To understand how the current Government of Bloomfield Hills
works you need to be familiar with a program called Goals and Objectives.
The
Goals and Objective are decided about this time of the year by the five sitting
Commissioners, the City Clerk, and The City Manager. The seven pick goals and
objectives for the commission and the City to point to. They are then submitted
in writing to Jay Cravens the City manager who then analyzes the suggestions ,
discards some a assigns the remainder to Commissioners. Sometimes
City staff assigns goals to themselves.
Two years ago
Mr. Cravens assigned himself to the city’s be sole determiner of the seemingly
very successful, inaugural celebrate Bloomfield Hills Day. It was a day
that offered open house at such City attractions as Cranbrook museums, Historic
City Churches and the Village Club. While no such event is perfect
in its first year (many visitors said there was not enough time to do
everything) Cravens found it wanting and to avoid “attendance fatigue
“canceled it indefinitely.
Three months later City Clerk in analyzing the City’s waste hauling, per Goals
and Objectives, re-wrote all the City’s waste hauling ordinances based on what
she had learned by studying other the program of other communities.
Since it was started in 2012 under then Mayor McClure there
has no residents input in Goals and Objectives and none has been allowed. At
the first meeting when the program started former Mayor Zambricki and current
Mayor Dul suggested “bringing the residents in to the process of identifying
Goals and Objectives.
Such suggestions were ignored and apparently the commissioners were dissuaded
from making such populous comments in future years.
Ironically it is the City Commission that is often on the outside
looking in.
. The Commission had
little say in the waste hauler issue.
City
employees City Clerk Amy Burton wrote the ordinances, City Manager Jay Craves
wrote the 40 page document of waste hauler duties and the guidelines for
hiring a single waste hauler. When it came time for the latter, Cravens
excluded the commission from the selection process and instead appointed
a committee consisting of two “super citizens” When commissioners
objected Cravens allowed a single commissioner (Commissioner Sherr) to serve as
a non-speaking, non-voting observer.
Because it
operates outside the normal bounds of traditional open government
mandated by the state of Michigan there is no legal basis for Goals and
Objectives as practiced by our City Commission and City employed.
Including the residents would help the programs legitimacy but it would not provide the checks and balances necessary for good Government,.
When it started in 2011City Beautification
became the poster child for future Goals and Objectives. Money was raised by soliciting
donations which paid for tree planting and Woodward avenue islands. The initial program was wildly successful and
tax payer dollars were not spent
Four years later, as indicated by the memo below Beautification as an
objective continue but the emphasis has changed . The memo City Manager Cravens sent to the Commission
dated September 4th 2015 request a cushion over $5000, to be applied to three projects.
1) Tree planting on the islands at the Long Lake intersections of Pembroke and Country Club to improve drainage. How much of
the cushion is to cover this inherent city expense is not provided.
2)
Planters and
plant to “beautify” the West Long Lake Merchants store fronts. How much of the
cushion will go this to “goal” was not stated.
The Long Lake merchants beautification goal has been on the books for
years and there is a little bit of irony here. Three ago years Mr. Cravens tossed the crown jewels of
the City (Cranbrook, Village Club, Christ Church Cranbrook, and the Chapel at St. Hugo’s) to persuade
store front merchants to beautify.
That fell on
deaf ears until the City started providing incentives like drawings and plants.
One wonders if what would have happened
if he retained Celebrate Bloomfield and through clever marketing provided
the Merchants with what they really
wanted which is more customers.
3)
The last
item is also not itemized in terms of much of the cushion expense it requires
but it will have the City planting trees along
Long Lake beside the Country Club.
Why exactly is not stated. On its
own the Country Club is very well landscaped. Maybe they want to shield it’s
golfing members from traffic noise. If so that is something the club should
take care on its own.
One could say that $5000
is peanuts to a City with a 9 million dollar budget but it is still tax payer
money unless donors with money to burn emerge. It has already been said that
the City may find the money from other funds and sources and not
need the $5000 plus cushion at all but with exception of the Islands at Pembroke and Country Club the emphasis is on befitting third parties as opposed to
residents.
G
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