Hamtramck, Michigan, October 26, 2009 – Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski will kick-off a city-wide civic engagement campaign with an important informational presentation on the timely topic “Finding Opportunities During Recessionary Times.”

The presentation will take place on November 22, 2009 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the People’s Community Service Center, located at 8625 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck, MI. The event is open to the general public. All city residents concerned about the future of Hamtramck are encouraged to attend. There is no charge for admission. Discussion and a question & answer session will follow.

Guest speakers: Kiran Cunningham Ph.D and Hannah McKinney, Ph.D from Kalamazoo, Michigan have been invited to speak at this engagement.

Kiran Cunningham, PhD, is the Kurt D. Kaufman Professor of Anthropology at Kalamazoo College. Her areas of expertise include using action research to catalyze social change. As an action researcher and consultant, she works with communities desiring change to design methodologies for bringing a broad range of community members into the conversation about identifying goals, taking stock of current assets, and determining how to mobilize those assets to achieve community goals. She has worked with a variety of non-profit and governmental groups, including the United Nations Development Programme, the National League of Cities, Kalamazoo County, and the City of Kalamazoo to design and implement action research projects in areas such as land use, rural development, community mental health, youth needs and services, and asset-based community development. She has published in several fields including higher education reform, community building, transformative learning, and community mental health. The common thread in her work is a commitment to grounding transformative, sustainable and systemic change in high quality participatory research.

Hannah McKinney, PhD, is Professor of Economics and Business at Kalamazoo College and vice mayor of the City of Kalamazoo. Her areas of expertise include urban economics and local public finance. During her 12 years as a local elected official she has worked to foster economic development, affordable housing, regional land use planning, and intergovernmental cooperation, while working on and catalyzing many innovative initiatives in Kalamazoo. She chaired the planning process for the first major update of the city’s comprehensive plan in the mid 1990’s. The development of the plan marked the first intensive citizen engagement process carried out by the local government and included many neighborhood and interest groups whose interests had been unrepresented to that point. She helped to create the structure for a countywide transit authority and worked successfully on the campaign to fund it through a countywide millage. She laid the groundwork for a five year fiscal planning process for the city’s annual budget. She has published on a number of subjects related to urban economics and policy.

For additional information on the civic engagement campaign initiative, contact Alex Maysura at 810-701-9117 or email at mailto:lxmaysura@yahoo.com.

Alex Maysura is a Master of Social Work intern from Wayne State University currently working with the Hamtramck City Council under the direction of Councilmember Catrina Stackpoole. Mr. Maysura was a longtime Hamtramck resident and business owner. He is currently completing his degree requirement in community action and organization.

Klein and Stackpoole were absent.

No one spoke during public comment. The consent agenda was passed unanimously.

Cooper had no report, but received two letters he wished to share. The first was a standard request from M-DOT requesting right-of-way access for the Safe Routes to Schools program. M-DOT intends to letting bids in February or March and begin instruction immediately after the school year ends. The second letter was from the Recreation Department thanking the city for the use of Zussman Park in the past. The annual Winter Glow Celebration will be held at the High School Community Center this year on Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.. There will be rides in a horse-drawn carriage, ice sculptures, Santa, reindeer, and holiday treats, music and goody bags.

Gordon asked where the financial report on the Hamtramck festival was. Cooper said he forgot it and would give it to the council by Thursday morning.

Shulgon heard that the city has a rainy day fund of $2.5 million dollars. Cooper agreed that there is slightly more than $2 million in the budget stabilization fund. He said that using money from that fund was figured in, and that he can't take money out of the fund without council approval.

Shulgon asked about the GM TIFA paperwork from 2005. Cooper said a state audit uncovered the expiration of the agreement in 2005, which was between GM and Detroit. He said that failing to renew it was a "missed opportunity, and that the TIFA could be reestablished, but doing so would have little or no value because the base amount would be reset to the current property value rather than previously established, lower value.

Shulgon asked if the TIFA expired when the state was in charge. Cooper agreed that Schimmel was in charge at the time, but Detroit was responsible for collecting the taxes and disbursing them to Hamtramck. Shulgon suggested suing the state. Cooper claimed that less taxes would have been collected by Hamtramck if the expiration had been noticed earlier.

Shulgon offered to put forth a resolution putting a public safety millage on the ballot. Gordon asked if that would be legal under the Headlee Amendment. Cooper said he would have to ask the attorney generals office.

Gordon pointed out that when a TIFA expires, tax collections are supposed to increase. For example, if the DDA TIFA were eliminated, the money currently going to the DDA would be returned to the general fund. Cooper agreed that the GM Poletown TIFA worked the same way, and added that money is also taken from other taxing authorities, such as the library and the schools.

Gordon asked if the collections on Poletown had doubled recently. Cooper claimed that this was due to the value of the property rising and not the expiring of the TIFA. He said the city has collected more than $5 million the last two years, and that GM claims that Detroit has been over collecting. Gordon asked if Cooper was sure that the increase in tax collections was due to the property value. Cooper replied that he would have to look into it because Detroit was collecting the tax.

Gordon asked if Hamtramck has an agreement with Detroit calls for Detroit to make up the difference between collections and a base amount. Cooper agreed that there is an ongoing base agreement, but that the guarantee is by percentage and not a fixed dollar amount.

Public comment

Steve Shaya, chair of the Recycling Commission, said that there were concerns voiced at their October meeting about the education component of the recycling program. The commission feels strongly that education is to be provided by Rizzo for all recycling projects, per their contract with the city. Ladd was supposed to check with Cooper. The commission then received a letter from Cooper stating that Rizzo is only responsible for education if curb-side recycling is implemented. Shaya feels that Rizzo is not honoring their contract.

In regards to the rainy day fund, 17 layoffs at the police department is a disappointment, and layoffs should start in other departments. Crime is high, and it may get to the point where he no longer feels safe.

Angel Profitt of the Recycling Commission said that it seems like the city is not holding Rizzo to their contract. There was no drop-off in October and no reason was given. Education is included in the 2008 resolution establishing the commission, and they can't move forward without Rizzo.

Cooper replied there had been no drop-off in October because the International Bazaar was canceled, and Ladd thought he was supposed to cancel the recycling, too. The city council liaison to the commission, Stackpoole, was informed. He asked Stackpoole if they were going to go ahead with the November and December dates because they are near holidays, and she told him they wanted to go ahead. Arrangements have been made to continue recycling through next summer. Cooper claimed that the dumpster was there in September.

Cooper scolded the commission members for speaking at the council meeting because he answered their questions in writing and is willing to talk about his interpretation. He thinks that commissions should go to him when they have problems, and that he will tell the council what they need to know now that it has been brought to them. It is an operational issue and not a city council issue.

Gordon asked if these responses by Cooper were sent to the commission. Cooper said he sent it to the commission through Stackpoole.

Cooper said that the rainy day fund of $2 million would only delay layoffs until July of next year. He said there is a $2 million dollar deficit this year, and he is trying to minimize the layoffs by stretching the fund for 3 years. If the council wants to use all the money between now and July, that is their choice. The shortfall is expected to be more than $4 million dollars each of the next 2 years.

Bob Zwolak looks at the spending and the fund warrant list every two weeks, and there is still a pattern of excessive spending. We have known since the first of the year that this day was coming, and no action has been taken to modify the spending habits. It used to be that listings were submitted to the council, controller, and finance director, who verified that the expenditures were budgeted and funds available before expenses incurred. Department heads must be accountable for spending money we don't have, or they will submit things to council for their approval when there is no money in the bank.

There is still no report on the festival. It is important to plan ahead for next year because corporate sponsors are planning their budgets. After the first of the year, the likely response will be that there is no money in the budget for sponsorship.

The city clerk is required to have all the legal documents of the city. This would eliminate bills incurred for attorneys calling other attorneys for our documents. There was a local agreement on Poletown because the Detroit was sued for cost overruns on the project. Hamtramck agreed to help pay back the bonds, which were paid off early. Hamtramck agreed to receive $1.7 million dollars while the bonds were being paid off, and thereafter, Hamtramck was entitled to $3.4 million per year. If the city had all the documents, the administration wouldn't be in the dark right now.

A closed session for pending litigation was called. Several of the regular meeting goers waited in the hallway. Steve Shaya showed me the letter the Recycling Commission received from Cooper, and it unequivocally stated that the September recycling event was canceled.

When the meeting was called to order, Gordon moved to approve a settlement with Officer Nunlee. Algazali voted against it; Ahmed, Gordon and Shulgon voted for it. The settlement passed.

I asked the city manager after the meeting how much of the settlement the city is liable for. The city was covered for up to $1 million dollars in damages and has a $50,000 deductible. Lt Ron Mathias, the police officer who caused this lawsuit by making racist comments toward his coworkers, still works for the Hamtramck Police Department, supervising other officers and answering the 911 calls of citizens.

hcc_2009_11_10 I [11 MB]

hcc_2009_11_10 II [758 K]

You may remember hearing at a council meeting in August that the city manager projected a $300,000 surplus in 2010, a deficit of $1.6 million in 2011, and a deficit of $1.9 million in 2012. At the time, Cooper said this projection was based on a $500,000 reduction in income tax payments by American Axle, a $300,000 increase in payments to retirees, and a reduction $1 million dollar reduction in payments from Wayne County on the jail. (The city had received two back payments of $1 million from Wayne County due to the settlement of a lawsuit, and instead of setting the additional payments aside or using the windfall to replace vintage fire equipment, the city administration spent the money irresponsibly on daily operating costs.)

Then about a month ago, Karen Majewski put the city manager's contract on the agenda for the council meeting - a 3-year contract with a 18-month golden parachute, which was suddenly approved by the city council after a public discussion that was limited to 5 minutes.

In the days leading up to the election, city employees were telling everyone who would listen that Algazali would ruin Hamtramck by laying off police officers, firemen, and city employees.

Not 24 hours after Majewski won the election, notice of a budget work session was posted at City Hall. The clerk didn't send notice of the meeting to electronic subscribers of the council agenda until 9:48 a.m. on Thursday, after the Detroit Free Press went to print, and of course, The Review only prints on Friday. I am the only other subscriber, and it was my birthday.

As I posted in a comment last Friday, I couldn't go to the meeting, but I heard that Cooper told the council that the city is over budget $800,000 in 2009 and has a projected deficit of $1.2 to $2 million for 2010 and 2011. He said that these additional cuts are due to an estimated 11% drop in state revenue sharing, and a decline in income and personal property tax collections from American Axle.

In response, Cooper threatened to cut police officers and firemen to fill the budget gap. If the unions refuse to accept his proposed salary freezes, pay cuts, pension and benefits reductions, and the elimination of minimum manning requirements, Cooper says he will cut 17 police officers, 16 firefighters, plus 3 full time and 3 part time employees at City Hall. Even if they agree to the concessions, he still intends to cut 12 police officers and 11 firefighters, keeping everyone at City Hall. These cuts are supposedly going to take place between now and January 4th, and he claims he doesn't need council approval to accomplish his plan.

Cathie Gordon suggested passing a cost recovery ordinance like every other city has to increase revenue, and getting rid of contract employees, such as the events coordinator, the DDA manager, the redundant city assessor, the second supervisor at the DPW, the DDA TIF, the EDC, and the BRA. The rest of the council just sat there and didn't say a word.

To close more of the gap, reducing the layoffs to 8 police officers and 9 firemen, the Cooper wants the council to pass a Headlee Override. He and the city attorney are claiming that the council can increase the city tax rate from 18.04 to 20 mills without permission from the voters.

In addition to the aforementioned budget shortfalls, the tax-increment finance agreement on Poletown expired in 2005, and GM has been paying $4.3 million per year, or almost twice what they were paying under the TIFA. They have requested a hearing at the state tax tribunal, and a 60% reduction would mean a decline of $1.9 million to around $2.4 million per year. This potential loss is not included in the currently proposed cuts and would result in a total projection of $4.9 million less revenue in 2010 and $4.2 million in 2011.

At least that's what I heard. None of this was distributed in writing.

Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic church. GM Poletown.

Art by Scott Northrup, Chris Turner, and Tim Hailey shown at Design 99 "Work and Tumble: Photocopier as Illuminator". How much are those prints again, Steve?

Timmy's Organism at The Painted Lady. Tim Vulgar says, "Support Hamtramck Real Estate!"

>> More photos

PRELIMINARY MATTERS

1. Call to order
2. Roll call
3. Pledge of allegiance to the flag
4. Proclamations/presentations/recognitions
5. Public comments concerning agenda items

SECTION I: PUBLIC HEARINGS – None

SECTION II: UNFINISHED BUSINESS - Ordinances scheduled for second reading and ordinances or resolutions previously postponed. - None

SECTION III: CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS

The following items will be adopted on a single motion without discussion unless a councilmember requests separate consideration.

1. City council meeting minutes-
a. Regular Meeting – October 27, 2009

2. Fund warrant list and payroll.

3. Correspondence
a. Appointment by Mayor Majewski of Lawrence Ingram to the Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors for a term expiring 1/1/2013.

4. RESOLUTION CONFIRMING APPOINTMENT OF LAWRENCE INGRAM TO THE HAMTRAMCK DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS. Mayor Majewski has appointed Lawrence Ingram to the Hamtramck Downtown Development Authority for a term ending 1/1/2013.

SECTION IV: NEW BUSINESS - Ordinance introductions and resolutions for initial consideration. - None

SECTION V: OTHER ITEMS
1. City Manager’s Report
2. Non-agenda items and other business
3. Public comments

SECTION VI: CLOSED SESSION

Council will discuss pending litigation in which the city is a defendant.

ADJOURNMENT

NOTE: Anyone planning to attend the meeting who has need of special assistance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is asked to contact the city clerk’s office at (313) 876-7700, 48 hours before the meeting. Staff will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements.

Location: Design 99, 3309 Caniff St, Hamtramck, MI 48212
Opening: November 7, 2009
Time: 7:00 Pm - 10:00 PM
Runs: Saturdays in November, 1–5 PM

Design 99 will be hosting a group exhibition titled Work and Tumble: Photocopier as Illuminator, curated by Nina Bianchi and Steve Hughes.

In 1937, ceaseless experimenter Chester Carlson established the basic principles of electrophotography, which involved zinc, sulfur, a handkerchief, electrostatic charge, lunch, cigarettes, and finally exposure to a bright light. Inspired by Carlson’s ingenuity and his hard work to free the people from high cost duplication, Bianchi and Hughes have organized a group exhibition. Twelve artists will present work, which in process, utilizes xerography to duplicate, cut and paste, reassemble, enhance, reorganize, smear, transform, manipulate, mutate, explode, and activate.

In an effort to bring more art to more people, single color copies of each work of art will be produced in-house on a small press duplicator in editions of 20. These duplicates will be for sale for at the dollar store price of 99¢ each.

Participating artists include both local and national names: Kamil Antos, Kristin Beaver, Libby Cole, Tim Hailey, Ben Hernandez, Scott Hocking, Anne Harrington Hughes, Susan LaPorte, Shar McLeod, Scott Northrup, Chris Riddell, and Chris Turner.

Work and Tumble: Photocopier as Illuminator will run from November 7 - 28th, 2009 with open hours on Saturdays from 1–5 PM.

For more information on Work and Tumble: Photocopier as Illuminator call Steve Hughes at 313 587-9572 or Nina Bianchi at 313-595-4375.
Or go to http://www.visitdesign99.com

Mayor
Majewski: 1708
Algazali: 1585

City Council
K. Miah: 1652
Jankowski: 1459
Hassan: 1390
Shulgon: 1290
A. Miah: 1265
Kristy: 1261

School Board
Elizabeth Zwolak: 1560
Hedy Shulgon: 1396
Carol Pinckney: 1061
Roberta Olko: 680

County Proposal 0
Yes: 1650
No: 1082