"What I'm saying is..." Budget Woes

  

Impact on the community's Youth Center felt by citizens
Channel 7 Action News

         

Pontiac City Council has no idea how to run a city. Oakland University has a very strong Master's of Public Administration program and each of the council members should enroll. I don't think any of our council members could, because you have to have a bachelor’s degree to start a Master’s program. Only three of them have degrees. None of them have a degree in Business. At this time, a Finance or Accounting class is a must. They haven't a clue what they are doing, and they fill the time they have discussing our budget arguing to hide their ignorance. Our Mayor had to thank Kermit Williams, Council President, for admitting he had no idea. That is a big step for a very small-minded man. I'm watching the budget hearings and it's worse than pulling teeth. They are in essence trying to give birth to city business that works. That's not set up to be a piggy bank for stealing. 

The City Council wants to take everything from the Mayor that she does right. Gloria Miller is doing her best to cripple her Youth Program. They took her three full-time positions down to one. The rest will be part-time. They have people working at our Youth Center with Master's degrees, and who have worked with youth their entire careers. Pontiac is use to people dealing with their children who are not equipped to deal with their children, but have a "heart" for the children. Our Mayor has put in place individuals who don't just show up with a bag of balls and throw them on the gym floor and let them attempt to make a basket. They are true professionals, and what the children in our city need. They can build a program that supports the future of our children. "Cutting off their nose to spite their faces." Not investing in our children is a mistake. Miller doesn't like the Mayor and is hurting our children to make a point to the Mayor. She doesn't care anything about our kids...NOTHING! It's the dark-skinned against the light-skinned woman. That how I see it, because all Gloria Miller talks about is how uppity the Mayor is. Doris Taylor-Burks, too. Jiggaboos and Wannabees, good and bad hair.

In the past, Pontiac hired their friends. Friends of the Mayor, Council friends and relatives and longtime residents that are "popular" among the people. Now, she is hiring people who are qualified to do the job. Things are getting done, but no one wants to concede to the Mayor. Gloria Miller has little or no education. She was elected on feelings, and the foolishness of people driven by her "heart". We in Pontiac need to realize that our heart isn't going to fix things. It's not going to raise money or appropriate funds properly. If the only thing our City Council has done is balanced their check book, we are in trouble. In other cities, the City Council is educated. If a Council Member is not educated they have the brain power to learn. Our Council, stuck on creating fake accounts has no idea about balancing a budget or finances, which I told you last blog are two different things. Just like Management and Marketing are closely related in Business, Accounting and Finance are brother and sister. Business is made up of these four units with Economics being that close-knit cousin, because it encapsulates all of it working in our society.

Gloria Miller on a quest to destroy the Mayors Youth Program, has taken a piece of our economic strength in this community. If those people own home in the city, they are now unable to pay their mortgage, buy groceries or spend money in our city. That's why in the 80's the city fought so hard to keep people in our fire, police and administration in the city. We don't have the housing to support many of the people that worked here and had a spouse that also worked. They could afford to buy a home of greater value than Pontiac had available. Rising crime and drug related events along with a failing school system, moved people out of the city. Our children have suffered from all of those things, too. We need a place where they can go for the summer and grow in their talents and self-care. Councilperson Miller, mad at the Mayor for her success and light-skin, is causing our children harm with her jealousy. She was big on shutting down the jobs of good people, and couldn't open her mouth when the business was talked about, because she's ignorant. She's not fooling anyone when it comes to her slight of the Mayor and wanting to see her fail. At the same time, ruining the ability for our children to grow. Regardless of what she feels will work, the Mayor keeps reminding them that they agreed to most of what they are now opposing, and this is the Council going back on their word.

Councilperson Gloria Miller

Mary Pietilia is unbelievably rude and annoying. In the last two meeting she's disrupted the meetings by yelling out, "I wanna go home!" How about you resign your position or do your job. You knew last year that you'd be tackling the budget at this time. You and all of the rest of the Council are so stuck on doing what Kermit Williams want to do that you dropped the ball on the budget; again. Every year it's the same thing. Kermit and his cronies, Taylor-Burks, Miller, Carter and Waterman hold up the budget. Mainly so Williams can create and get his little accounts in and  pillage the city. Then they go through and try to find the accounts they THINK the Mayor and her administration are using to steal. Accounts they feel are marked "Other". There can't be any anonymous accounts that seem to have no significance. Today, they fought over the word "Executive Misc." or something. The type of account that he and his cronies used to steal in the past. They want it to be called "Census..." and their lawyer opted to add the word "Only". This way they would have to come before the Council to get at the money. "You only see in other what you see in yourself". The attempt to put specific names to these accounts are to stop the Mayor from stealing.

But she makes enough money that she doesn't have to steal. That's why they were so angry about her taking that raise. She doesn't have to steal a dime from the city. She has a salary that is more than enough. The Council denied the raise, because they want to come off like they are for the people. They gave the money back to look good, hoping they would just steal the rest that they need from the city coffers. Sadly, the Mayor has her hand on the purse strings. So tight that Gloria Miller want to hurt the kids in our city and take away the staff at the Rec Center. Thinking about her slight to our kids makes me sick. She is so stuck on her own wants and needs that she is punishing our children. She needs to be recalled, too. She knows nothing about City Works, anyway. What her biggest quest should be, instead of working with Kermit Williams to destroy the Mayor accomplishments, is to educate herself on what her job is. I recall, she doesn't even know what her job is a Legislator. She said one evening, "There should be something done about the trash, because I don't like the way this is going". Mr. Gustafson let out a chuckled and proclaimed, "You're the Council. Write an ordinance and fix what you don't like."  She thinks her job is to sit in Council Meeting and start trouble. She has no idea what the branches of government do, and Pontiac citizens elected her. That says something about our city. She can talk the talk, but can she walk the walk?

They finally let the Finance Director talk, because he's the only one that knows what's really going on. The Deputy Mayors tries, but she and Williams had it, tonight! Even the Council lawyer, has no idea what's really going on. I'm sure she is intentionally left out of the Mayor's budget meetings. She's trying to get any coins that fall to the floor herself, and has calmed down her disrespect of the Mayor. She should, because at some point the City Council will be held accountable for the decisions they've made out of pure ignorance. As an educated woman, Sharpe is going to look stupid when things don't work out. Williams said that he went out and got advice. Not from her or his partner the City Clerk, who has nothing to do with Fiance. He got his little raise. He was seen tonight shaking his head in disgust, when he doesn't have a degree in Finance either. Just a troublemaker that needs to be let go, because he can't be neutral. He gets a raise for being messy, but they fire people that see after our kids? Kermit Williams is such a slimy person and he and the Clerk's "love affair" at these meetings are obvious. He leans in, and uses paper to cover his mouth, while he speaks and has close loving talks with Taylor-Burks, while EVERYBODY interrupts the Mayor. Attorney Chubb spoke when Taylor-Burks was speaking, Taylor-Burks shouted out, "I am speaking!" You ain't got nothing to say, because her PhD. is in Psychology. She also knows nothing about Finance. She, like Miller sat silent during most of the Budget talks. She mad she's not light-skinned, she needs to educate herself and maybe she'll get some respect. The people elected the Mayor across the entire city and she can't get a break. Taylor-Burks sure isn't going to give her one!

Councilperson Doris Taylor-Burks 

Mr. Newsome, who I saw get frustrated with the process, tried to work it out. He explained to the Council every time they came up with a "lame brain" idea to solve their problem with the Phoenix Center. They have a $12M debt due by November, and Kermit Williams is using simple math to solve a Finance problem. Not taking into account the Time Value of Money (TVM) over 10 years. Not accounting interest and taxes, and other things that impact money. Just how simply he solved the problem, should let him know it's wrong. Before Finance class, I would address a problem simply, too. I laughed so hard the other day when he said, six-million dollars over ten years, six-hundred thousand dollars a year. "Am I right?" Mr. Newsome and Mr. Chubb actually hated to hurt his feelings and said, "Yeah". Because he was right, six million divided by 10 years is six-hundred thousand, but not in Finance terms. Depending on the economy it could be so much more than that or less. It all depends. One thing for sure, if you owe six million dollars, it will cost you more than six million dollar in the end. That's what Mr. Newsome understand far too well. That simple math could actually create more problems than it solves, because there are accounting rules and transactions that must be shown on paper. Because none of a budget is based on actual money the city has. It's an estimation of what the city MIGHT spend this year. It could be less, it could be more. But whatever they do, it MUST balance. This money that doesn't exist. Without taking this blog to another place, there are rules and those rules need to be followed.

That's why the Mayor asked for things to be put in writing. Tonight, the Council-President, Kermit Williams, asked for certain things to be put in writing. The Mayor asked him to put all his demands in writing, and he leaned to the Clerk and said, "You have to tapes of tonight. You'll get your information from there." When he asked her to put things in writing tonight, I almost fainted. "What's good for the goose is good for the gander". Put all your unreasonable demands in writing. The Mayor said, because Mr. Newsome needs to be clear, because he doesn't want to break the Rule of Ethics in Accountancy. He has to follow those rules or there are consequences. Mainly when audited. People need to know where to go. Follow the general rules and they don't have to look for it, and think your hiding money or stealing. Kermit Williams banged his gavel, that he doesn't know how to use, and said he didn't ask the Finance Director to do anything illegal or unethical. He claimed the Mayor was trying to make the Council look bad. Well, for one, that's not hard to do. But if he, nor the Council knows anything about Finance ethics, how does he know he didn't ask him to do something illegal or unethical? It is obvious to me, and everyone sitting home watching that he is ignorant. From the frustration on Mr. Newsome face it is clear to him, too.

I have a degree in Management. It is the fundamental that you are able to delegate authority. That means, what you don't know, you hire someone to do. That's why Management majors, like myself, take a class in every division of business. I've taken three Accounting class, four Marketing, Two Economic, two Statistics and countless Management and Supervision classes. I've taken three Law classes and Government. As a Manager, it is your job to manage all these people. Even if your not an expert, you need to know a little bit, and enough to be able to function in a room where all of them are communing or when talking to them one-on-one. Many feel this is the reason Trump doesn't like meetings. You need to have a working understanding of it all, and I'm telling you our Council knows NOTHING! The Mayor knows her fair share. Simple accountancy is lost on every one of them and our people need to elect people who understand. Kermit Williams said that he survived two Emergency Mangers and two Mayors. He survive, only because they allowed him to sneak his little accounts through. Since he was still able to get his little bit, he could care less what they did. Mayor Waterman is different. With the help of some good accountants, she found his stash and eliminated most them. I believe with the help of John Balint he is getting some money, but clearly not enough. Cutting down trees?

I want the people of District 7 to hear me, and hear me well. We need better leadership. We need people who know and understand how to run a city in those chairs and stop electing people on their "heart" and friendship and who they Mama is. Support my recall of Kermit Williams and do what we were taught to do years ago:

"If you want to get rid of a snake, get rid of the head."

They are all following his lead. Get rid of him and we'll have a stronger and better city.

Save our city!