The City Manager serves as Chief Administrative and Executive Officer of the City of Bloomfield Hills. The City Manager is appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of the elected City Commission. The City Manager administers and coordinates various functions of City government as stated in the City Charter and supplemented by policies established by the City Commission
There there are a number of disturbing aspects about Mr. Cravens letter to residents. There is no stated indication that City Manager Cravens is writing on behalf of his employers, the elected City Commission whose names do not appear on the letter. The City seal would indicate that it is an official letter most likely paid for by the tax payers. Perhaps City Manager Cravens, the defacto editor of the Hills Highlights, the official newsletter of the City has the authority to dip in the "Correspond with residents fund" and write when the need is perceived .
If that is the case one might asks if anyone read the letter before it was mailed.
The letter contains the usual arguments for a single waste hauler and there are 13 bullet points which reference
presumed benefits of a single waste hauler for the City.
None, of which as have as yet been approved by City Commission. That is because the bullet points that appear in the letter are short snippets from of a 40 page, three part document authored by Mr. Cravens and titled City of Bloomfield Hills The Municipal Solid Waste. Recycle, and Yard Waste, Collection, and Disposal Program.
From the outset, Cravens and City Commission operated on the premise that the City would begin by pre-selecting a preferred Single Waste Hauler.Then the residents would choose either City's choice of a single hauler or retaining the current system of multiple haulers, A vote in an advisory only election on November 4th Ballot would determine the matter. To that end Mr. Cravens prepared the three documents for approval at the August City Commission meeting. The first document is the time table of events for the City's selection of a single waste hauler pending outcome of the the election . The second part concerns instructions for companies who wish to submit Bids (Request for Proposal or RFP ) to become our City Waste Hauler. The third part is a 28 page listings of services residents will receive and changes both the City and its residents will be required make under the new system.
The presentation of the forty page document which for the sake or brevity we will call Mr. Cravens Trilogy did not see the light of day at the August meeting. After a brief discussion it was tabled pending the outcome of the binding election November 4th election. The State of Michigan declined to sanction, and has a history of declining "advisory only" votes as waste of tax payer money and resources.
City Commission then voted to make the election binding on all concerned which the State now sanctions. Believing that no waste hauling company waste time and money on making a bid until the matter was decided, Mr. Cravens Trilogy was tabled until after the November Election.
Mr. Cravens claims no special genius in writing the waste hauling trilogy. In some cases he say he just copied portions he liked from the communities of Rochester Hills and Bloomfield Township.
If you think the issue is just about the number of companies serving the City by waste hauling, you are sadly mistaken.
The issue is about a total overhaul of the City's waste hauling system. To understand how exactly this will effect you need to know what Mr. Cravens has in mind.
In his letter Mr. Cravens says, (pending the outcome of the election) the actual implement (of the new system ?) will begin in early 2015. If that is true Mr. Craven's Trilogy will be the blueprint. If past is prologue City Commission will approve the overhaul with a couple of minor corrections. Therefore we believe you should know the arguments that are made, and what is behind the provided bullet points.
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