political Theory!” The University of Austin has hired Alex Priou.

Farewell

1. LifeWays receives $800,000 per year from Hillsdale County, not including favors such as a new building or years of what may have been a rent-free stay at the current building. From Jackson County, they get another $1.5 million, and from the state’s general fund, $2.5 million. See page 8 of this document.

2. The Development-minded often wish to compare Hillsdale to—and to make it more like—cities like Jackson, Coldwater, or Adrian. For these types, the only acceptable argument for or against any particular action is whether or not one of these larger, more. . . developed. . . cities have enacted such a policy successfully in the past.

3. Though the manager does not speak in such an open, passive-aggressive way very often, every potential action presented to the Council concludes with a “staff recommendation” in the meeting packet. So, in another way, the manager “pulls this card” multiple times every meeting.

4. With continual reference to “the growing rift in the Hillsdale County Republican Party,” this time featuring a “more moderate” Leininger faction. . . . We are pleased that Murray is brushing up on adjectival functionality, but we’re not sure he can write “embattled” without citing the Review, and we’re not sure that two frivolous recall efforts justify the word.

5. “I [wasn’t] doing it specifically to ruin his state representative campaign,” Penny Swan told Washburn, before complaining that she’s getting “a lot of heat and anger and hate.”

6. The aim can only be to make the creation and maintenance of a charter school so burdensome that only the largest management companies—always-already more amenable to both state intervention and progressive inculturation—can handle the paperwork. Even compliant schools, however, can expect to be ruined into the public school status quo by regulations regarding enrollment and certification: (1) “Prohibition of students from being excluded from attending a charter school, discouraged from enrolling in a charter school, or encouraged to disenroll based on behavior, academic achievement, disability, English-language proficiency, family status, or living situation.” (2) “The prohibition of charter schools from refusing transfer students during the school year if the charter schools have available space.” (3) “Strong encouragement that all charter school teaching and administrative staff increasingly hold certificates instead of short-term permits and that employees who are working while holding temporary or emergency permits are encouraged to become fully certified.”

“What this will do is simply force charter schools to not open,” said the Democrat-dominated board’s lone no vote, Republican Tom McMillin. “I know that there are many who want to protect the adults in the system,” he added. “That’s their first priority as opposed to the children.”

See responses from Michigan Capitol Confidential and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

7. We’ve heard rumors that the integralist coalition is breaking up, in part because its great man, Adrian Vermeule, is the only true Machiavellian among them.