Mullett Township Board Remains Ethically Challenged

Conflicts of interest and ethics are in the news. President Trump has challenged the beliefs of many, refusing to release his tax returns, choosing business leaders and associates for high-level cabinet positions and employing a son-in-law as a close advisor. I can remember from my childhood the controversy when President Kennedy, our first and only Catholic President, chose his campaign manager, trusted confidant and brother, Robert Kennedy, as Attorney General. 

If we have the choice, it is human nature to choose likeminded co-workers to complete a task. Government seldom has that option. We have all seen dysfunctional elected and appointed boards and committees. People tossed together by election or appointment who constantly bicker or in fight. It is sometimes contrariness of one or more members. Teams work best with a good leader, but that leader has to be open to participation by all. Everyone must have the ability and ethics to set aside personal agendas, desires for personal benefit or gain, and their ego for the good of the team.  Ahh, an ideal world.

Here in the real world of Cheboygan County, where elected township officials are often family dynasties, some think nepotism is a birthright.  That is not the principles or ideals of our founding fathers. When we see it, we must speak out against these destroyers of democracy.  Mullett Township has been an unashamed example of all that is wrong at the local level. There have been changes in the player roster over the years, but the culture survives. The Mullett Township Board continues to hire relatives or friends of Board members, seldom seeks competitive bids, and the next Board salary raise just waits for an opportune time.  

For years, one elected Mullett Trustee decided when to cut grass or install, remove, or repair docks. That self-appointed Trustee/handyman then paid himself or a relative, father to son, from the township coffers for personal benefit and gain. That is the legal definition of a conflict of interest. When this became a public issue in 2011, the Mullett Board hid behind a legal loophole, Public Act 566 of 1978. That Act allows small local government units, less than 40,000 people, to pay elected officials for extra work performed in addition to their statutory duties. Our state lawmakers wanted to allow an essential worker, perhaps a First Responder or Fireman, to serve as an elected official. That is what the Act protects. The Mullett Board circled the wagons, lawyered up, and passed a formal Resolution endorsing their unethical behavior.

Mullett Township then suffered through four years of dysfunctional leadership with a new Supervisor. She still brags on her Linkedin resume, “I was elected to Mullett Township Supervisor, defeating the incumbent 2-1”. She came out of the gate as a disrupter firing the existing township employees. Her true legacy is the number of fails. She could not achieve a Board agreement to enact a blight ordinance or even lease a dumpster. She promised open government while acting like a petty dictator. That failed leadership created a new entity. A maintenance man, hastily hired as an employee, morphed into a no bid private contractor. His contract says that every two weeks he submits a bill. That is all. His company charges any amount he wants for whatever he decides to do, and the Mullett Township taxpayers pay it.    

Why is the Mullett Township Board smiling?

That contractor, taking a lesson from “Running for Office--Getting Yourself Elected to the career you really want”, became the Mullett Township Supervisor in November. That is job security. He became his own employer. Since taking office, he has paid almost $5,000 to his own company by voting to pay the bills. The real world sees a huge conflict of interest. The Mullett Board waves their Resolution from 2011 and hides behind a lawyer. The only people who could fire him, the Mullett Board, were rewarded with their already publicly agreed upon salary raises for the new budget year. How much did that cooperation cost the Mullett taxpayer? Trustee’s salaries will increase from $2,400 to $4,000 per year. The Treasurer looks forward to a raise to $18,000.  The Clerk, who earned $11,000 only six years ago, also wants $18,000. The new Supervisor declined a raise. If money gets tight, his company can just submit a larger bill to the Mullett Township Board next week.    

To FOIA, or not to FOIA? That is the question

Although FOIA may sound like some exotic fungi, it is simply the acronym for the Freedom of Information Act. The Feds enacted this legislation first and then most states followed along in the 1970’s. Michigan revised their FOIA a few years ago with some user-friendly features meant to simplify and facilitate your right to know what your government is really doing behind closed doors.  Most bodies supply simple FOIA requests at no charge. That is the clear intent of the law. It is a Cheboygan County Watchdog’s and any concerned citizen’s best way to sniff around to uncover the truth, however smelly.   

Any of us are empowered to use FOIA and it is not rocket science.  Most government bodies will have a FOIA form you can fill out. A few strictly enforce use of a form, although the FOIA law does not mandate it. You can make a request verbally or in writing making sure you identify your inquiry is a FOIA request.  The trick, and it is a trick, is that the only information you can seek already exists as a created or recorded document. You cannot ask a simple question: “how much did you get paid in 2015?” You may ask, “Please provide a copy of your W-2 as submitted to the IRS for 2015”. It helps to know exactly what you are looking for and sometimes “No such document exists” is the answer needed.

A recent FOIA inquiry sought to substantiate public statements made by Cheboygan County Community Development Director Steve Schnell demonstrates the power this tool offers any private citizen. Mr Schnell commented at a public meeting that complaints about “vacation rentals”, short-term rentals of waterfront homes, were becoming an issue that would require enforcement. It is a widespread long-standing practice and people took Mr Schnell’s comments as truthful. In fact, Mr Schnell had already used “enforcement letters” advising people they were breaking the law and to cease renting within 30 days. Mr Schnell knew one local resident was going to seek redress with a use variance before the Zoning Board of Appeal. This action brought the issue to public view. ZBA Chairperson Chuck Freese made the correct decision, accepted the request to table the variance, sending the issue to a Planning Commission meeting. Protesting property owners filled the room.

Go to Cheboygan County Watchdogs on YouTube to Hear More

I sought any records of written complaints and enforcement letters with a FOIA. Mr Schnell responded with a FOIA worksheet requesting $27.22 for a labor fee. That was supposedly for 85 minutes of time. He provided no clue to how many documents were included.  Mr Schnell was not in the building on the Friday when I appealed in person to County Administrator Jeff Lawson for a timely release of the information. What was Mr Schnell’s record of complaints? Screenshots of Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO) webpages, a multi-page record of enforcement records, six actions in total, threatening enforcement letters sent to innocent homeowners, and no proof of any written complaints.

There was also one email from Mr Schnell to Cheboygan County legal counsel asking counsel’s opinion on the legality of enforcement. Mr Schnell falsely told legal counsel in the email: “We have recently begun to receive more and more complaints about neighbors renting their homes thru vrbo.com on a very transient basis. This is going to be a big effort to do enforcement on this.” Mr Schnell did eventually forward one written complaint. A resident in Beaugrand Estates, where deed restrictions restrict rentals, attempted to add to the threat of an attorney’s letter. Mr Schnell, always helpful even when less than honest, sent a letter falsely stating “It has come to our attention that a home on your property is being used as a tourist home and rented on a transient basis on your property located at XXXX Nicolet Drive in Beaugrand Township. This is not consistent with the use of single-family home and, in addition, is not a permitted use in the Lake and Stream Protection zoning district (Article 10) in which your home is located.” 

The illegality was renting in violation of a deed restriction. Mr Schnell has no power to enforce a deed restriction. The second FOIA request was for complaints in the last three years. Mr Schnell answered, ”In fulfillment of your FOIA request there are no additional materials which meet your criteria. Since I began in 2007 I only remember very few complaints regarding these matters.” That was not the “more and more complaints about neighbors renting their homes thru vrbo.com on a very transient basis” told legal counsel or the public. 

Steve Schnell argues his rules here...trust him??

The total cost for two FOIA requests, $27.22. The value of finding the truth behind a closed door is priceless.

Cheboygan County Community Development Director Steve Schnell Searches VRBO For Lawbreakers

The Cheboygan County Commissioner’s room was standing room only at the Planning Commission meeting on February 1, 2017 and the controversy for a change was not Meijer. Will what began as an ill-conceived letter writing campaign be resolved with public input and cooperation?  Last September, Community Development Director Steve Schnell addressed a letter to Andy Stempky.

Dear STEMPKY, ANDREW & NANCY HM/, It has come to our attention that a home on your property is being used as a transient rental at XXXX Hiawatha Drive in Aloha Township. In accordance with section 21.3.1 of Zoning Ordinance No. 200, it is a requirement in all districts of Cheboygan County that a property owner obtain zoning permit prior to changing the use of a property or constructing a building on their property. We are sending this notice in hope that being aware of this violation you will voluntarily take steps to correct the situation. This notice therefore allows 30 days for such compliance. The use of a home as a transient rental is not a permitted use in the Lake and Stream zoning district. If you feel this notice was sent in error or have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call me. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, Steve Schnell-Community Development Director.

That cease and desist letter also gave notice that a deck had been built without a permit and included a permit application. Typical for Steve Schnell are enforcement actions for already built decks, pole barns, and commercial buildings. Mr Schnell continues to make the rules he never enforces. He has created a career amending Planning & Zoning Ordinance #200 and that effort is at Amendment #140 and counting.

Now, seemingly out of character, the Community Planner has become “The Enforcer”. To give credit where it is due, Mr Schnell on his own initiative has interpreted that a use by right, a single-family home allowed in Lake & Stream Zoning becomes a different use if rented for less than a 30 day period. Do not look in Ordinance #200 for any mention of transient rental? There is none. He has picked the wrong thing to enforce. Anyone already financially impacted must direct the criticism toward Mr Schnell. No County Commissioner and no Planning Commission board member asked him to create a problem where there was none.

None of this is surprising from a Community Development Department that wasted everyone’s time reading word definitions from a multitude of dictionaries like a 5^th grade spelling bee during the Heritage Cove public hearings. Mr Schnell’s January 5, 2017 memo to the Planning Commission recommends repealing Section 17.3. “Single Family Dwellings.  A building containing not more than one dwelling unit designed for residential use…” Why? Will more cease and desist letters for transient rental use follow?

At the February 1st meeting, Mr Schnell shared his recentlyacquired knowledge of short-term rentals. He was correct to address possible negative issues. He had clearly been ignorant of the huge economic benefits to the owners and the community at large. That was why the protesters were there. He alleged growing numbers of complaints over the past few years. Really? Do those alleged complaints have the same substance as the debunked complaints that almost created a draconian ban on camper use in the county?  I have already asked for records of all the enforcement actions this year on “transient rentals” and the complaints, if there are any.The attendees at the February 1st Planning Commission meeting were not supportive of Mr Schnell’s enforcement actions.  The protesters came from all over and even outside the county. They presented sound, sane, and logical reasons with some sharing their personal situations and the economic need for short-term rentals. Too many long-time residents lamented the economic slide in Cheboygan County that is still accelerating. Job #1 is to strip the “Enforcer” of his super-powers by defining short-term rentals as a use by right for any residential neighborhood that desires it. The County Commissioners should take this opportunity to direct the Planning Commission to tool a new planning document that works to drive growth. Emmet County grows without benefit of a Community Development Director. We can do the same.  

Cheboygan County Commissioner Wallace Plays God

Government ethics at all levels is a subject in the news right now. It should always be news. Among Merriam-Webster’s several definitions of “ethics” is this sentence: the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group <professional ethics>” Most of us would agree it is the ability to recognize right from wrong, good from bad, honesty from dishonesty, and then take the high road on every decision.  

At the Congressional level, House Speaker Ryan allegedly had to make clear to the House Ethics Committee Chairman that the panel must not interfere with the Office of Congressional Ethics. They should only ensure that the office follows rules and does not hamper investigations. Ryan said, "The office will continue to be governed by a bipartisan independent outside board with ultimate decision-making authority."

Locally, there is no bipartisanship on the newly sworn in Cheboygan County Board of Commissioners. They do not reflect our community.  The Commissioners who allegedly represent their constituents must remember that Cheboygan County’s homogenous appearing populace embraces more than two partisan ideologies. I have often stated the County sets a higher standard in local government acting openly and showing respect to their constituents. The Commissioners also have a published Rules of Order that give them some good, common sense, and ethical guidelines to practice. If only they did.

One of the good practices the Commissioners have followed is a minimum of “recommendation” decisions deferred to committees. Many counties make the majority of financial and many policy decisions at a committee level. Assign a few board members, typically three to avoid a tie vote, and ask them to research the issue and bring back a “recommendation”. These committee meetings typically occur at what is effectively a closed-door meeting, with a meeting notice posted only “in house”. This “recommendation” then becomes a “decision” when the full board rubber-stamps an approval.  

Cheboygan County has a few standing committees and this is all about the Board Appointments & Procedures and their practice of or failure to practice ethics. The County utilizes many volunteers on Boards, Authorities and Commissions. You may have seen the infrequent ads for open positions for some of these positions. I say volunteer because none pay more than a stipend for attendance or mileage. Some positions require only a minimum of attendance or effort, but all are invaluable because they do give interested citizens an opportunity to serve your community. Unlike some positions, those on the Planning Commission might compare to volunteering for jury duty 24 times a year. Regardless of your position on the issues, those citizens who attended hearings for Griswold Mountain, Heritage Cove, and the numerous hearings on Planning and Zoning amendments know that these people take their volunteer responsibilities very seriously.  

By state law, the nine members of the Planning Commission should never have more than three members with terms ending in the same year. This is Cheboygan County, and at the end of 2016, five Planning Commission members had terms expiring. County admin staff asked if they were willing to serve another three-year term. All five answered in the affirmative.

Why did the Board Appointments & Procedures Committee consisting of Commissioners Wallace, Brown, and out-going Gauthier only “recommend” three be reappointed? Why did that Committee ignore the rules “to report matters considered and rejected as well as those considered and recommended”? Why did Commissioner Brown and Gauthier have wildly differing off-the-record recollections what occurred? Would Commissioner Wallace have yet another version of the events?

The County Commissioners, thinking only three members had expiring terms, were treated like mushrooms and kept in the dark. The newly elected Board of Commissioners have an opportunity to right this egregious wrong and reappoint these two thoughtful, experienced and independent thinkers to the Planning Commission. This might also be a good opportunity to restock or shuffle the Board Appointments & Procedures Committee to assure valued volunteers serving our community are not tossed out on a whim.  

Cheboygan County Community Development Fails-Big!

This 10,800 sq/ft “Private Storage Building” being built at Exit 313 on I-75 had the site cleared and construction started prior to any site plan review and Building Permit issuance. A written complaint filed directly to Cheboygan County Community Development Director Steve Schnell on September 29, 2016 advised that the footings were complete and walls erected on that date. 

Then, and only then, a Building Permit was finally issued on October 3, 2016. The construction has progressed with trusses ready lift and quoting Cheboygan County Community Development Director Steve Schnell that as of October 6^th; “To date, the owner has not requested any inspections”.

Cheboygan County Community Development Director Steve Schnell had previously ignored this multi-acre site clearance and issued a Building Permit for a 10,800 sq/ft “Private Storage Building” on October 3rd.  Steve Schnell did this with the knowledge and complicity that his Cheboygan County Community Development staff had a pending application for a “Special Use Permit” for a 10,800 sq/ft Indoor Commercial Storage commercial outdoor storage and display area utilizing the same building for commercial use. Steve Schnell allowed this building as a “private storage building” prior to a legally required Public Hearing scheduled for October 19, 2016.  

After years of growing unrest, several Cheboygan County Planning Commission members in attendance at the October 5, 2016 P & Z hearing spoke out publicly airing their frustrations with several issues. Cheboygan County Community Development Director Steve Schnell has demonstrated an unwillingness to enforce the laws set down in Ordinance #200, the Cheboygan County Planning and Zoning Ordinance.

Please take a few minutes to listen to the frustration expressed by these dedicated appointed Planning and Zoning Commission members who work to serve Cheboygan County for only nominal compensation. 

Cheboygan County P & Z Commission Voices Frustrations

Winning the Tuscarora Township Property Tax Lottery

Our great country was born of a revolution against the King of England and unfair taxation. We lost the King but taxation remains a necessary part of our democracy. We deserve and usually enjoy some fairness in our taxes. When we pay gas tax at the pump, income taxes, or sales taxes on goods or a vehicle we know what tax rate we are going to pay and others are also paying a similar share.

I did not include property taxes among those mentioned because so many question the fairness of property taxes. All of us who own property pay taxes expressed as a millage based on each $1,000 of taxable value. Your assessment card and tax bill also shows a figure identified as State Equalized Value (SEV). That figure should represent about 50% of your property’s market or current sales value. Taxable value may increase by the amount of inflation while the SEV may go up or down supposedly tracking real market sales. That is the theory. The real world practice varies wildly and the assessor like a King determines fairness. The issues created by the need for the state to maximize all property taxes to fund our government weighed against some attempt to maintain fairness has created a complex system ripe for error and abuse.

In retail, there is an expression called shrinkage. It is the reduction in the profit of a business due to wastage or theft. That shrinkage means higher prices for all of us. We pay for each theft or loss that occurs. If you are not yelling, “Stop thief” as someone runs out of the store with a big screen TV, you are aiding the thief while costing yourself money.

Property taxes also have a shrinkage factor created by errors in fact and sometimes from biases, favoritism, or even fraud resulting from the archaic practice of employing elected officials as assessors. If your neighbor is receiving a special deal on property taxes, we are all subsidizing that gift from the assessor. 

Is someone as guilty as the thief running from the store? Are the property owner and assessor equally guilty? I ask these questions because some jurisdictions, Tuscarora Township being one in particular, has had years of allegations of special property tax deals cut for the good old boys by Supervisor/Assessor Mike Ridley.

Is there any truth to the whispered rumors? A couple bought a lot in a golf course development north of Indian River. The SEV of the vacant lot had been $35,000 and the taxable value was $162.  The Tuscarora Assessor then lowered the SEV to $22,500 and raised the taxable value to $22,500. Did I mention the purchaser had a custom home built on the lot with an occupancy permit issued in September 2009? The Cheboygan County Building Safety department provided the public record of the “Assessor’s Copy of Building Permit”. The total Building Permit Valuation was $328,000. Did the SEV, supposedly 50% of the market value, increase for 2010?  Not in this fairy tale. The SEV and taxable value then remained at $22,500 for 2010, 2011, and 2012. In 2013, those numbers started to depreciate and the SEV and taxable value for 2016 is now only $15,600.  

When these taxpayers, and I use the term reluctantly, received their annual assessment card for 2016 did they run out and buy a lottery ticket? They are paying 2016 property taxes on a taxable value of $15,600. Can they honestly think their custom built home is only worth double that $15,600 SEV, about $31,000? 

Did both they and Tuscarora Township Supervisor/Assessor Mike Ridley knowingly ignore the small print that says:”State Equalized Value must approximate 50% of the market value”? 

That couple has been winning the property tax lottery every year since 2010. Every other Tuscarora Township property owner for the past 6 years is paying for that fraud or error. We deserve justice. Will the State Tax Commission correct this fraud or error?

Tuscarora DDA Ignores Prime Directive-Engages Stupid

The Tuscarora Township DDA is proving that stupidity is an infinite resource. The law empowering DDAs states in part that a DDA corrects and prevents deterioration in business districts; encourages historic preservation; and promotes the economic growth of the district. DDAs capture and spend tax dollars that would otherwise go to schools, libraries, and county services. Unlike the Cheboygan DDA, the Tuscarora DDA encompasses a large area; both sides of old M-27 from one end of the township to the other and east on M-68 to the industrial park.  

Tuscarora’s Safe Routes to School, the asphalt sidewalk that parallels Straits Hwy from the schools to Indian River’s downtown is this DDA’s crowning achievement. I agree it is more practical than a pedestrian bridge with elevators although it also has a bridge. Best to ignore the dangerous cross-walk and pedestrian island sandwiched into a small area that has more than six commercial entrances with center turn lanes including Burt Lake State Park. This DDA project took more years than I can remember, 8 or 9, and cost $964,455.00.  No, that decimal is in the right place. A million dollars give or take is still a million dollars spent. Grants or captured taxes, the dollars all came from us. To put that amount in perspective, the repaving of more than two miles of S Straits highway last fall, pavement, shoulders, and some new guardrail cost $592,000.00 and took only a few months. 

Are the well meaning citizens who volunteer in these appointed DDA positions responsible? Or is it Tuscarora Supervisor Ridley; the steady presence and only elected official on the DDA Board who under DDA law is the CEO? Shouldn’t Supervisor Ridley be providing guidance to these lay-people who volunteer their time? Before the million dollar sidewalk was done, Supervisor Ridley and the DDA turned their attention to the Indian River “Streetscape” and another DDA idea; back-in-angle parking.

The whole issue of back-in-angle parking on S Straits Highway in Indian River can be summed up with one single word: stupid. Back in parking has been used successfully for years where there is a proven need to add parking spaces in a limited area.  The best use has been side streets where there is little through traffic, often with dedicated bike lanes, and vehicles typically parked all day or overnight.

It is a worst practice example where the majority of traffic is through traffic and there is a steady turn-over of parking spaces. The back-in parking in front of the Chamber office and new trailhead parking lot resulted in a loss of more than a dozen parking spaces. It also left that block with narrower travel lanes, inadequate ADA access, and a cross-walk that will eliminate more parking spaces in front of the Dairy Mart.  RV’s or vehicles pulling trailers can park somewhere else, maybe the next town down the road. As you read this, the Tuscarora DDA is fast-tracking an application to MDOT hoping to secure a TAP Grant to build out the length of Indian River’s main street with at least three more back-in parking pods. Supervisor Ridley has also apparently been shopping privately for more USDA loans/grants from that Federal body that is now the patron saint of lost municipal causes. 

Last year, as the Indian River Trailhead project was wrapping up with the pavilion and smaller off-street parking lot, the DDA thought it would be a great idea to spend about $90,000 out of your pocket so everyone could see how great back-in angle parking really is and showcase it with the newly completed Trail Head. That rush-rush decision instead became an ongoing embarrassment that delivered numerous faults including a northbound travel lane squeezed to less than 10 feet. Further work on the rest of the Streetscape plan now requires CCRC Board approval again as they are the “owners” of the road and must endorse the final design seeking a MDOT TAP Grant. 

At the February 18, 2016 CCRC Board Meeting, during public comment, I personally asked the CCRC Board not to fall into the trap again of partially funding more design work. As I sat down Tuscarora Supervisor/DDA CEO Mike Ridley, a scheduled speaker at the CCRC meeting stood and started his pitch. He implored the CCRC to donate half the proposed design cost of $141,950; another no bid contract employing the same engineering firm that created the existing mess.  The balance of the project, still in the design stage, currently has an estimated cost as high as $980,000. That does not include the $141,950 design costs. All of these projections may go over budget with Supervisor Ridley’s stated mantra: “plan for the worse and hope for the best”.

We certainly got the worst from the first round of DDA spending. After years of dithering and doing nothing, the Tuscarora DDA now may be getting politically pressured to hurry up and get this Streetscape project off the paper. Did I say off paper? A request to CCRC Manager Brent Shank for the plans, as designed or as built, for the one small section already done was answered promptly and frankly: “Attached is a copy of the plan that was included with the permit application. We have not received a copy of an ‘as built’ plan.  The centerline was moved to be 11 feet from the where the concrete curb meets the asphalt.” 

Although a TAP Grant application without any CCRC endorsement has been submitted to MDOT, there still have not been public hearings by the DDA or any effort to gain uncensored and unbiased input from business owners and those who frequent those businesses. As I wrote in the last installment, the Cheboygan County Road Commission Board is now our last line of defense against additional impractical designs. James Johnson, David Brown, Robert Chadwick, Clarence O’Connor, and Kenneth Paquet all serve as elected officials. The CCRC Board listened to Supervisor Ridley’s new plea for a 50% donation for another round of designing that will cost as much as $141,950. The CCRC Board took the position they’ll not be fooled again and declined the request. The CCRC Board then passed a motion to schedule a Public Hearing at 6:30PM on June 2, 2016 in to allow people to offer comments on the use of and need for back-in angle parking in Indian River. These five people know they answer to the people who elected them. We should all thank them for that. The final outcome may be determined by how many of us come out on June 2, 2016 to voice an opinion.