Ok Dowagiac, as you know we are paying one of the highest electric rates in the state. Over the years many of you have requested to switch to AEP and the city has told you that your couldn't.
Well look what a resident has found. It seems that we may be able to change companies. This site was sent to us which clearly says they service Dowagiac MI with a rate that is at least 20% below what we are paying now.
This is either a mistake by a huge electric company or the City Of Dowagiac has by keeping us hostage by telling us we couldn't switch.
YOU DECIDE AND IF WE CAN, WE ALL NEED TO SWITCH AND FORCE THE CITY TO LIVE WITHIN THEIR MEANS LIKE HAVE TO AS RESIDENTS.
http://www.discount-electricity.com/michigan.htm
Friday, April 8, 2011
Dowagiac City Council Hopeful Speaks Out
Here is something for everyone to think about. When Mr. Oliver was appointed to the council seat weeks before the council interviewed the four people interested he was telling everyone that the mayor promised he would get the seat.
Why did the council even pretend to interview the rest of the people if the mayor already told Mr. Oliver he had the seat.
Now Mr. Oliver is telling residents that the Mayor has already told him not to worry he will win the Election in November. It seems that Mr. Oliver was right about being promised the seat before the interviews were even started, so it would seem that he may be telling the truth this time.
When Mr. Oliver ran for that seat a few years back he only got 20 votes, it would seem odd if he wins this Election by a landslide.
If you remember I requested a recount four years ago when I ran against Mr. Murray and couldn't get it because Mr. Snow "forgot" to take some extra ballots out of the voting machine.
Lets all hope we can prove Mr. Oliver wrong and not all him and the city to give him that seat for another four years. It's time to prove to the mayor that residents run this city not him.
Please step up and run for office and vote, it's time we sent a message to the mayor and Mr. Snow that it's time to bring honesty back to the City of Dowagiac.
Howard Hall
Why did the council even pretend to interview the rest of the people if the mayor already told Mr. Oliver he had the seat.
Now Mr. Oliver is telling residents that the Mayor has already told him not to worry he will win the Election in November. It seems that Mr. Oliver was right about being promised the seat before the interviews were even started, so it would seem that he may be telling the truth this time.
When Mr. Oliver ran for that seat a few years back he only got 20 votes, it would seem odd if he wins this Election by a landslide.
If you remember I requested a recount four years ago when I ran against Mr. Murray and couldn't get it because Mr. Snow "forgot" to take some extra ballots out of the voting machine.
Lets all hope we can prove Mr. Oliver wrong and not all him and the city to give him that seat for another four years. It's time to prove to the mayor that residents run this city not him.
Please step up and run for office and vote, it's time we sent a message to the mayor and Mr. Snow that it's time to bring honesty back to the City of Dowagiac.
Howard Hall
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
New Group Following Dowagiac Elected Officials
There is a new group called Letstake Dowagiacback on facebook.
Everyone needs to join, they pick up stories that the Informer doesn't
Everyone needs to join, they pick up stories that the Informer doesn't
SMC Student Writes Report About Dowagiac Michigan Government
Problem and Solution Essay
The problem that I chose to write about is Dowagiac: the city, its leaders, and the problems that the people of Dowagiac, myself included, are facing. The first thing I would like to do is to tell you a little about Dowagiac. The city of Dowagiac received its name from a word which means “fishing water“ in the native language of the Pokagon Indians. Founded in 1848, Dowagiac was a very prosperous city because of its river and railroad. Dowagiac was doing very well for itself with many businesses and factories. Now only a few factories remain, and many businesses are shutting down due to the economy. The city of Dowagiac is in the hands of people who don’t care about it or its community. Their only concern is the welfare of their own bank accounts and those belonging to their friends. It has recently come to my attention that the city manager of Dowagiac makes an annual salary of $154,776. That seems extremely generous when you consider the fact that a state governor only has an annual salary of $124,000. That is also over four times the annual salary of the average household in Dowagiac. I found this information at
www.city-data.com.
Estimated median household income in 2009: $29,920 (it was $29,926 in 2000)
Dowagiac:
$29,920
Michigan:
$45,255
Estimated per capita income in 2009:
$16,321
The city manager’s name is Kevin Anderson. His former employment was being the city manager of South Heaven, Michigan. I have also had the opportunity to discover that he has been named in a sexual discrimination charge against the city of South Haven during his time as city manager. This can be read in the Dowagiac Daily News. The publishing date was on March 16. The mayor of our city is Donald Lyons. He hired William Nelson who was the city manager before Kevin Anderson. Nelson left Dowagiac to be the city manager in Miamisburg, Ohio. It was there that he was arrested for trying to have sex with who he thought was a fourteen-year-old girl, but she was really an undercover cop. So not only has our mayor picked as a pedophile for a city manager, but he also is picked as a man who allegedly stood by while three police officers were discriminated against and did nothing. I have learned a lot of this information from a facebook site called Letstake Dowagiacback.
I would also like to share some of the other problems that are plaguing our city. They voted to raise our utilities up by almost 30 %.They have raised our utilities higher than most of the surrounding cities such as Niles, Coldwater and Bay City. I found this information at another web site called Dowagiaciformer.com I also discovered that they are putting our utility information on the internet. This means that for the price of a dollar menu item from a restaurant, anyone can look at how much electric I use or if I got a shutoff notice. The most dangerous of all is that anyone could find out where you live. A person that has been helping me with information told me, ” people who are trying to get away from an abusive relationship would be easy to find as all the abuser would have to do is go to that website and pay a dollar”. They also ignored the DDN, surveys that implied that 70% of the residents did not want their information on the internet. While doing a little searching through the city receipts, it was noticed that the city paid $88.93 to a dead person and $83.24 for a letter opener. These mistakes should not be made with the financial state in which our city budget resides.
.My sister, who is a freshman at Dowagiac Union High School, told me that they have gotten rid of some school activities like the drama club. They are also talking about getting rid of band, choir, and possibly some sports if not all. I know that this is a recession, but the last thing we should be doing as a community is ignoring our children’s future. Music and extracurricular activities are what keep a lot of kids busy and on the straight and narrow. We are taking away positive things that would not cost that much to keep. I know from personal experience that playing softball and trying to stay healthy and on point kept me from doing negative things. It’s like the old saying ‘idol hands are the devils playground,’ and I believe that to be true. This is some information that backs my issue with the cutting of school activities.
According to a report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 10 million children annually are left unsupervised between 3 and 6 p.m. — the prime-time hours for teens to commit crimes, become crime victims, smoke, drink, use drugs or get pregnant. The proposed funding cuts mean that some 570,000 children will be denied access to after-school programs and added to the rolls of children left unsupervised each year. The cuts represent a lost opportunity to prevent an estimated 41,000 crimes and save taxpayers an estimated $2.4 billion dollars.
Research has shown that high-quality, after-school programs can protect children from crime, drug use, and teen pregnancy and can increase rates of high school graduation and college enrollments. The operative word here is “high-quality.” To be sure, there are many after-school programs not offering the structure and support needed to achieve positive outcomes. The response to this situation should not be to reduce our efforts. Rather, we should be looking at how to make effective programs better and finding ways to make those excellent programs available to more children.
The funding crisis is real, and it is not going to go away any time soon. We at VPP believe that fenders and nonprofits alike need to do a better job leveraging and using the funding that is available. Instead of cutting funding across the board to after-school programs, we need to direct the available funding toward strengthening organizations that have developed high-quality, structured programs, and that could, with support, expand and grow to serve many more children. VPP investment partners Asian American LEAD and Heads Up, for instance, have demonstrated this level of high performance in their after-school services. These organizations have developed programs that turn the risky hours of 3 to 6 p.m. into a time of constructive supervised activities.
For example, Asian American LEAD has provided tutoring and mentoring programs for the past five years to several hundred children from low-income families in grades one through twelve. Approximately 100 high school seniors have graduated from these programs, and the vast majority of them have gone on to college with most of them earning scholarships. A 1999 self-evaluation by Heads Up showed that 69 percent of its first through sixth graders improved at least one reading grade level over one year, while 31 percent improved by two levels. Additionally, 97 percent of parents rated their children’s improvement in their attitude toward learning as “very good” or “excellent.”
—Mario Morino the dangers of cutting school funding venture philanthropy .org
Some of the things that we are trying to due to fix the problems include getting the information out to let people know that we’re being ripped off. The next step is to get more people involved and voting. When the time has come to vote for a new mayor, I will definitely be involved. I will also try to get my friends and neighbors involved. Many of them are blind like I was. I was so caught up in work, school and kids that I didn’t realize what was going on in my own city. As for the city manager, I think we will just have to wait for his contract to be up. Now, thanks to sites like Letstake Dowagiac back and Dowagiac informer, more people can see that the city is spending our hard earned money on an over-indulged procrastinating nobody. When we have a proper mayor that has the cities best interests in mind, I am sure he or she will find a city manger that will to work for a reasonable wage. As for the utility information on the internet, the citizens of Dowagiac have a class action suit in the works. You can also email Jmerril@dowagiac.org to have your utility info removed from the site. Putting everyone’s utility info on the internet has backfired for some city officials. It has been discovered that certain city officials are paying lower utilities rates. Since this issue has become known, other surrounding business owners have demanded fair treatment, and the proper adjustments have been made. This suit has been brought to the attention of the attorney general. I fully intend to join in. I know that this will not get all my info off the internet, but my utilities bills are my business only.
The problem of frivolous spending can be stopped by our city officials paying a little more attention. I think that the fact that people are making this public and bringing it up hopefully has embarrassed them. I hope that it is enough to change their attention to details with spending. I also believe that one of the biggest priorities this town should consider is getting factories opened back up. There have been companies looking into some of our vacant properties. The city needs to offer them some kind of deal for them to come here. Example would be like lower taxes for a year or two or discounted electric. This could benefit our town greatly in the future with more property taxes and more residents. This would also boost our local business and economy.
I researched how schools are funded, and I found out that some of the money comes from the state. Local property taxes are the big contributor of funds. That is why nice schools are always surrounded by nice heavily taxed residential areas. Getting new management is crucial to helping our schools. During my research I found out that, in the course of Kevin Anderson’s term, we have lost a one hundred and forty resident families. This is substantial when it comes to property taxes and the money the schools get for the children that would have attended school here. My solution for this would be for a community action group to be set up so we can do whatever we can to keep the activities and sports at our schools. To accomplish this, I would first talk to the school board to get an idea of how much money we need, so that we can keep what we have and get back what we lost. Once we have a number, we can try to reach that through sponsorship, donations, benefits and fundraising. California has had a drastic cut in their school funding, and they have a group called SOS (save our sports). I could also contact this group to get advice on how to run our action group and money raising ideas. When we, as a community, can come together and become aware and care, that is when we can truly change our city and community.
The problem that I chose to write about is Dowagiac: the city, its leaders, and the problems that the people of Dowagiac, myself included, are facing. The first thing I would like to do is to tell you a little about Dowagiac. The city of Dowagiac received its name from a word which means “fishing water“ in the native language of the Pokagon Indians. Founded in 1848, Dowagiac was a very prosperous city because of its river and railroad. Dowagiac was doing very well for itself with many businesses and factories. Now only a few factories remain, and many businesses are shutting down due to the economy. The city of Dowagiac is in the hands of people who don’t care about it or its community. Their only concern is the welfare of their own bank accounts and those belonging to their friends. It has recently come to my attention that the city manager of Dowagiac makes an annual salary of $154,776. That seems extremely generous when you consider the fact that a state governor only has an annual salary of $124,000. That is also over four times the annual salary of the average household in Dowagiac. I found this information at
www.city-data.com.
Estimated median household income in 2009: $29,920 (it was $29,926 in 2000)
Dowagiac:
$29,920
Michigan:
$45,255
Estimated per capita income in 2009:
$16,321
The city manager’s name is Kevin Anderson. His former employment was being the city manager of South Heaven, Michigan. I have also had the opportunity to discover that he has been named in a sexual discrimination charge against the city of South Haven during his time as city manager. This can be read in the Dowagiac Daily News. The publishing date was on March 16. The mayor of our city is Donald Lyons. He hired William Nelson who was the city manager before Kevin Anderson. Nelson left Dowagiac to be the city manager in Miamisburg, Ohio. It was there that he was arrested for trying to have sex with who he thought was a fourteen-year-old girl, but she was really an undercover cop. So not only has our mayor picked as a pedophile for a city manager, but he also is picked as a man who allegedly stood by while three police officers were discriminated against and did nothing. I have learned a lot of this information from a facebook site called Letstake Dowagiacback.
I would also like to share some of the other problems that are plaguing our city. They voted to raise our utilities up by almost 30 %.They have raised our utilities higher than most of the surrounding cities such as Niles, Coldwater and Bay City. I found this information at another web site called Dowagiaciformer.com I also discovered that they are putting our utility information on the internet. This means that for the price of a dollar menu item from a restaurant, anyone can look at how much electric I use or if I got a shutoff notice. The most dangerous of all is that anyone could find out where you live. A person that has been helping me with information told me, ” people who are trying to get away from an abusive relationship would be easy to find as all the abuser would have to do is go to that website and pay a dollar”. They also ignored the DDN, surveys that implied that 70% of the residents did not want their information on the internet. While doing a little searching through the city receipts, it was noticed that the city paid $88.93 to a dead person and $83.24 for a letter opener. These mistakes should not be made with the financial state in which our city budget resides.
.My sister, who is a freshman at Dowagiac Union High School, told me that they have gotten rid of some school activities like the drama club. They are also talking about getting rid of band, choir, and possibly some sports if not all. I know that this is a recession, but the last thing we should be doing as a community is ignoring our children’s future. Music and extracurricular activities are what keep a lot of kids busy and on the straight and narrow. We are taking away positive things that would not cost that much to keep. I know from personal experience that playing softball and trying to stay healthy and on point kept me from doing negative things. It’s like the old saying ‘idol hands are the devils playground,’ and I believe that to be true. This is some information that backs my issue with the cutting of school activities.
According to a report by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 10 million children annually are left unsupervised between 3 and 6 p.m. — the prime-time hours for teens to commit crimes, become crime victims, smoke, drink, use drugs or get pregnant. The proposed funding cuts mean that some 570,000 children will be denied access to after-school programs and added to the rolls of children left unsupervised each year. The cuts represent a lost opportunity to prevent an estimated 41,000 crimes and save taxpayers an estimated $2.4 billion dollars.
Research has shown that high-quality, after-school programs can protect children from crime, drug use, and teen pregnancy and can increase rates of high school graduation and college enrollments. The operative word here is “high-quality.” To be sure, there are many after-school programs not offering the structure and support needed to achieve positive outcomes. The response to this situation should not be to reduce our efforts. Rather, we should be looking at how to make effective programs better and finding ways to make those excellent programs available to more children.
The funding crisis is real, and it is not going to go away any time soon. We at VPP believe that fenders and nonprofits alike need to do a better job leveraging and using the funding that is available. Instead of cutting funding across the board to after-school programs, we need to direct the available funding toward strengthening organizations that have developed high-quality, structured programs, and that could, with support, expand and grow to serve many more children. VPP investment partners Asian American LEAD and Heads Up, for instance, have demonstrated this level of high performance in their after-school services. These organizations have developed programs that turn the risky hours of 3 to 6 p.m. into a time of constructive supervised activities.
For example, Asian American LEAD has provided tutoring and mentoring programs for the past five years to several hundred children from low-income families in grades one through twelve. Approximately 100 high school seniors have graduated from these programs, and the vast majority of them have gone on to college with most of them earning scholarships. A 1999 self-evaluation by Heads Up showed that 69 percent of its first through sixth graders improved at least one reading grade level over one year, while 31 percent improved by two levels. Additionally, 97 percent of parents rated their children’s improvement in their attitude toward learning as “very good” or “excellent.”
—Mario Morino the dangers of cutting school funding venture philanthropy .org
Some of the things that we are trying to due to fix the problems include getting the information out to let people know that we’re being ripped off. The next step is to get more people involved and voting. When the time has come to vote for a new mayor, I will definitely be involved. I will also try to get my friends and neighbors involved. Many of them are blind like I was. I was so caught up in work, school and kids that I didn’t realize what was going on in my own city. As for the city manager, I think we will just have to wait for his contract to be up. Now, thanks to sites like Letstake Dowagiac back and Dowagiac informer, more people can see that the city is spending our hard earned money on an over-indulged procrastinating nobody. When we have a proper mayor that has the cities best interests in mind, I am sure he or she will find a city manger that will to work for a reasonable wage. As for the utility information on the internet, the citizens of Dowagiac have a class action suit in the works. You can also email Jmerril@dowagiac.org to have your utility info removed from the site. Putting everyone’s utility info on the internet has backfired for some city officials. It has been discovered that certain city officials are paying lower utilities rates. Since this issue has become known, other surrounding business owners have demanded fair treatment, and the proper adjustments have been made. This suit has been brought to the attention of the attorney general. I fully intend to join in. I know that this will not get all my info off the internet, but my utilities bills are my business only.
The problem of frivolous spending can be stopped by our city officials paying a little more attention. I think that the fact that people are making this public and bringing it up hopefully has embarrassed them. I hope that it is enough to change their attention to details with spending. I also believe that one of the biggest priorities this town should consider is getting factories opened back up. There have been companies looking into some of our vacant properties. The city needs to offer them some kind of deal for them to come here. Example would be like lower taxes for a year or two or discounted electric. This could benefit our town greatly in the future with more property taxes and more residents. This would also boost our local business and economy.
I researched how schools are funded, and I found out that some of the money comes from the state. Local property taxes are the big contributor of funds. That is why nice schools are always surrounded by nice heavily taxed residential areas. Getting new management is crucial to helping our schools. During my research I found out that, in the course of Kevin Anderson’s term, we have lost a one hundred and forty resident families. This is substantial when it comes to property taxes and the money the schools get for the children that would have attended school here. My solution for this would be for a community action group to be set up so we can do whatever we can to keep the activities and sports at our schools. To accomplish this, I would first talk to the school board to get an idea of how much money we need, so that we can keep what we have and get back what we lost. Once we have a number, we can try to reach that through sponsorship, donations, benefits and fundraising. California has had a drastic cut in their school funding, and they have a group called SOS (save our sports). I could also contact this group to get advice on how to run our action group and money raising ideas. When we, as a community, can come together and become aware and care, that is when we can truly change our city and community.
Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson brings people out to comment on Lawsuit.
People are coming out of the woodwork to comment on the lawsuit against Dowagiac's City Manager Kevin Anderson by female police officers in South Haven Michigan.
It seems that Mr. Anderson didn't leave South Haven with many friends and they are now commenting on his actions in South Haven.
This is the second time a Dowagiac City Manager has had problems. Former Dowagiac city manager William Nelson was arrested for attempting to have oral sex with someone he thought was a 4 year old girl he met online.
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/south-haven-mi/T9K26KCJ7MRAQ1G57#comments
It seems that Mr. Anderson didn't leave South Haven with many friends and they are now commenting on his actions in South Haven.
This is the second time a Dowagiac City Manager has had problems. Former Dowagiac city manager William Nelson was arrested for attempting to have oral sex with someone he thought was a 4 year old girl he met online.
http://www.topix.com/forum/city/south-haven-mi/T9K26KCJ7MRAQ1G57#comments
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Another Dowagiac City Manager In Trouble
Dowagiac seems to have problems getting city managers. The last one William H Nelson was arrested and plead guilty to attempting to have sex with someone he thought was 14.
Dowagiac's current city manager Kevin Anderson has been named in a lawsuit from three female police officers for violating their civil rights.
Here is the link to the story: http://www.dowagiacnews.com/2011/03/16/anderson-named-in-suit/
Dowagiac seems to attract criminals
Funeral Director was charged with fraud and had human remains in his kitchen.
Local doctor charged and convicted of child porn.
Dowagiac mayor is named in lawsuit for rigging a 3 million dollar car auction.
Pedophile was found to have children's school records in his desk at city hall and the city refused to find out why.
It's time for the voters of Dowagiac to say enough is enough and vote these people out of office.
Dowagiac's current city manager Kevin Anderson has been named in a lawsuit from three female police officers for violating their civil rights.
Here is the link to the story: http://www.dowagiacnews.com/2011/03/16/anderson-named-in-suit/
Dowagiac seems to attract criminals
Funeral Director was charged with fraud and had human remains in his kitchen.
Local doctor charged and convicted of child porn.
Dowagiac mayor is named in lawsuit for rigging a 3 million dollar car auction.
Pedophile was found to have children's school records in his desk at city hall and the city refused to find out why.
It's time for the voters of Dowagiac to say enough is enough and vote these people out of office.
Friday, March 11, 2011
After A Letter From The Attorney General The City Of Dowagiac Backs Down On Utility Information
Ok lets take a look at what the city has done about the online electric information.
1) Why didn't they say anything about the opt out a long time ago?
2) Because of the opt out we are going to pay someone to read the e mail and pay them to take the names out of the system.
3) How does the city know the person sending the e mail is the real account holder?
None of this makes any sense, don't pay someone to do all this work, just take the entire program off the Internet.
I hope everyone knows that the city would take the program off the Internet but won't because it will make them look bad.
Only in Dowagiac
1) Why didn't they say anything about the opt out a long time ago?
2) Because of the opt out we are going to pay someone to read the e mail and pay them to take the names out of the system.
3) How does the city know the person sending the e mail is the real account holder?
None of this makes any sense, don't pay someone to do all this work, just take the entire program off the Internet.
I hope everyone knows that the city would take the program off the Internet but won't because it will make them look bad.
Only in Dowagiac
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Dowagiac giving Out Personal Payment History For The Price Of One Dollar
I have no idea why the city of Dowagiac just added an online payment search to its website.
Yes, you can go online and type in the name of any utility customer in the city and get their account details, electric usage and payment history, for the price of $1.
What public service is the city providing by allowing anyone to look into your payment history and account information online for a dollar?
What liability is the city going to have, for example, when someone's ex-husband is looking for his ex-wife, and he can go online and pay a dollar to obtain her address? What if a person had a personal protection order issued, only to have their safety jeopardized because of the city's policy of releasing a victim's residential information? What is the city's response going to be if someone gets injured as a result of making this information public? What liability will they have?
This is clearly an invasion of privacy so the city can make $1 each time somebody spies on a neighbor.
I can understand landlords wanting this information for their rentals, but they obtain this with the permission of the renter.
I am asking citizens to write their opinions regarding what public service the city is offering by allowing anyone in the world to pay a dollar to see residents' account information and payment history. Why does the entire city need to know how many late notices a resident has received?
Please come forward and run for office this year. We all need to put a stop to ill-conceived, destructive city practices like this.
Yes, you can go online and type in the name of any utility customer in the city and get their account details, electric usage and payment history, for the price of $1.
What public service is the city providing by allowing anyone to look into your payment history and account information online for a dollar?
What liability is the city going to have, for example, when someone's ex-husband is looking for his ex-wife, and he can go online and pay a dollar to obtain her address? What if a person had a personal protection order issued, only to have their safety jeopardized because of the city's policy of releasing a victim's residential information? What is the city's response going to be if someone gets injured as a result of making this information public? What liability will they have?
This is clearly an invasion of privacy so the city can make $1 each time somebody spies on a neighbor.
I can understand landlords wanting this information for their rentals, but they obtain this with the permission of the renter.
I am asking citizens to write their opinions regarding what public service the city is offering by allowing anyone in the world to pay a dollar to see residents' account information and payment history. Why does the entire city need to know how many late notices a resident has received?
Please come forward and run for office this year. We all need to put a stop to ill-conceived, destructive city practices like this.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Cass County Judge Agrees That child molestation and cruelty to animals is considered a relatively clean record
Ok Get this. A judge in my county gave a kid a break in a drug case because "Buskirk’s court-appointed attorney, pointed out, too, that his client’s record was relatively clean, except for two juvenile court cases involving child molestation and cruelty to animals
A clean record is considered child molestation and cruelty to animals.
Here is the entire Story:
http://www.wsbt.com/news/wsbt-cooperation-in-drug-case-pays-off-20110218,0,830199.story
A clean record is considered child molestation and cruelty to animals.
Here is the entire Story:
http://www.wsbt.com/news/wsbt-cooperation-in-drug-case-pays-off-20110218,0,830199.story
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Residents of Dowagiac start petition to get fairness for customers of city ran utilities
Background :
Residents of city ran utilities have no control over utility increases like customers of public utilities has with the Michigan Public Service Commission. City ran utilities can raise their price with a majority vote of their city council. With every raise in price, families of all financial backgrounds are being affected.
From large and small businesses to residential homes, this affects people all over the United States that are held hostage by city ran utilities. Customers of city ran utilities need the same protection as customers of public ran utilities and be afforded some kind of Government oversight.
Today's economy leaves no room for greedy cities to be overcharging Americans for the necessity of electric power.
Petition:
We, the undersigned, call on the Sharon Tyler and the Michigan Attorney General to take action and put some guidelines on city ran utilities like they do on public utilities like AEP.
The need for these guideline and oversight is important to the survival of all customers of city ran utilities
Go to www.dowagiacinformer.com to sign out petition.
Residents of city ran utilities have no control over utility increases like customers of public utilities has with the Michigan Public Service Commission. City ran utilities can raise their price with a majority vote of their city council. With every raise in price, families of all financial backgrounds are being affected.
From large and small businesses to residential homes, this affects people all over the United States that are held hostage by city ran utilities. Customers of city ran utilities need the same protection as customers of public ran utilities and be afforded some kind of Government oversight.
Today's economy leaves no room for greedy cities to be overcharging Americans for the necessity of electric power.
Petition:
We, the undersigned, call on the Sharon Tyler and the Michigan Attorney General to take action and put some guidelines on city ran utilities like they do on public utilities like AEP.
The need for these guideline and oversight is important to the survival of all customers of city ran utilities
Go to www.dowagiacinformer.com to sign out petition.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Dowagiac Residents Fight Back For Equal Rights
2/16/11
Today we received a call back from the Michigan Attorney General. When we talked them them we explained that as customers of a city ran utility we have no rights as customers that have public utilities.
Public utilities have to go in front of the Michigan Public Service Commission to increase their rates. In Dowagiac if an increase fails they just vote again.
A public utility cannot give out the information that Dowagiac is selling on their webpage.
The Attorney Generals Office along with Sharon Tyler's office both said that they would look into this matter and try to get us the same rights as public utility customers get if we can show a need.
Later today we will have a petition that you can sign and also have petitions you can pick up to get your friends to sign saying that we want the same rights as public utility customers.
We all know that the city will continue to raise our costs with a vote of council and if it fails they will continue to vote until it passes. By signing this petition we may be able to have the state oversee city ran utilities which would take away the city's cash cow.
Remember you don't have to be a city resident to sign or circulate a petition,all you have to do is believe that city ran utilities need some oversight.
Sharon Tyler's office and the Attorney General both stated that they have only received complaints on Dowagiac utilities, they have never received any complaints on Niles.
Here is your chance to make a difference and save money at the same time.
Get involved by signing online or passing a petition around to your friends.
If you want a petition to pass around to your friends you can print it off our webpage later today.
www.dowagiacinformer.com
Today we received a call back from the Michigan Attorney General. When we talked them them we explained that as customers of a city ran utility we have no rights as customers that have public utilities.
Public utilities have to go in front of the Michigan Public Service Commission to increase their rates. In Dowagiac if an increase fails they just vote again.
A public utility cannot give out the information that Dowagiac is selling on their webpage.
The Attorney Generals Office along with Sharon Tyler's office both said that they would look into this matter and try to get us the same rights as public utility customers get if we can show a need.
Later today we will have a petition that you can sign and also have petitions you can pick up to get your friends to sign saying that we want the same rights as public utility customers.
We all know that the city will continue to raise our costs with a vote of council and if it fails they will continue to vote until it passes. By signing this petition we may be able to have the state oversee city ran utilities which would take away the city's cash cow.
Remember you don't have to be a city resident to sign or circulate a petition,all you have to do is believe that city ran utilities need some oversight.
Sharon Tyler's office and the Attorney General both stated that they have only received complaints on Dowagiac utilities, they have never received any complaints on Niles.
Here is your chance to make a difference and save money at the same time.
Get involved by signing online or passing a petition around to your friends.
If you want a petition to pass around to your friends you can print it off our webpage later today.
www.dowagiacinformer.com
Dowagiac City Council Pushes Morality On Residents
In response to the city employee that said the council has no common sense I ask all of you this question.
The Dowagiac City Council voted to not allow beer sales prior to noon on Sunday in hopes to get people to attend church instead of drinking.
If the council wants to push their morality on residents I have a question for them. If you voted no to allow early Sunday sales why is it that you allow a store to sell bongs and glass pipes for smoking marijuana, allow a store in town to sell x rated books and allow a store in town to sell sex toys?
If you want to set an example for this great "Christian" community why haven't you addressed this important issues?
No common sense is it?
Gayle
The Dowagiac City Council voted to not allow beer sales prior to noon on Sunday in hopes to get people to attend church instead of drinking.
If the council wants to push their morality on residents I have a question for them. If you voted no to allow early Sunday sales why is it that you allow a store to sell bongs and glass pipes for smoking marijuana, allow a store in town to sell x rated books and allow a store in town to sell sex toys?
If you want to set an example for this great "Christian" community why haven't you addressed this important issues?
No common sense is it?
Gayle
City Employee Admits Dowagiac City Council Has No Common Sense.
This was sent in by one of our readers.
I received a letter today from our friendly code enforcer, Steven Allen. Apparently, I cannot put boxes stacked next to my trash cans. He informed me that none of the trash companies pick up boxes (not true, they do mine.)I asked Mr. Allen " Wouldn't common sense tell you to wait until after pick up day, and if the boxes are ther, then send a letter?" Mr. Allen's response was "Common sense doesn't work". I asked him "Are you for real?", to which he replied "With City Council, common sense doesn't work." Hit the nail on the head with that one, didn't he? I haven't stopped laughing all day!
phammond
I received a letter today from our friendly code enforcer, Steven Allen. Apparently, I cannot put boxes stacked next to my trash cans. He informed me that none of the trash companies pick up boxes (not true, they do mine.)I asked Mr. Allen " Wouldn't common sense tell you to wait until after pick up day, and if the boxes are ther, then send a letter?" Mr. Allen's response was "Common sense doesn't work". I asked him "Are you for real?", to which he replied "With City Council, common sense doesn't work." Hit the nail on the head with that one, didn't he? I haven't stopped laughing all day!
phammond
More Lies BY City Officials In Dowagiac Michigan
I called Kevin Anderson and asked why the information was out back up and was told it was never taken down, which is incorrect.
At that time he said that Dearborn Heights provides the same information to its residents. We figured that because the towns mentioned at council were wrong we would give Dearborn a call.
We were told that they only put current billing on the Internet and do not show disconnects and late notices. Once again if you would like to call to find out that once again we were give incorrect information here is the number for Dearborn Heights. 313-791-3400.
Mr. Anderson said that the reason he feels this information is important to give out is it shows that the city is being transparent and not hiding anything.
Funny isn't it, they can be transparent with our personal information but when it comes to the city being transparent with their information it is a secret.
This is nothing more than the city trying to back peddle their way out of lies.
What are your thoughts?
Howard
At that time he said that Dearborn Heights provides the same information to its residents. We figured that because the towns mentioned at council were wrong we would give Dearborn a call.
We were told that they only put current billing on the Internet and do not show disconnects and late notices. Once again if you would like to call to find out that once again we were give incorrect information here is the number for Dearborn Heights. 313-791-3400.
Mr. Anderson said that the reason he feels this information is important to give out is it shows that the city is being transparent and not hiding anything.
Funny isn't it, they can be transparent with our personal information but when it comes to the city being transparent with their information it is a secret.
This is nothing more than the city trying to back peddle their way out of lies.
What are your thoughts?
Howard
Dowagiac Michigan Removes Search Tool that Freely Gave Away Residents Personal Information
The City of Dowagiac removed an invasive utility look up off their webpage. This tool allowed anyone to type in a residents name and see their payment history. This included billing, any late notices, past due amounts and even disconnects.
At Monday's Dowagiac City Council meeting City Manager Kevin Anderson listed three towns that use the same software. When we contacted them they told the Informer that they do not use the software to allow the public to review residents bills.
We hope that the city removed the software because they were giving out personal information about residents and not because they got caught lying to residents.
If history has anything to do with it, they removed the software because they got caught one again lying to residents.
At Monday's Dowagiac City Council meeting City Manager Kevin Anderson listed three towns that use the same software. When we contacted them they told the Informer that they do not use the software to allow the public to review residents bills.
We hope that the city removed the software because they were giving out personal information about residents and not because they got caught lying to residents.
If history has anything to do with it, they removed the software because they got caught one again lying to residents.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Dowagiac Council Didn't Know That Personal Information Was Being Given Out On City Webpage
Great council meeting tonight. I found out that none of the councilmen knew that personal information was be given out on the city's webpage. Mr. Anderson attempted to mislead council by saying that other city's are doing the same thing.
What Mr. Anderson failed to tell council was the other city's are only giving out usage and not personal payment information. Once again Mr. Anderson only told part of the truth to make it appear that it was ok to give out this information.
Council is going to discuss the issue in two weeks at 8:00 pm.
When council voted for online bill payment they were not aware they we also allow this personal information to be given out. This was a lone decision made by City Manager Kevin Anderson.
Howard
What Mr. Anderson failed to tell council was the other city's are only giving out usage and not personal payment information. Once again Mr. Anderson only told part of the truth to make it appear that it was ok to give out this information.
Council is going to discuss the issue in two weeks at 8:00 pm.
When council voted for online bill payment they were not aware they we also allow this personal information to be given out. This was a lone decision made by City Manager Kevin Anderson.
Howard
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Dowagiac Michigan Puts Money Before Residents Privacy
I have no idea why the city just added an online payment search to their webpage. Yes, you can go online and type in the name of any utility customer in the city and get their account details, electric usage and payment history for the price of a dollar.
What public service is the city providing by allowing anyone to look into your payment history and account information online for a dollar?
What liability is the city going to have, for example, when someone's ex-husband is looking for his ex-wife, and he can go online and pay a dollar to obtain her address? What if a person had a Personal Protection Order issued, only to have their safety jeopardized because of the city's policy of releasing a victim's residential information? What is the city's response going to be if someone gets injured as a result of making this information public? What liability will they have?
This is clearly an invasion of privacy so the city can make a dollar each time somebody spies on their neighbor.
The city utility ordinance says that to have utilities in your name, you have to live at the address. If that is the rule for residents, why do some elected officials have electric in their names at other property in town, which according to the Cass County webpage, they don't own?
I can understand landlords wanting this information for their rentals, but they obtain this with the permission of the renter.
I am asking citizens to write in their opinion as to what public service the city is offering by allowing anyone in the world to pay a dollar to see residents' account information and payment history.
Please come forward and run for office this year. We all need to put a stop to ill-conceived, destructive city practices like this.
Howard Hall
What public service is the city providing by allowing anyone to look into your payment history and account information online for a dollar?
What liability is the city going to have, for example, when someone's ex-husband is looking for his ex-wife, and he can go online and pay a dollar to obtain her address? What if a person had a Personal Protection Order issued, only to have their safety jeopardized because of the city's policy of releasing a victim's residential information? What is the city's response going to be if someone gets injured as a result of making this information public? What liability will they have?
This is clearly an invasion of privacy so the city can make a dollar each time somebody spies on their neighbor.
The city utility ordinance says that to have utilities in your name, you have to live at the address. If that is the rule for residents, why do some elected officials have electric in their names at other property in town, which according to the Cass County webpage, they don't own?
I can understand landlords wanting this information for their rentals, but they obtain this with the permission of the renter.
I am asking citizens to write in their opinion as to what public service the city is offering by allowing anyone in the world to pay a dollar to see residents' account information and payment history.
Please come forward and run for office this year. We all need to put a stop to ill-conceived, destructive city practices like this.
Howard Hall
Dowagiac Michigan Finds Another Way to Get Money Out Of Residents
WOW are people complaining around town about the city secretly forcing resident to pay a 3% surcharge to use a debit or credit card to pay your utility bills. Just when you think they have used every way to squeeze a dime out of residents, they find another way.
When was the last time you went out to eat and paid with your debit card an was told we have to add an additional charge?
We contacted over 15 credit card processing companies and was told by many that it is against their contract with companies for them to charge an additional charge to customers that use a credit or debit card, but not in Dowagiac.
What makes it worse is that they added the charge without informing residents of the surcharge.
The city is telling angry customers that it was in the DDN and the response from residents is they don't read the DDN. They are then told that it will be included in next months bills. Well isn't that nice, you add a surcharge and inform residents a month later.
Out of all the companies we contacted NONE of them charge a 3% fee, the fees ranged from 1.5-2%, if the city is charging 3% that means they didn't shop around for the best deal or they are paying a lower percent and adding a little to it so they can make a few bucks.
After all why would they shop around for a better deal, they don't have to pay the fee we do.
Write in and tell us when the last time you used your debit or credit card and was charged a fee to use it.
Add this to you list or reasons to vote in November.
Howard
When was the last time you went out to eat and paid with your debit card an was told we have to add an additional charge?
We contacted over 15 credit card processing companies and was told by many that it is against their contract with companies for them to charge an additional charge to customers that use a credit or debit card, but not in Dowagiac.
What makes it worse is that they added the charge without informing residents of the surcharge.
The city is telling angry customers that it was in the DDN and the response from residents is they don't read the DDN. They are then told that it will be included in next months bills. Well isn't that nice, you add a surcharge and inform residents a month later.
Out of all the companies we contacted NONE of them charge a 3% fee, the fees ranged from 1.5-2%, if the city is charging 3% that means they didn't shop around for the best deal or they are paying a lower percent and adding a little to it so they can make a few bucks.
After all why would they shop around for a better deal, they don't have to pay the fee we do.
Write in and tell us when the last time you used your debit or credit card and was charged a fee to use it.
Add this to you list or reasons to vote in November.
Howard
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Dowagiac Rapist is allowed to plea his way out of rape charge
On Friday January 7th 2011, Mr. David Donley was sentenced in Cass County Circuit Court by Judge Michael Dodge to a prison term of 12 ½ to 40 years. This sentence is the result of a plea bargain between Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz and Donley.
Donley was arrested by Dowagiac Police after a rape complaint was received from a Dowagiac women in June of 2010. According to Court records, 8 charges were authorized against Donley. The charges include: 2- First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, 1- Home Invasion, 1- Third-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, 1- CCW Concealed Weapon, 1- Felonious Assault and 2-Resist and Obstruct charges.
According to testimony, Donley forced his way into the victim’s apartment at knife point and raped her twice. During Donley’s stay at Cass County Jail, three additional charges were added for criminal behavior while in custody. Donley was designated an Habitual Offender by the prosecutor. Mr. Fitz also asked that Donley be required to wear restraints to protect people attending the hearing.
Prosecutor Fitz agreed to drop the 3 Criminal Sexual Conduct charges and the 3 charges added while Donley was in jail. In exchange, Donley would enter a No Contest Plea relating to the five remaining charges. Certainly a dangerous criminal is off the street for a very long time, but is it long enough?
As Mr. Fitz pointed out in his recent presentation at the Rotary Club in Dowagiac, Michigan’s Department of Corrections are trying to solve their budget problems by letting out more violent criminals. Mr. Fitz asked the question; “How does releasing more murderers, armed robbers, and CSC offenders make you safer?."
The problem with not prosecuting Donley’s CSC charges has its own set of consequences. First and foremost, the victim has not received justice for the rape crime committed against her. If Donley didn’t commit the rape, most of the other charges would have never been lodged against him. The second problem is with the plea agreement. When Donley gets out of prison, he will not be required to register as a sex offender. It is as if the rape never happened. How will this keep us safer?
According to the Prosecutor, Donley is a Habitual Offender. Donley’s sentence is 12 ½ to 40 years and, if I understand Mr. Fitz’s article correctly, the truth-in-sentencing legislation will require Donley serve at least the minimum. If Donley had been prosecuted and convicted of 1st Degree CSC, the penalty could have been as much as imprisonment for life.
In an April 25,2008 article in the South Bend Tribune, Linda Baechle, then Exec. Director of the YWCA, wrote; “Rape should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The victims are humiliated, embarrassed, frightened. When the perpetrator is not prosecuted and sent away, the survivor is fearful of being alone and always looking over her shoulder for the rapist. The rapist is still out there. She may encounter him at the market or dry cleaners. She will never feel completely safe again.”
Criminal Sexual Conduct cases, involving adult women, are just not a priority for area prosecutors. According to the Michigan State Police website, their Michigan Incident Crime Report (MICR) for Cass County, lists 38 complaints reported in 2008 with only 3 arrests. The same report shows 25 complaints reported in 2009 with 3 arrests. Arrests do not mean there are prosecutions. The Prosecutor’s office must authorize charges before anything happens. So very little is done in Cass County in regard to these complaints.
Danny Inman of DASAS told the Rotary Club in December of 2010 that sexual assault is the number one under-reported crime in the country. Only 5% of the victims tell police, and 15 of 16 perpetrators walk away free. According to Inman, statistically, 94% of assault victims are telling the truth, but it is hard to get a conviction.
If a person is raped at knife point, and she is asked about her assailant’s sentence, which excludes rape charges, what do you think her answer would be? With so few prosecutions of CSC cases involving adult women, justice is hard to come by. Counseling, mood-altering drugs and time are the only options for most victims.
Donley was arrested by Dowagiac Police after a rape complaint was received from a Dowagiac women in June of 2010. According to Court records, 8 charges were authorized against Donley. The charges include: 2- First-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, 1- Home Invasion, 1- Third-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct, 1- CCW Concealed Weapon, 1- Felonious Assault and 2-Resist and Obstruct charges.
According to testimony, Donley forced his way into the victim’s apartment at knife point and raped her twice. During Donley’s stay at Cass County Jail, three additional charges were added for criminal behavior while in custody. Donley was designated an Habitual Offender by the prosecutor. Mr. Fitz also asked that Donley be required to wear restraints to protect people attending the hearing.
Prosecutor Fitz agreed to drop the 3 Criminal Sexual Conduct charges and the 3 charges added while Donley was in jail. In exchange, Donley would enter a No Contest Plea relating to the five remaining charges. Certainly a dangerous criminal is off the street for a very long time, but is it long enough?
As Mr. Fitz pointed out in his recent presentation at the Rotary Club in Dowagiac, Michigan’s Department of Corrections are trying to solve their budget problems by letting out more violent criminals. Mr. Fitz asked the question; “How does releasing more murderers, armed robbers, and CSC offenders make you safer?."
The problem with not prosecuting Donley’s CSC charges has its own set of consequences. First and foremost, the victim has not received justice for the rape crime committed against her. If Donley didn’t commit the rape, most of the other charges would have never been lodged against him. The second problem is with the plea agreement. When Donley gets out of prison, he will not be required to register as a sex offender. It is as if the rape never happened. How will this keep us safer?
According to the Prosecutor, Donley is a Habitual Offender. Donley’s sentence is 12 ½ to 40 years and, if I understand Mr. Fitz’s article correctly, the truth-in-sentencing legislation will require Donley serve at least the minimum. If Donley had been prosecuted and convicted of 1st Degree CSC, the penalty could have been as much as imprisonment for life.
In an April 25,2008 article in the South Bend Tribune, Linda Baechle, then Exec. Director of the YWCA, wrote; “Rape should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The victims are humiliated, embarrassed, frightened. When the perpetrator is not prosecuted and sent away, the survivor is fearful of being alone and always looking over her shoulder for the rapist. The rapist is still out there. She may encounter him at the market or dry cleaners. She will never feel completely safe again.”
Criminal Sexual Conduct cases, involving adult women, are just not a priority for area prosecutors. According to the Michigan State Police website, their Michigan Incident Crime Report (MICR) for Cass County, lists 38 complaints reported in 2008 with only 3 arrests. The same report shows 25 complaints reported in 2009 with 3 arrests. Arrests do not mean there are prosecutions. The Prosecutor’s office must authorize charges before anything happens. So very little is done in Cass County in regard to these complaints.
Danny Inman of DASAS told the Rotary Club in December of 2010 that sexual assault is the number one under-reported crime in the country. Only 5% of the victims tell police, and 15 of 16 perpetrators walk away free. According to Inman, statistically, 94% of assault victims are telling the truth, but it is hard to get a conviction.
If a person is raped at knife point, and she is asked about her assailant’s sentence, which excludes rape charges, what do you think her answer would be? With so few prosecutions of CSC cases involving adult women, justice is hard to come by. Counseling, mood-altering drugs and time are the only options for most victims.
Dowagiac Resident Looks Into City Managers Contract
After reading in Wednesday's paper about the city manager's contract being extended, and some newer data about Dowagiac being found on the Internet, I thought I should share some of what I found. So here goes
The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9.4 %
The Michigan unemployment rate stands at 11.7 %
The Cass County unemployment rate is 11.3%
The unemployment rate of Dowagiac stands at 11.4%
The median family income in the U.S. is $62,363
The median family income for the State of Michigan is $45,254
The median family income for Cass County is $45,799
The median family income for Dowagiac is $36,706
The poverty rate of the U.S. stands at 14.3%
The poverty rate of Michigan stands at 16.1%
The poverty rate in Cass County stands at 15.9%
The poverty rate in Dowagiac stands at 22.6%
There are 2757 total housing units in Dowagiac of those 438 or 18.3% are vacant
The lucky people who are employed are traveling an average of 20.2 minutes to work ,how far away from Dowagiac can you get in 20 minutes? So you see my point is this, These numbers arent the numbers that a successful City Manager should be proud of, and I think that the City Council should have did their homework before extending this over inflated contract. These numbers appear to me that someone must not be doing their job. On any job that I have ever had if I didnt do my assigned job correctly , I would have been fired not rewarded a contract extension. these numbers may not be up to the minute fresh but trust me you wouldnt want them any fresher. In case everyone doesnt know the City Manager now makes $154,776 or just over 4 times what the average FAMILY makes in Dowagiac.Just thought that this might open a few eyes of the residents.
The U.S. unemployment rate stands at 9.4 %
The Michigan unemployment rate stands at 11.7 %
The Cass County unemployment rate is 11.3%
The unemployment rate of Dowagiac stands at 11.4%
The median family income in the U.S. is $62,363
The median family income for the State of Michigan is $45,254
The median family income for Cass County is $45,799
The median family income for Dowagiac is $36,706
The poverty rate of the U.S. stands at 14.3%
The poverty rate of Michigan stands at 16.1%
The poverty rate in Cass County stands at 15.9%
The poverty rate in Dowagiac stands at 22.6%
There are 2757 total housing units in Dowagiac of those 438 or 18.3% are vacant
The lucky people who are employed are traveling an average of 20.2 minutes to work ,how far away from Dowagiac can you get in 20 minutes? So you see my point is this, These numbers arent the numbers that a successful City Manager should be proud of, and I think that the City Council should have did their homework before extending this over inflated contract. These numbers appear to me that someone must not be doing their job. On any job that I have ever had if I didnt do my assigned job correctly , I would have been fired not rewarded a contract extension. these numbers may not be up to the minute fresh but trust me you wouldnt want them any fresher. In case everyone doesnt know the City Manager now makes $154,776 or just over 4 times what the average FAMILY makes in Dowagiac.Just thought that this might open a few eyes of the residents.
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