Dearborn Budget: Best Way to Engage Residents?
Budget hearings aren’t popular evening events among Dearborn residents, judging from the number of people who regularly attended sessions at City Hall this year (except for the well-organized Save our Pools team).
Yet the decisions our elected officials made in approving the fiscal year 2011-12 budget Tuesday night will have ramifications for all of us in the coming weeks and months.
So the question becomes is there a better way for our elected officials to more effectively communicate with all of us to get our input and alert us to what is coming before it occurs?
Tom Tafelski
We called out the City Council earlier this week for not having enough public hearings to collect input from residents on the budget. Council President Tom Tafelski took umbrage with that statement and quickly contacted us to set the record straight, saying our figure of just six budget meetings this year (a figure provided to us by former Councilman George Darany who is now a State Representative) was grossly understated.
Tafelski provided documents to us showing the total number of budget meetings was actually 14 this year, up from 12 meetings in 2010 and eight in 2009. Six of those budget meetings for fiscal year 2011-12 took place before April 15, the date the mayor presented his budget proposal to council, according to Tafelski. Seven meetings took place after the April 15 date the budget was presented to Council. The final meeting (budget approval) took place June 7.
Having meetings for the sake of meetings isn’t something we advocate but it still feels thin, particularly given the budget task this year and the more difficult cuts coming in fiscal year 2012-13. The challenge remains how to engage residents earlier in the process.
In regards to our suggestion that city-issued Council cell phones should be terminated, Tafelski and Councilman Robert Abraham quickly contacted us to tell us that neither uses a city-issued cell phone.
Tafelski said just two council members currently have city-issued cell phones: Nancy Hubbard and Suzanne Sareini.
The remaining council members get reimbursed by the city for minutes used for city work on their personal phones, Tafelski said. Those payments come from each councilmember’s city-issued personal budget, which is $3,500 annually. Council members use that same budget for educational purposes, as well, such as attending classes sponsored by the Michigan Municipal League, Tafelski explained.
Even with the budget passed, more hard work remains. Dearborn is considering seeking a millage increase that could be as high as 3.5 mills. City Council will need to approve such a measure by July 8 in order for it to make it on the November ballot. Lots of questions remain on what the added revenue would be used for and how the millage question would be framed.
The key thing for all of us will be to inform our elected officials what we expect from a millage increase. Emailing each of them is a good way to start.
Dearborn City Council
Tom Tafelski: 313.943.2405 – ttafelski@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Suzanne Sareini: 313.943.2404 – ssareini@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Mark Shooshanian: 313.943.2406 – mshooshanian@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Robert A. Abraham: 313.943.2408 – rabraham@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Brian C. O’Donnell: 313.943.2407 – bodonnell@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Nancy A. Hubbard: 313.943.2403 – nhubbard@ci.dearborn.mi.us
David Bazzy: 313.943.32402 – dbazzy@ci.dearborn.mi.us
June 10th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Why would you ask George anything regarding the city when he hasn’t been on the council for the past 5 months. Also if you go to the city site, council page they provide a link to each council person except Tom T.
June 10th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Last time I checked, people can call, write, email, or schedule and appointment with a council member regarding any issue throughout the year, in addition to attending council meetings. While I haven’t always felt my concerns were acted on the way I wanted, I don’t feel that Dearborn council members have not been approachable in my years here.
At some point, people need to become proactive, engaged citizens. They need to communicate their needs clearly, keep up with what is going on a City Hall, and get out and vote. Many people who complain the most never get farther than doing just that, to the detriment of us all.
June 10th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Donna: I ran into George Monday night at the budget hearing. As you point out, he has only been five months removed from Council, so he has some history as to what was done now and in the past. As it is, George was only one meeting short. He said six meetings too place after Council received the budget from the Mayor and Tom says it is seven. My point is that number of meetings feels thin but I undertand your point. The Mayor also mentioned to me the small number of meetings compared to previous years on this budget, which he too was concerned about.
June 10th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Deep,
Here is the contact info you were looking for:
Mayor John B. O’Reilly Jr.: 313.943.2300 – mayor@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Dearborn City Council
Tom Tafelski: 313.943.2405 – ttafelski@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Suzanne Sareini: 313.943.2404 – ssareini@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Mark Shooshanian: 313.943.2406 – mshooshanian@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Robert A. Abraham: 313.943.2408 – rabraham@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Brian C. O’Donnell: 313.943.2407 – bodonnell@ci.dearborn.mi.us
Nancy A. Hubbard: 313.943.2403 – nhubbard@ci.dearborn.mi.us
David Bazzy: 313.943.32402 – dbazzy@ci.dearborn.mi.us
June 10th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Thanks, Mike.
June 10th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
If the council is going to propose a millage increase, then they should couple it with a repeal of the mandatory staffing levels of the police and firemen.
June 10th, 2011 at 6:13 pm
I find the comment from the mayor saying he was concerned about the small number of meeting funny. If he was that concerned he should have scheduled more meetings. Seems simple enough to me.
June 10th, 2011 at 9:23 pm
donna: once Council has the mayor’s budget proposal, they set the meeting cadence. not the mayor. the mayor can’t tell the council when to meet. the ball is in council’s court.
June 11th, 2011 at 4:43 am
If the council and mayor really wanted to inform and engage residents in a transparent budget process, why not just leave the TV cameras on in the council meeting room during the public hearing on the budget Monday and the budget approval meeting Tuesday? They televise their usual meetings where nothing much happens, so why not let the public see how they deliberate on this important stuff and watch them cast their votes?
June 11th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Julie I agree with u, but Darany gives false information out and then people react to it. Its easy for h im to throw his ex-council mmembers under the bus, but don’t forget George, what goes around comes around. Wait untill the next election and you will see what I mean.
June 14th, 2011 at 3:40 pm
The Press & Guide story on the Somers verdict was interesting for two reasons – one, that the City Council is reducing the 19th District Court budget by about $100,000 due to some shrinkage in personnel; two, that the City Council is looking for a way to fund the $400,000+ judgment entered against Somers personally for firing a just cause employee without just cause. The Pucci case goes to trial on June 22 in Federal Court, is there any reason to expect a different result? The Law Department needs to settle these cases now, the prospects on appeal appear to be very poor.
June 14th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Judge Somers has been living a charmed life, for a long while along with his friend Boss Hogg (O’Reilly), however with a few more judgments against them, they will be feeling the pinch they are putting the City thru. Too bad they don’t have to pay themselves for their stupid mistakes, maybe then they wouldn’t do such stupid things over and over again. These two guys are like mutt and jeff, its similar to the blind leading the blind. Wake up and start acting responsibly for a change.
June 14th, 2011 at 10:54 pm
I personally hope Pucci sticks it in the City’s ass, for what they have put her and Calvas thru. This was completely out of order, however when u have worms like Somers and r City fathers what can u really expect.
June 14th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Do away with the Law DEpt., becaus Bluto thinks for them, so who needs them. We have a couple of juicy judgements coming down, so beware.
June 15th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Mbwp the residents of this town have had a real change of heart on the minimum staffing, and I’m sure you would see it overturned if its placed on the ballot now. As for the millage increase gat chance BIG BOY.
July 1st, 2011 at 10:04 pm
yeah repeal the mandatory staffing levels so the city can become more and more like a dump like Detroit…oh wait, it’s too late, already has.