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

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

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

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

Did Dowagiac Officials Try To Keep Raw Sewage Leak Into Indian Lake A Secret?

Once again the city of Dowagiac put keeping things a secret above the safety of residents. swimmers and fisherman at Indian Lake.

According to Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson the city called the Dowagiac Daily News 18 hours after the sewage was released into Indian Lake. Which was a Saturday knowing that the Dowagiac Daily News wouldn't print for another two days?

The could and should have contacted the HP and the South Bend Tribune to run a story to inform residents of Indian Lake of the possible health hazards posed to them if them came into contact with RAW SEWAGE.

By the actions of the city there is no way to tell how many people may have come into contact with raw sewage while trying to enjoy their weekend on the lake.

Why it is that the Dowagiac Chamber can send out press releases for every little activity in town and our city officials refused to send out a press release when their is a chance of someone coming into contact with raw sewage?

I wonder if any of the people involved would have went swimming or ate fish that was caught close to where this raw sewage was released?

Both Dowagiac and Indian Lake residents deserve an answer why the city attempted to keep this information a secret. If the city would have contacted the HP or the DDN as soon as this happened, I am sure residents and visitors would have not went into the water close to where this release happened.

Dowagiac residents need to remember that the city put keeping their accident a secret above the health and safety of Indian Lake residents.

Dowagiac Schools Not Telling Parents Correct Information On Registration Paperwork

Well I am sure that most of you have received the enrollment information from Dowagiac schools. I figured that I will point out a LIE in the information you was given.
The information stated that the school can give out "directory" information on your child. It states that "directory" information is nothing more than your students name and grade.
Here is where the school has lied to parents. If you remember a few years ago former Dowagiac City Manager and convicted pedophile William Nelson had what the school said was "directory" information in his desk. The information he had included your children's name, address and phone number and emergency contact information.
This means that the Dowagiac Schools lied when they said the information Mr. Nelson had was directory information, or they are not telling the truth on your paperwork by saying that directory information only contains your child's name and grade.
I wish I could tell you which one was a lie but I can't because the school district refused to investigate why this pedophile had children's information in his desk.
Lets just hope with someone new running the schools that we can expect honesty returned to the administration.

Dowagiac Resident Speaks Out Against Treatment from City Officials

At some previous council meetings, Mayor Don Lyons made the statement that he did not know why some people “choose” not to pay their bills on time. That is why, I, Sue Miller, visited council tonight and enlightened him and council on why I was not able to pay my utility bills on time. I never planned to be disabled—I planned to be working for many years. However, now that I am disabled, and my income is very limited, I am one of those who cannot pay my utility bills.

I was a teacher, earning a good living. I never planned to be severely injured trying to prevent a blind student from falling on a slippery gym floor. I never planned having a bomb placed in my yard. I was the victim, so I hadn’t planned on the city attorney suing me on behalf of the city for $800,000. Neither had I planned on the legal fees to defend myself because I was the VICTIM. And, Mr. Mayor, when you are accused of something, you have a chance to defend yourself, to tell your side of the story in the media. I never had that chance. I am just fed up with mistreatment, and I will not take it anymore. No, I didn’t plan any of this, but here I am.

When I told the city my utility bills were out of sight--$400 per month sometimes, they told me I must have an underground sprinkler system. I do not. No one from the city has told me why my bills are so high. I have to pay these bills plus my mortgage. Currently, my house is up for sale as I can no longer afford to live in Dowagiac.

I had to apply for public assistance for the first time in my life. The caseworker said I had to submit a second notice from the city regarding my utilities, which I did. The monthly bill was $310 this time. A city worker came to my home when I was out of town on my way to a doctor’s appointment. My son called and said they were going to shut off our power. I got on the phone and asked them to wait until I could come home to resolve this situation. They said they could not—that they had orders to shut down the power. I canceled my appointment and came home. What had happened is that my regular caseworker gave the case to a new employee who had not taken care of this with the city. I called the caseworker, who called the city—still they said they would charge a reconnect fee of $200. The city would not waive the fee although none of this was my fault that this payment was not made. This is in addition to charges of $310 + $25 + $40. I called the city and I was not offered any payment arrangements. In fact, they informed me that I only had one-half hour before 4 p.m., as after 4 p.m., I would be charged an additional $100 for penalty. The caseworker finally resolved things with the city so I was reconnected.

So, Mr. Mayor, some people “choose” not to pay their bills on time for a variety of reasons—many of us wish we didn’t have to resort to public assistance for anything.

Since the bomb incident in 1994 I feel I have been targeted by this city—my city, I was born and raised here—the city where I pay taxes and the city that is supposed to protect me. Seldom have I had to dial 911, but when I have, often this is ignored. One time, I spoke at the council meeting concerning my 911 calls going unanswered. This particular call was concerning a young boy being kicked and punched in the head until he was unconscious in the middle of the road. He was bleeding, and no one came. After that, councilman Laylin came to my home unannounced and did inform me that he wanted to tell me that it is known around the community that I am crazy. My daughter has been approached by a police officer several times at her place of employment. This officer said that they know who I hang out with and know what cars come and go, and they check license plates. This is when I was dating a Chicago policeman. He also told my daughter that they were watching him. This police friend of mine once went to city hall to get a yard sale permit (I understand I am one of the few in Dowagiac who are required to get such a permit), and they were going to refuse to give him the permit for me because they could not read his signature on the $2 permit, and the reason given was: “someone could take out a yard sale permit in your name and hold the sale in your yard, without you knowing about it.” Now does this make any sense at all? Also, my Chicago police friend was doing me a favor during my illness and went to the cemetery to care for my parents’and brother’s graves when he was approached by a policeman who asked him, “what do you think you are doing here?” So, I really wondered why he would be under such scrutiny for just taking care of some graves.

Then there is the blight problem. I have had many people say they’d like to nominate me for the annual garden award because I take pride in my yard and flowers. Yet, I am the recipient of blight notices every year since 1994. Why? As an example, I brought to City Hall tonight some of the things I was cited on—so I have witnesses to show how ridiculous this is. Also, they told me I cannot have my trashcan by the road all the time—I don’t—only for garbage pick up. Yet, the church across the street and at least two other neighbors have their trash cans out all the time. They are never cited. I don’t want any special treatment—just fair treatment, like everyone else.

I had to leave the council meeting early, as it was a very stressful thing for me to do to address these concerns with council. I have tried to ignore the harassment and poor treatment for years, but it has gotten to the point that I have nothing more to lose. I have lost everything but my self-respect. I refuse to be treated this way anymore.

As I was leaving tonight, I drove past the Mayor’s Jaguar in the parking lot, and the thought hit me that it must be difficult for someone like him to really understand the concept of why people “choose” not to pay their bills on time. That is a real “disconnect” with many citizens who are struggling in the city of Dowagiac.

I was told that Councilwoman, Lori Hunt, asked that the City look into the allegations I have made and wished to have a report on resolution. I thank Lori Hunt for that. Every councilman should care enough to ask why any citizen would be treated like I have been treated. I am grateful that one of them actually cares enough to ask to have a report.

Sue Miller

P.S. These are just a few of the incidents I have had to endure since 1994. As I compose this right now, I observe the police going past my house five times in the past two hours.

Dowagiac Councilman say teens should be working in farms

Thank goodness I wasn't able to attend the council meeting Monday night, because of what was written in the DDN I would have needed to wear waders.

Mr. Lyons said "“If I feel there are no qualified candidates,” the mayor added, “the seat may remain vacant until I feel there is one I can recommend in good faith.”. This means that out of the entire City of Dowagiac Mr. Lyons cannot find 13 people that he thinks is fit to sit on his boards. Can our fine mayor really believe that the residents of Dowagiac is going to believe this? The real reason we have 13 openings on these boards is because the mayor cannot find 13 more "Yes" people to appoint.

It even got better, Mr. Dood contacted experts to find out about youth activities in Dowagiac.Mr Dodd listed the following Calvary Bible Church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Dowagiac District Library, St. John’s Lutheran Church and Fitch Camp. Once again Mr. Dodd proved like the rest of the council they just don't understand what youth activities are. The one I do aree with is Calvary Bible Church, they do great things for Dowagiac youth.

As far as Mr. Dodds comment about teens working on a farm just shows how ignorant he is on the youth of today. Teen are still children and need something to do. Does Mr. Dodd really think that a 13 year old child should be working on a farm and not have the chance for structured youth activities?

This proves why voters need to clean house next year and get these councilman that think 13 year old children should be working on farms and a mayor that thinks kids still play kick the can out of office.

Dowagiac will never move forward as long as we have councilman like Mr. Dodd thinking that we live in a community like Little House On The Prarie.

Good Night John Boy,

Howard Hall

Resident Responds To City Clerks and Councilmans Attacks

On Friday, I had a meeting with Mr. Snow, Mr. Oliver and Assistant City Manager, Rozanne Scherr. The reason for the meeting was to resolve issues in regard to Mr. Oliver's stories to residents claiming I had a criminal record and was abusing children at my former candy store. Mr. Snow became involved in this lie by telling residents, who attended the last council meeting, that I had a criminal background.

I arrived at the meeting and was told to meet Mr. Snow and Mr. Oliver in the meeting room. I asked Kevin Anderson, City Manager, if he would be attending, and he said, "No, this was between the City Clerk and Councilman Oliver and you". I told Mr. Anderson that because Mr. Snow and Mr. Oliver are representatives of the city, I felt that he should attend.

Ms. Scherr agreed to sit in on the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, the other person, who was at the meeting that Mr. Snow also told a lie about, asked him why he started rumors about them. Mr. Snow said, " I will deal with that later" and REFUSED to even discuss his lies with the other person involved.

After Mr. Snow refused to address the issue of his lies to the other person involved, I asked Mr. Oliver to explain why he would be telling residents that I had a criminal background.

Mr. Oliver said the reason on doing the background check on me was because he knew I do a lot of good things for the community, and he wanted to see where I got my experience from. I told Mr. Oliver that his excuse didn't make any sense. Mr. Oliver then admitted that he attempted to do a criminal background check on me using the internet. During the course of his investigation, he found someone with the same name that had a sealed juvenile record in Las Vegas. I find it odd that if someone had a sealed criminal record that anyone could find it with a Google search.

Mr. Oliver did say that the Howard Hall he found was not me. It was someone with the same name in Las Vegas, NV. Mr. Oliver than stated that he was sorry for spreading something that was not true, and he attempted to tell everyone that he told that information to that it was not true.

Next, I had the chance to ask Mr. Snow why he told people at the council meeting that I had a criminal record. Mr. Snow's answer was something close to the following:


"I said what I said but I didn't say what I said but what I said was said because it was said." I asked Mr. Snow what he was saying and he responded with: "I was there and said what I didn't say what I said when I said it and I said what you thought I said when I didn't say it."

I asked Mr. Snow again why he lied to residents who attended the council meeting. Mr. Snow said that "it is done because it was never started." Mr. Snow WALKED OUT OF THE MEETING ROOM at that point.

I have to give Junior Oliver credit for acting like a man and sitting down with us and explaining what he did and why. As far as Mr. Snow, you can see what he said, and it is clear that Mr. Snow acted like a CHILD that was caught stealing candy from a candy store. Mr. Snow doesn't deserve to have the position of City Clerk for the city of Dowagiac. As you can read on the post, I have given Mr. Snow many gifts for his collection of Presidential memorabilia, and I didn't deserve to be treated like this.

This proves that the city of Dowagiac doesn't give a damn about the residents of Dowagiac. They just do as they please knowing that most residents do not care what their elected officials do, or if they do care, they are afraid to oppose them because of what they can do to them. I believe that Mr. Snow needs to make this his last term as City Clerk and should consider making an appointment with his doctor. The way he was rambling with his answers was not the actions of an elected official, but actions of someone who was using very poor judgment and who may be in need of medical care.

I want residents to know just how the city of Dowagiac runs our city and controls our elected officials. I have been a resident of Dowagiac for about 8-9 years and listed below is the punishment given to me by the city of Dowagiac and its elected officials:


I had a police officer tell me that I was banned from downtown Dowagiac and was forced to get a handwritten letter from the Dowagiac City Attorney to be able to go downtown.

Over the years, I was given a multitude of blight letters, even for things that weren't on my property.

I was only allowed to talk to Jim Snow and pedophile, William Nelson, who was the City Manager at the time. Due to this, I had my electric disconnected for a day. Thanks to County Commissioner, John Cureton, a fair and honorable man, we got the electric back on the next day.

Received a traffic ticket while unloading the car at 3:00 a.m. when we were forced to move from the candy store because the building got condemned when the landlord didn't fix the roof. I was parked downtown in front of our new home so that I could carry heavy items from the car and up the stairs. The ticket clearly stated how much the ticket was. Later we got another ticket to replace the one we received, and it went from $19.00 to $75.00. Now the police have changed the instructions on this type of ticket to make it clearer for others.

Was called unfit to serve on any board by Mayor Don Lyons.

The former City Manager, William Nelson, had childrens' school records in his desk. When I filed a complaint with the city requesting them to investigate why MY childrens' records were in the possession of the city manager, the city ignored the complaint and refused to even find out why. A few years later, this same city manager was arrested for attempting to set up a date to have oral sex with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. Why wouldn't the city try to find out why this man had my childrens' school records? He didn't just have my childrens' records, but other childrens' records also. I asked the city again to investigate the records case after Mr. Nelson's arrest, but, once again, they REFUSED.

Dowagiac City Clerk, Jim Snow, filed Voter Fraud charges against me with the Michigan State Police. During the investigation the trooper told me that this was a waste of his time, and the Clerk shouldn't have even filed the charges.

For over a year, the Dowagiac City Council had police officers at the meetings in an attempt to intimidate me so I would stop going to meetings.

When I ran for City Council and lost by thirty votes, I requested a recount by the county of Cass. When I arrived for the recount, the Cass County Clerk informed me that the recount had to be stopped because there were more ballots in the machine than the number of people that voted on Election Day. This was the fault of the Dowagiac City Clerk, Jim Snow. How can someone with so many years of experience allow a voting machine to have more ballots in the machine than the number of people who voted? Was this an accident or is this how the city keeps control of the Council year after year? You decide!

Not long after the recount problem, the Cass County Clerk informed the Dowagiac City Clerk that the City of Dowagiac has been breaking Michigan law by counting their own votes, and the County of Cass follows state law and they now count the votes cast in all City Elections instead of allowing Jim Snow to do so.

The Dowagiac Informer requested to sponsor bed races for this year's Fun Fest. The Dowagiac Chamber ignored that request, so they can, once again, keep total control over the festival.

I could go on, but this gives you an idea of how the city goes after people who may disagree with them. In the past, there have been others who have tried to inform residents about the city, and they have received paperwork about being sued.

For the reasons stated above, this is why it is so important for residents to get involved in their local government. It is time for residents to replace these people who think they are above most of the residents of Dowagiac.

Why does the city of Dowagiac spend so much time and effort attacking me and others, when this energy could be used to fulfill the lie they have been telling residents about how Dowagiac is a great place to live, work and raise a family?

One thing I want readers to ask themselves and write into the post is: Do the actions mentioned above look like a Government which wants to do what is best for residents, or a Government that only cares about itself, and is willing to do ANYTHING to keep it that way.

After the meeting with Mr. Snow and witnessing his unstable behavior in that meeting, I perceive a threat from his actions.

If you look at what the city has done to attack me over the years, what Mr. Snow and Mr. Oliver did to me didn't surprise me at all.

With the lastest actions of City Clerk Snow and Councilman Oliver telling residents I abused children when I owned the candy store, what is next? What causes me great concern is that, over the years, the attacks seem to get worse. Now that the story of me abusing children didn't work, and Mr. Snow's threatening actions towards me in the meeting, I have serious concerns on just how far these actions will go.


Please e-mail in your thoughts to the forum on this story and tell us what you think of the actions of Mr. Snow in the meeting.

In closing, I would like to say one more time that, although I strongly disagree with what Mr. Oliver did by passing on incorrect information to residents, at least he acted like a man and sat down with me and said he was sorry. As far as Mr. Snow, I have lost all respect for him because of his actions in this meeting. He acted like a spoiled child, not an elected official for the city of Dowagiac. The next time you see Mr. Snow ask him why he spread these lies about me. Maybe you will hear him double talk like he did with me.

The entire city needs to band together next year and vote all of these people out of office. Dowagiac is prevented from becoming one of the best small towns in Michigan because of four problems:

It is hard to find good people to run for office. (Now we are beginning to see people step forward)

Not enough people vote. (Hopefully, these recent events will convince people to make their vote count)

In the past, hardly anyone attended Council Meetings. (That is changing)

Irregularities in elections. (Let's hope that the Dowagiac City Clerk, Jim Snow, makes sure that the only votes in the voting machine are actual votes cast by residents, and not ballots that somehow appear in the voting machine.)

Howard Hall

Dowagiac Michigan Government Singles Out Low Income Renters

Once again, the hardship of paying first, last, and current rent along with a $500 utility deposit is an overwhelming amount of money for any potential resident to bear. The “reward” of a partial return on deposits after 12 months, and again after 24 months SHOULD exist, rather than punish every new customer with the assumption that they will become delinquent in payments BEFORE that has ever been established as fact.

It would seem reasonable that deposit funds are to be held in trust for return to the customer at the termination of their utility service, or to be used for payment due at the termination of utility service. It would also seem reasonable and financially responsible that these funds would be held in an interest bearing account. As the ordinance is currently written, each new utility customer will contribute $500 to this account for a minimum of 12 months, $400 for a minimum of 24 months, and $300 indefinitely until the termination of their utility service, which could potentially last for several years. Depositing customers without 12 consecutive months of on-time payments will receive no return on their deposit while their initial $500 deposit remains in the account beyond the 12 month time period. The same circumstance will exist for depositing customers without 24 consecutive months of on-time payments leaving $400 in the account for an extended period of time before any return on their deposit is received.

For the City to gain this type of long term benefit from an interest bearing account established with funds being held in trust for utility customers, funds that actually do not belong to the City, does not seem to be fair-minded. The City has the ability to act in good faith by returning interest benefits to utility customers earned on THEIR money rather than use these deposit funds as a resource to generate income for the City’s financial gain. Serious consideration should be given to returning this interest income to those who have truly earned it through their good faith deposits. Distribution of interest monies generated by deposits could be paid annually during the winter months when utility service customers could benefit the most from a reduction in their utility bills.

Justification of the deposit increase by representing that unpaid utilities are easily collectible through the tax obligation of Home Owners and Landlords who do not file waivers with the City, and more difficult and costly to collect from potentially un-locatable utility customers with waivers on file is misleading. Regardless of the collection method used when necessary, there is time, paperwork, and manpower involved. Although initially collection on an existing tax obligation with the recovery of interest, penalties, and collection costs may appear to be guaranteed, that is not always true. In the case of the utility customer with a waiver, their non-payment is also collectable with interest, penalties, and collection costs. In addition, collection options have changed in recent years for creditors allowing them to easily file the paperwork necessary to collect from State Income Tax returns. It is reasonable to assume that individuals expecting a refund WILL file a return that is accessible for garnishment eliminating the necessity of any investment of time in locating these individuals. Many will also be collected from and easily located if only steps are taken in a timely manner rather than delayed for months before proceeding. In EACH case recovery of costs beyond the initial non-payment is possible. To give the impression that one is more costly than the other is simply untrue when costs involved are recoverable.

Without continuing the argument of WHY the potential risk for nonpayment has suddenly increased to necessitate a deposit amount that more than doubles the current deposit, it cannot be denied that the increase IS a substantial financial burden to anyone seeking utility service in this City. Again, with a $500 utility deposit on top of moving and potential rent obligations the financial burden becomes out of reach for many potential residents as well as current residents facing a move. When faced with this knowledge prospective residents will find it very easy to justify moving outside the City limits to avoid the financial burden that will be created here. Current and future residents will be driven out of town to seek housing in a more affordable area. Along with them will go potential income for the City’s businesses, enrollment for our schools, and general support for this Community that it desperately needs. Why not consider a plan to achieve the $500 deposit goal while making its collection less of a burden. For example, the current deposit amount could be increased to $250 with an additional $50 paid each month for the following 5 months. An initial deposit increase is collected to offset the ever growing cost of security to reduce the City’s financial risk. The 6-month payment plan allows the City to collect the full deposit amount proposed in a relatively short period of time, yet allows a situation that prevents at least some utility customers and potential residents from being turned away. In these difficult financial times it is simply impossible for many people including potential students for our local Community College to afford such a large out of pocket expense for a utility deposit.

It may be beneficial to take another look at the proposed Utility Ordinance Amendments before pushing through a plan that doesn’t appear to have taken all aspects of the situation into consideration. This is a significant increase warranting a considerable amount of thought before subjecting residents and this City to the long term consequences a hasty decision will cause. Do everyone involved a favor, take your time and contemplate all of the options BEFORE moving forward rather than AFTER IT IS TOO LATE.

Dowagiac City Council To Increase Utility Deposits to $500.00

Just when you thought you have heard everything, along comes the Dowagiac City Council with with another decision that is going to make it impossible for people to move to Dowagiac.
At the council meeting Monday night the council will be doing a first reading changing the deposit for electric, water and sewer from a little over $200.00 to $500.00.
How many people can afford to pay first and last months rent, security deposit and now $500.00 security deposit for utilities?
The city is going to say that they need this money to recover money lost by people that don't pay their bills. AEP doesn't ask for a deposit this high and I am sure most other utility companies don't either.
Losing money for non payment is part of running a utility company and the city knew the risks when they decided to take over utilities for Dowagiac. It is all part of doing businesses, all businesses run into customers that do not pay their bill. If the city has a customer that refuses to pay take them to court, don't pass on their loss to new utility customers.
Another disturbing issue with this new deposit is the city wants a cop of the renters lease. many leases contain private phone numbers, social security numbers, these are things that the city doe not need to have available to any city employee. I can understand they may need the SS number for the account holder, but many leases have the SS numbers of everyone on the lease.
We already know that paperwork flows around city hall like water under a bridge, remember the school records that pedophile city manager had in his desk? The city never could explain how he got them.
Also at the next meeting they are gong to be voting to apply for more state funds to build more apartments, if they raise the deposit to $500.00 how many people will be able to afford to move into these new apartments.
This is a bad decision for the renter as well as the landlords. If this increase passes how many landlords will have vacant buildings because renters cannot afford the $500.00 deposit.
It is time for residents to take a stand and call their councilman or show up at the meeting Monday night and say enough is enough and put a stop to this increase that is almost TRIPLE of the current deposit rates.
Just remember if you keep quiet and move to another apartment or house the new deposit will be passed on to you. It doesn't; matter if you are a current customer.
It also states that the city will keep the renters deposit until the account is CLOSED, this means that the city will have your $500.00 forever and will earn interest off of your money. Remember a public utility has to pay you interest on your money but the city doesn't have to.
Could this be where the money to fix the streets is coming from?
What about any students that want to move into Dowagiac and not stay in a dorm at SMC? SMC is growing every year and students will start looking for housing in town. College students cannot afford a $500.00 Deposit.
Everyone needs to mark you calendars for the meeting Monday night and tell the Dowagiac City Council that you will not sit back and allow them to almost triple the utility deposits.
Click Here to read the new deposit information.
Howard Hall

Dowagiac City Council refuses To Follow Rules Once Again

Dowagiac passed a resolution a few years back stating that question put in writing in advance will be answered at the council meeting if the person is present that asked the question.
Well once again the Dowagiac City Council REFUSED to answer questions out in writing in advance. After the meeting we asked Mayor Pro Tem Leon Laylin why the questions were not answered. His response was we answered them in writing, we explained to him the resolution that he voted on and asked again why the questions we not answered. His response was nothing more than raising his hand in the air.
This proves that residents need to come forward and run for office next year. When you have an elected official running a meeting that don't follow the rules and don't care if residents know, it's time to remove some people from office.
When we asked acting City Manager Rozanne Scherr her response was, " Maybe residents didn't; care what the questions and answers were".
The idea of question in writing in advance is so the city has 4 days to find the answers to the questions submitted. It is not the job of the city manager to determine what residents want or need to know.
I cannot understand why the Dowagiac City Council can expect residents to follow the rules and feel that they are above the very rules that they voted on.
ONLY IN DOWAGIAC !!!

Dowagiac Mayor Refuses to Ask Council Members For No Votes

IMPEDE: to interfere with or slow the progress of......
This is exactly what happened at the last council meeting.
If you remember a month ago we wrote a story of how the mayor runs the meeting by passing everything that it on the agenda without ever asking if they are any no votes.
Dowagiac was lucky by having our State Rep Sharon Tyler attend the last meeting. Prior to the start of the meeting I talked to Ms. Tyler and told her to watch how the meeting is ran. I promised her that she would never hear the mayor ask if there is any no votes.
Well she got more than a lesson on Dowagiac politics, she had the chance to see a councilman be forced to stop the mayor from passing another increase to city residents.
This made the council and residents of Dowagiac look terrible in front of our State Rep. I am sure when she returned to Lansing she had some stories to tell her friends about the way Don Lyons runs his council meetings.
We hope that Mr. Lyons now understands that just because something is on the agenda that it is possible for people to vote NO and not just assume that everyone will vote YES!
We hope at the next meeting Mr. Lyons will ask council if there are any no votes before trying to pass an agenda item and not embarrass the entire town again in front of our State Rep.
Here is a clear example of Mr. Lyons trying to impede the meeting by not asking for any no votes.
We would like to thank the councilpersons that voted no on yet another needless increase to Dowagiac residents.

This weeks Dowagiac Informer Newsletter

If The City Has a Program That is Good For Residents, Why Do They Change It When Residents Find Out About It?

A few weeks ago JenkinsPC asked the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce to assist them in purchasing a sign for his new business. This incentive was clearly posted on the chambers webpage.

As soon as he requested assistance from the chamber the Greater of Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce they went online and took away the incentive and said it wasn't available for many years.

Why would the chamber have information on their web-page to lure new businesses to town and after they open remove the page from the Internet?


Now recently a resident requested the City Manager to put them on the council agenda. The same thing happened again, here is a link to the web-page the city had about residents being allowed to have an item out on the agenda: http://www.cityofdowagiac.com/3c.htm#5

Now here is the new link: http://www.cityofdowagiac.com/1g.cfm#8

Now why would the City of Dowagiac change two policies as soon as a business or resident decides to use a program offered by the city or Chamber?

We contacted Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson and was told that the web-page is just out dated and they are in the process of updating the page.

It sure seems odd that they are updating the page only when a residents wants to take advantage of a program.

Mr Anderson also told us that the council changed the policy of a resident getting on the agenda many years ago. The resolution that Mr. Anderson was talking about was passed to force residents to put questions in writing 4 days in advance and has nothing to do with getting an item on the agenda.

This story fits right in to the story about the Dowagiac City Charter. If there is something on the books that helps residents, they just remove it at will without a vote of council.

All of this will stay the same until there is a change at city hall.

Residents Beware

Residents beware, there is a person that has been telling residents to stay away from the stores that provide the Dowagiac Informer to their customers.

At this time we do not feel there is a need to provide the name of this of this official but we will in the near future if this behavior continues.

Please continue to visit the businesses that support the Informer to show that Informer readers cannot be bullied.

Why would an official tell residents to shop out of town when Dowagiac has so many businesses struggling to stay in business?


Print Edition

The print edition of the Informer will be out on Saturday, sorry for the inconvenience.

Council Questions

Well it has been a month since we put our questions in writing to council and we still have not heard back.

This falls under the same resolution that Mr. Anderson talked about changing when we addressed a resident getting an item on the agenda.
Why is it that the City of Dowagiac only follows the rules when it benefits them and ignores the rules when it is in the residents favor?

Just Wondering?

The residents of Dowagiac go to the polls every two years to elected councilman that will represent the residents of their wards.

The Dowagiac City Council has made it almost impossible to be able to attend a meeting and have dialog between their elected officials and residents.

You are forced to put any questions in writing in advance to give the city time to get together and come up with an answer that most of the time doesn't even answer the question at all.

Here is what we were wondering about. When a resident puts a question in writing to council why is it that the mayor is the one to answer all questions? As we wrote about in our article about the Dowagiac Charter, the Mayor is nothing more than a figurehead position. The Mayors only job is to run the meeting, break any tie votes and to appoint his friends to city boards.

Why do we even need councilman if the mayor answers all the questions directed at the councilman? Here is a good example, in the past we have put questions in writing for our first ward councilman, after all that is what they are elected to do. When it comes time to answer the questions the councilman just sit there while the mayor answers the questions.

I have two councilpersons, Lori Hunt and Junior Oliver. How can they represent the residents of the first ward when they are not even allowed to answer any questions from their constituents? To make things worse many times when residents put their questions in writing, the councilman don't even know that residents put any questions in until the mayor starts answering them.

Mayor Lyons, please follow the charter and allow the people that residents voted into office answer their own questions. Remember your job is to run the meeting and sit back and hope that just maybe there will be a tie vote and you can break the tie.
Please allow the councilman to do what they were elected to do. I put in two questions this week and requested that my elected officials answer them. Lets wait and see if Mayor Lyons will follow the Dowagiac City Charter and allow the councilman to answer the questions or once again disregard the charter and answer the questions himself.


Online Townhall With Mayor Don Lyons

we have been informed that Mr. Lyons will attend a townhall with Dowagiac Informer readers, so keep sending in your questions to townhall@dowagiacinformer.com

we will meet with Mr. Lyons Monday night at council and set the date. Stay tuned for more information next week.

As far as any other councilpersons attending a meeting, we hav no idea due to the fact that the city has refused to answer the questions we put in writing two weeks ago.

Join Us Wednesday Night at 7:30

Joine us Wednesday night at 7:30 in our chat romm to discuss the city raising out water bills to pay for the road repairs in town.

This is a chance to bmake your voice heard and let the city know that you are tired of having rate increases to pay for their money management problems.

Why should residents have to pay more money on their water wills when not long ago the city spent MILLIONS to buy our an electric contract.

Every resident has to live within a budget and so should the city.

make you voice heard by attending our online meeting Wednesday night.


More Money For Dowagiac?

It looks like the city of Dowagiac may not see a cut in revenue from the State of Michigan. It looks like thay may even get an increase.

Maybe the city could use this increase to fix the roads in Dowagiac instead of raising the residents water bills.

Dowagiac Informer Shows Dowagiac Government Not Following City Charter

The Dowagiac City Charter is so outdated. It is my belief that the city keeps it that way so they can continue to do as they please without any input from residents.

Over the years, when questioned about more than one person on a city board, the city has said it is ok because the charter only names the 5 original boards.

How could the charter address boards that were started after the writing of the charter? Common sense would tell you that if there were more boards in Dowagiac at the time the charter was made, those boards would have also been added.

The city doesn't think that way. It is my opinion that as long as they can keep this outdated charter in effect, they can continue to stack these boards with members of their club and keep total control over the residents of Dowagiac.

Why is it that the mayor cannot find people to fill the vacant seats on the boards? Could it be because he has run out of "club members" to appoint? There is no reason to have any open seats on a single board in the city.

The charter says the parks and recreation board offers programs. The reason the city has stopped having programs is not because of money problems. I think it is because the city does not want Dowagiac youth anywhere near or around downtown. As I see it, in the eyes of Mayor Don Lyons, children are not worth taking the time to offer programs for their benefit.

In the past, Mr. Lyons has always used the word "entertain" when it comes to youth programs. This is a perfect example of someone who has no clue of how important it is to provide programs for youth. If you remember a few years ago, he thought kids still played "kick the can".

This is a good example of why Dowagiac residents need to clean house in the next Election. Our city is being represented by a council that is too old to understand the needs of the community and still thinks we are the same town we were in the 1960's.

The best example is the item in the charter about the electric plant. It is crystal clear that nothing should have been done with that plant without a vote of the residents of Dowagiac, but the mayor and council appear not to care about the charter and just make up the rules as they go.

If your grass is too long, you get a letter from the city. If you have blight in your yard, you get a letter also. But when it comes to the rules voted on by residents to keep their government under control, they seem to think that they are above the rules and do as they please.

Residents are starting to take notice of the out-of-control government in Dowagiac, which is evident in our online poll. We can only hope that the council can see the slow change and start following the rules. If not, maybe a recall in May is just what the residents need in order to take back control of their city.

Local Publication Questions Dowagiac Michigan City Charter

March 5th
Dowagiac City Charter
The Dowagiac City Charter was voted on by residents November 3rd 1964 by the residents of Dowagiac and made effected April 12th 1965.
We are going to give you a brief history of the Dowagiac City Charter and let you decide if the City of Dowagiac is following the rules set by the voters of Dowagiac.
Amendments: section 1.1
This charter may be amended at any time in the manner provided by law. Should two or more amendments adopted at the same Election have conflicting provisions, the amendment receiving the largest vote shall prevail.
I am no attorney but this makes it sound that any changes made to this charter needs to be voted on my the residents of Dowagiac.
Keep this in in mind as you are reading the rest of this article and you decide if the charter if being followed.

Penalties for violations of Charter: Section 1.9
Any person found guilty of any violations of this charter may be punished by a fine which, in addition to court costs, shall not exceed $500.00 , of imprisonment for not more than 90 days.
If this rule was enforced we wouldn't need the increase in the water bill to pay for road repairs.

Permitted and other powers: Section 2.2
To provide for the public welfare by: Regulating trade and amusements which are detrimental to the safety, health, morals, or welfare of its inhabitants.
The city council regulating trade? Does this mean that the council has a say on what businesses can operate in Dowagiac?
We would like to know what the council uses as a guideline for regulating the morals of the City of Dowagiac.

To establish and reasonably control streets, alleys and public places Section 3 (V)
Compelling all persons to keep the sidewalk which are in the area of streets immediately to the premises owned, or occupied by them, free from snow, ice, dirt….
Although is was nice for the city to change this section without a vote of the people and offer snow plowing of the sidewalks, to change it back should only be made by a vote of the people.

The Mayor: section 5.2
Shall preside at the meeting of the council and shall have a voice in its proceedings, but no vote, except in the case of a tie, and no veto power.
Does anyone remember a tie vote from the council?

Elected Officers Section 4.1
The following people shall be elected in the City of Dowagiac, one mayor, one Supervisor at large, one clerk, one treasurer, six councilman, to justices of the peace, three supervisors, being one from each ward, and three constables being one from each ward.
According to the charter the charter cannot be changed without a vote of the people. What happened to the supervisor and the justices of the peace positions? How did the city change this part of the charter without a vote of the people?

The Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tempore Section 5.2 ©
He shall preside at meetings of the council and shall have a voice in its proceedings, but no vote, except in case of a tie, and no veto power..
The Mayor of Dowagiac is a figure head position and has no power to do anything at the city except as outlined above.

Rules Section 5.7
On all votes, the yes and no votes vote of each member shall be recorded by roll call and published in the regular proceedings.
In all the years I have attended meetings I have heard the mayor ask all in favor of a vote but never heard him ask if anyone is opposed.

Investigations Section 5.10
The council or any person or committee authorized by it shall have power to inquire into the conduct of any department, office, or officer of the city.
I requested them to honor this part of the charter when pedophile William Nelson had children's school records in his possession once again the charter was not followed.

Compensation Section 5.4
Each member of the council shall be compensated in the amount of one-hundred dollars annually, except the Mayor who shall receive three hundred dollars annually.
This amount raised by a vote of the people on 11/8/66 just 6 months after the charter was written. Seems like it was all about the money even then.
Why is it that when it came to getting a pay increase the city followed the charter and went before the voters, but when they decide not to follow the charter they have failed to bring it before voters?

Quorum Section 5.6
Four members of the council shall be a quorum for the transaction of business and the vote of four members shall be required for any official action of the council.
This section has been ignored by the council a few times. Could it be because they knew how the missing councilman would have voted in advance?

Supervisors Section 5.29
The supervisors of the City of Dowagiac shall have the same powers and duties as the supervisors in the townships.
Who are the supervisors of Dowagiac and what are their duties? If the city did away with this position why wasn’t it approved by the voters?

Publication of Ordinances Section 6.5
The council shall make available at the office of the Clerk not less than fifty copies of the full text of any ordinance which is published by digest for FREE distribution to the public.
Ever wonder what is really in the electric ordinance? Stop by the city clerk and get your free copy

Administrative Officers Section 7.2
The administrative officers of the city shall be a City Manager, a Clerk, a Treasurer, an Assessor, a City Attorney, a Police Chief, a Health Officer, and all heads of departments.
How did the city once again change the charter and do away with the Police Chief, Fire Chief and Health Officer without a vote of the residents?

Citizenship Participation Section 13.1
To afford citizenship participation in the affairs of the city government for the purpose of determining community needs and means of meeting such needs through the government of the city, the following citizen boards shall be continued or established under this section.
Airport Board, Library Board, Cemetery Board, Parks and recreation Board, Electric Facilities Board
(B) No person shall serve on more than one board or committee.
(C) Each such board shall hold at least one meeting in each calendar quarter.
The charter is so old that it only addresses the 5 original boards which allows the city to not follow the charter rules for all the other boards that have been formed since the charter was voted in.
Many of the city boards have the same person serving on more than one board. Is this so the city can control the decisions of all the city boards? You decide.
The city has many boards that meet as needed even though the charter says quarterly

Parks and recreation Section 13.5
The city manager shall be responsible for the proper functioning of the department.
The city manager shall be responsible for the care and maintenance of the city’s parks and shall be responsible for the recreational facilities and programs of the city.
The city charter clearly states that the city is responsible for recreation programs for city residents.
Many years ago the city did offer many recreation activates from a wading pool to organized programs for youth.
The city has stated in the past that the funding ran out to offer any programs. According to the charter it is the responsibility of the city to provide funding for these programs.
Does anyone remember voting to take away the youth programs from city residents?

Disposal of the Municipal electric Plant: Section 13.10
No action shall be taken to sell, exchange, lease or in any way dispose of the municipal electric public utility or any property, easement, equipment, privilege, or asset needed to continue the operation of such utility, unless the proposition to do so is approved by three members of the board and, in addition thereto, four members of the council, and further, by a three-fifths vote of the electors of the city voting at a regular election or at a special election called for that purpose.
Here is a very clear example of the city doing whatever it wants no matter what is set forth in the city charter.
The section above clearly states that the city couldn't dispose of using the plant or sell it for scrap without bringing it before the voters.
Anybody remember voting to stop using the electric plant or vote to sell the plant for scrap?



Online Poll
Would you support a recall of Dowagiac elected officials?
Yes 78% 85 votes
No 22% 24 votes

Dowagiac Informer Writes Response To Dowagiac Mayor

Mr. Lyons,
You stated " I would also note that it’s very difficult to take seriously criticism from someone who’s so poorly informed about city affairs that they don’t understand that there are twelve utility billing cycles during the course of a year".

Mr. Lyons, have you ever stopped to consider that the reason residents are sometimes poorly informed is because the city has a history of not informing residents of what is gong on until they read about it in the Dowagiac Daily News? This leaves residents no other option but to try to figure out things on their own; and, yes, sometimes they make mistakes. Next time you write about once again raising utility bills, explain to residents exactly what is going on. It is this publication's feeling that an attack on a resident's ability to count is very unprofessional coming from the Mayor of Dowagiac.

It appears that YOUR figures may not be correct. You stated that residents' water bills will go up $6.00, what you called a modest amount. According to First Ward Councilman Junior Oliver's Facebook page, he states that his will go up about $12.00- $15.00. It is reasons like this that residents have to try to figure these things out on their own. If the city gave residents the correct information from the beginning, things like this wouldn't happen.

If, Mr. Lyons, you are using this post as a smoke screen, you should have just replied and set the facts straight and not attack the people who post on this website. Why didn't you address the issue of some residents being over charged on the electric bills instead of attacking a resident/voter about a miscalculation on the utility bill increase.

Mr. Lyons, you also stated: "It is even more difficult to take seriously a publication that is so poorly informed, in spite of its name, that it would publish something like this as though it were correct and valid information".

Mr Lyons, The Informer; and, most likely, many residents are disappointed that you don't understand the fact that this was a Dowagiac resident and voter who wrote this on our public forum. This person was trying to figure out what the city was doing. The Dowagiac Informer did not print this as news. It was printed the same as the Dowagiac Daily News prints a letter to the editor. Over the years, since you have been in office, many people have put letters to the editor in the DDN, and, at no time, have you personally attacked the DDN. Your comments just prove that you do not like the Dowagiac Informer printing information, which, it sometimes seems, the City of Dowagiac tries to keep "secret" from the residents of Dowagiac.

Your letter sound like something George W. Bush said: "You are either with us or against us." Mr Lyons, just because you didn't clearly explain to residents all of the facts about the utility increase doesn't justify your attacking residents and voters.

Many residents have valid concerns about this utility increase. You say the city needs the money to repair the streets. If the residents didn't have to pay back MILLIONS of dollars to pay off an electric contract, the city would have had the money to repair the streets.
Maybe if the city would stop buying up property all over town you could take care of the streets without a utility increase. Like the NEWS story we wrote about last week, when the city purchases property you don't even maintain it. Like we stated in the newsletter, the donut shop is falling apart.

My Lyons, respect is something that is earned from residents, not something you can expect just because you are mayor. Start making residents part of the decision-making process of the council, and they will be better informed. Perhaps if this is done, you will not find the need to write such an arrogant letter.

Howard Hall
Dowagiac Informer

Dowagiac Michigan Mayor Attacks Local Paper and residents

In the February 19, 2010 edition of the Informer, there was an article titled, “Web Quote of the Week.” In that article the writer confesses to being confused. From the math that is used to support his/her contention of confusion it’s easy to see why the author is so confused. What the writer overlooked is the fact that there are 12 billing cycles during the course of a year. These billing cycles correspond to the 12 months of the year. The City of Dowagiac has about 2,750 utility customers. 2,750 customers multiplied by $6.00 each and that total multiplied by 12 billing cycles equals $198,000 in annual revenue. I used $200,000 as a round number as none of the underlying numbers are precise given fluctuations in the number of customers and the impact of varying utility usage over the course of a year. However, for purposes of estimating the effect of a $6.00 per month utility increase, I believe that $200,000 is a reasonable approximation. I would also note that it’s very difficult to take seriously criticism from someone who’s so poorly informed about city affairs that they don’t understand that there are twelve utility billing cycles during the course of a year. It is even more difficult to take seriously a publication that is so poorly informed, in spite of its name, that it would publish something like this as though it were correct and valid information.


Donald D. Lyons, Mayor

Note: Please print this without editing.

Dowagiac Informer reaches 10,000 hits in 6 months

We want to thank you for all of your support. We have had well over 10,000 hits on our web-page in just 27 weeks.
This just proves that Dowagiac resident are coming to the Informer for their local news.
We have some great plans in the works for the next 26 weeks so make sure not to miss any newsletters.

www.dowagiacinformer.com

Dowagiac Mayor Forgets The Year Of The Car He Is Being Sued For

http://www.ibj.com/article?articleId=15432