Wanted: An Economically Successful Iron County

I sent a letter to the editor of the Iron County Reporter. Today
is the day the paper decided whether to publish it or not, so
I thought I'd go ahead and put it up here because it is an
important, though short, piece and there are comments that it
deserves and I knew the paper wouldn't publish those.

In fact, the commentary is perhaps more crucial than the letter
itself.

====================


 To the Editor:

Having met with Mr. Franzoi to review 
the actual dollars available for Iron River 
operations, I find myself in the odd position, 
for me, of defending the solutions offered 
by the Manager. In 2006, Joseph Martin 
wrote his MSU thesis about Iron River, 
noting a 2.5% decrease in employee fringe 
benefits between 2000 and 2005.

Today’s fringe benefits for police have 
climbed to well over 100% of wages. This 
situation was created by the former City 
Manager who promoted unsustainable 
budgets to approving City Councils, 
yielding the problems for which Franzoi 
is merely a messenger. Don’t shoot him! 
Who voted in those city councils? City 
residents did. And don’t for a moment 
forget that the former city manager 
recommended raiding of the city’s water 
savings account to feather his retirement 
nest to the tune of $150,000 late in year 
2011 shortly before he “retired.” As a 
result, sewer and water rate increases are 
now pending after yet another $5000 is 
being spent to justify those changes. 
Why did the voters permit money to be 
spent on fringe benefits instead of the 
pension fund and fixing city streets and 
alleys?

Please attend the budget meeting in May 
so you’ll know how to vote when most of 
the City Council is elected in August. As 
citizens and voters we’re not supposed to 
get all up in arms when a financial crisis 
is in full bloom. We’re supposed to 
supervise our elected officials; demanding 
complete and accurate reporting by our 
local news media all of the time. That’s 
the only way to keep bad news from 
happening.

Since some are now interested in 
government, please run for office. You 
have my support! New ideas are important. 
Just don’t think answers will come easily 
once you’ve arrived.

Bill Vajk

======================
end letter to the editor
======================

When the mines were operating, the owners/managers of those
mines controlled some mighty large purse strings here in Iron
County. They flexed their muscles and literally ran all of local
government. In a relatively short period, they closed up shop
and left. Along with them, headed for greener pastures, went
most of the population of the county.

Among those who stayed were a "power elite" (for want of a
better term) who jumped in and took the reins of local
governments. They all knew one another as members of an
informal club that persists through the modern day.

Newcomers, if they want to join, have to work at it in the first
instance, and then be accepted. But there's an informal
ownership agreement that's part of the price for belonging. The
individual has to be a "team player" without having to be told
exactly what to do.

I grew up in a community where things ran pretty much as they do
here. When an individual was expelled, they didn't have to be
told. They pretty much disappeared off the scene and weren't
seen again. It was something akin to being shunned by the Amish
or the Quakers.

The important aspect is that so long as the group that's been
running things in the county since the late 1970's continues to
operate as they have and they do today,  nothing important will
change in Iron County, we'll continue to be the economic failure
that we are. The reason for it is simple enough. Those who are
calling the shots already have it made, and don't really need the
Iron County economy in order to live in the fashion to which
they have become accustomed.

Sadly enough, they consider themselves liberal Democrats.
Perhaps they are that, ideologically, but not in practice. And
they'll be the first to deny membership in any sort of "club."
Would you expect any different?

So if your reason for becoming interested in government is to
assure more of the same, please don't bother. The bunch
already occupying positions of power are doing an adequate
job of maintaining the status quo.

But of course that's not doing most of the population any good
at all. And without better opportunities, most of the children
achieving early adulthood will have to leave to earn a decent
living. I had a woman tell me that she never was without a job
whenever she wanted one. The unspoken truth of the matter is
that she could not live as well as she does were it not for her
husband working a high paying job out
of the region.

There's a relative newcomer in our midst who wanted to start
a bus service from Gaastra-Caspian-Iron River to Iron
Mountain with several round trips per day. She bought the
buses. But you don't actually think she was able to get the leg
up she needed to get the route actually running, did you? Some
member, or some members, of that invisible club might object.
But then, they never actually have to voice an objection. She
was stopped at the first intersection with a representative of the
club, without being given the real reason for her failure.

If you want to improve the economic situation here in Iron
County Michigan, please get in touch with me. We need to have
like minded individuals work together towards a brighter future.

Bill Vajk