John Balint: Working our Public Works

John Bilant:  He stole all that money.

I met John Balint, for the first time, at a Budget Meeting for the city of Pontiac. He is not an ugly man, but he's not a handsome man either. He's just a man. He wore khaki's and a button down shirt, and looked like your average man. I wasn't impressed and I wasn't discouraged with what he said, and I just listened. Everyone was talking, and I had no idea who anyone was. I was told at the meeting that I couldn't ask questions, and was only there to observe. So, I lowered my head and began to listen with intent. There was something going on and I needed to hear what was being said. The idea that our city had been pillaged for years, made me question everyone in the room. I was suspicious of everyone, and that included our Mayor. I listened to Kermit Williams, as he used the back of his hand to shoo the Deputy Mayor and tell her to find the money "somewhere", to increase someone's budget. Then I cringed when she would reply to his unreasonable request with a "Your Honor". It was sickening.

When Balint began to speak, I was impressed. He knew exactly what he was doing, confidant, knowledgeable and sincere. All the workings of a good man or a great liar. There was talk from two council-people about a worker to clean the city. These people would just ride around in a truck and clean-up. Everyone knew it was a bad idea, and would cost money in gas, insurance and where would the city get the truck? When you add a city service, you don't just add wages, but other factors that have nothing to do with their salary. Kermit Williams, Council President, thought that $10 an hour at 8 hours a day, was all the city would be out. Everyone in the room familiar with Accounting and Finance, knew that there is so much more involve than an $80 a day "Wages Payable" expense. John Balint joined in and explained and Williams backed down, with a "I don't see why it can't happen". That was seconded by Gloria Miller, which was disappointing. 

That meeting ended and all the vultures moved to the parking lot and I went home. Two days later there was another meeting to clarify and solidify the corrections and changes to the budget. I came in sat and watched the show that only lasted about 30 minutes. A funny thing happened at that meeting, Kermit Williams got his city cleaner. He got his truck and his workers and I was confused. Then I remembered that John Balint is the head of that department, he along with the Deputy Mayor had found all the components to give him what he wanted, and I understood the silence from Williams when Balint spoke. They are "partners in crime", and what a game they are playing. I'm impressed, but not impressed. I was certainly not unaware of these types of schemes. While working at Sears back in the 2000's the workers had a similar rouse. The Black cashiers would give-a-way merchandise to the White cashiers family and vice-versa. Since people are so racist, security never caught on. Why would a Black kid be giving away merchandise to a White middle-aged woman?  Likewise, who would ever guess that Williams and Balint were robbing the city blind.

Not only that, but Balint is cheating our city out of water. When I was at Oakland Community College (OCC) back in 2001, my Biology professor gave us a lesson. He was talking about the Clinton River. He told our entire class that the river is running out. He said that sometimes that just happens. Some rivers just run out. He also told us that Cass Lake and Elizabeth Lake are getting below levels to be a lake. What they have done is dammed up the lake near Sylvan Lake and are pumping water from one lake to another to keep up the water levels. Guess what that means? Right, Pontiac water levels are much lower than they should be. Pontiac being mostly Black, we don't care. We don't care about the water like White people do, and we can care less that those cities are taking all the water. I just wished that they could somehow compensate us for our water, or give it back.

I spoke to Balint after that Budget Meeting, and he lied to me. He said that wasn't true and that there is plenty of water to go around. He told me if all those water sheds were eliminated Pontiac would flood. I asked him to tell me why the Beaudette Park's dam doesn't flow with water like it did when I was a child. Even at Lakeside Homes we had water going over our little watershed. There is nothing anymore, no water. I lived on Myra, off of Voorheis in 2003, and my landlord could tread the water over half-way to the middle of the river. How is it that Sylvan Lake, Elizabeth Lake and Cass Lake can support high powered boats and jet skis. After a few go arounds, he told me that Crystal Lake, our lake, isn't big enough to support those things. If that's true, how come they built that boat dock on Howard McNeil in 1980? He argued with me so diligently, about something I knew, and I was exhausted. And then he slipped up and told me that there is no "conspiracy theory" to steal our water.  I'm a known theorist in these parts. But how did he know that? We know that's a lie, they want our water and our sewers, and John Balint, after stealing our money is going to finish the job and give them the sewers. They'll just move back in and live here, after they push us out!

I think they brought him here to steal our water and secure that Oakland County Water Program, where they took control of our water. They need someone they can trust, a White man, to seal the deal. He claims that the White people of Waterford, Rochester Hills, Clarkston and other White communities don't want our sewers. I then asked him, "So, they want those septic tanks that are buried in their backyards and ruining their bar-b-ques?" He had to digress and say, "No". So, I had to ask him, "What is it then?" Because I remember L. Brooks Patterson on the news years ago making a racist and corrupt statement. He said and I'm going to barely quote, but in general, this what he said, "They got the water and the sewer, what else do 'they' want?" When he says "they", he's talking about the Black folk. Balint went blank and couldn't speak. And when the Sheriff's Department took over, he pushed to turn the City of Pontiac into a township that he would run. He was so frustrated with my questions, knowledge and the way I asserted himself, it was time for him to go. We continued to talk later on the phone and he told me a "boat load" of lies. He kept telling me, "This is what I do!" I thought to myself, "Yeah, you get over on Black folk". Remember, he came here on Leon Jukowski's administration, at the time they stole our water.

He saw how easy it as to steal from our people, and the White folks in the neighboring areas had an advocate to steal or river water. Waterford is technically a mud whole right now. I call it "Mudderford". If they allowed the Clinton River to flow back into Pontiac, there would be none of these bordering so-called lake cities. Dodge Park would close down and the river would cease to flow. Due to John Balint's neglect, these cities and townships are keeping their property levels, tax rates and schools and won't give us NOTHING! He pays them everything WE owe and they take advantage of our river water. I was getting angry, because he was insulting my intelligence. He told me that Crystal Lake is "Mud" lake and pretty much useless. I was so upset at that, because it will take Randy Carter to tell you about that. A woman gave the "Blacks" that property to give us a love for the water or something like that. It's low-income, forever, and because of that White folks don't want it, but when I think about what is happening at Hayes Jones, I question that story, too.

How can all the surrounding cities have water and we sit in the middle?

Here's what is going to have to happen, John Balint has to go. First, he has a superiority complex and insulted my intelligence quite a few times in our conversation. For me, that's enough for him to have left a month ago. But then there is our roads, snow removal and such that isn't going well. He has such a good relationship with Oakland County when it comes to them using our water and our city paying for sewer up keep, but they can't seem to help us plow our streets in the winter. No, he doesn't work for us, he works for "them" and I can't take it. In the last City Council Meeting, he just told us he was stealing our money. He did that when he looked at Kermit Williams and stated, "All the money will be spent". Right, because your going to half-way do the job, your going to steal our money and leave the work half done. Then cut corners to pad you and the contractors pockets, because you're working with the contractors to steal our money. It won't be done, because from now on, you won't be able to do whatever you want to do. You've been allowed to mess over our city for too long.

I asked him where he lives, because I know it's not Pontiac. Boy, he really got perturbed. He asked me, "Why?" I told him that he was taking up for these cities and townships so hard that it seemed that he had a "dog in the fight". Maybe John Balint lives on or near one of these lakes. He said that he lived in some small city away from a Oakland County lake. People in Pontiac pay dues to Sylvan Lake, even if they don't use it. I recall, my neighbor took me to this little club, on the lake. I told Balint about it. I was not welcome. She lived next door on Myra, and one day she took me to the beach. She and her husband would ride their little boat beneath the street at Orchard Lake and Telegraph. They are White and allowed to join the club and bring along a friend with their member- ship. It was 2002, and right across the street from Pontiac, there is an all-White club. In fact, Blacks live to the right off Orchard Lake, but aren't welcome. A club that even if our residents pay dues, on Draper, Tilerson and Starr, CAN'T use, and aren't welcome. My cousin's wife just told me she pays taxes. That is a problem. When I went with my neighbor, they locked her out. We had went upstairs, and the looks we got could "kill a goat". It's all about John Balint, too, at this point. 

Balint has creeped around for too long. I didn't even know he was there, and I started doing a little research. I'm not sure if we can afford to keep him around much longer, because he's slick, and he thinks we are dumb. Everything with City Works always seems to fall on the Deputy Mayor, but who is really running the show is Balint. Because he's a White man, people seem to trust that he knows what he is doing. I don't believe that at all, and believe he is bleeding our city dry. His remarks and  accommodating Kermit Williams let me know that for sure. There are studies and research that has been done on the Clinton River that he doesn't even get involved with. He lets the lawyers and cronies of our rich neighbors squash any plans to allow the river to run freely without watersheds and dams. Pontiac built a cement river in 1963 to end all the flooding in the city. Removing all the obstructions in the flow of the Clinton River would not flood Pontiac. If Rochester to our North and East has water, Waterford and West Bloomfield to the South and West, has water, too. How can everyone surrounding us have water and we are bone dry. I don't believe it, and I don't believe John Balint, either. He's a crook!