So What Is Proposal 1? Vote NO!

An anonymous response (I get some now and again) gave me
a location for finding the contents of Proposal 1, a text that is
purposely as misleading as the flyer that came in the mail a
few days back.

In effect, what Proposal 1 does is to create a new "local tax"
in an end run around the Headlee Amendment while promising
to eliminate part of the state sales and use tax. In order to do
that, the state is setting up a new "Local Community Stabilization
Authority" to oversee the new local tax, and prohibits that
"Authority" from increasing the tax above 6%.

But of course there's nothing preventing the state from increasing
the sales and use tax at any time in the future. It could be next week,
it could be next year, but we know it will happen.

The proposal is terrible, and the lies used to promote it are even
worse. I will vote against it and urge everyone to vote NO on
this measure. If the intentions were honorable, the state would have
gone out of its way to providing information that the voters can
understand. Every time government does something "for your
own good" you better look more closely at what they are
proposing. It is a "local tax" that's supposed to get voter approval
by the local region, like a small taxing entity like a city or a county.

By doing this as they have framed it, statewide voter approval will
replace local approval that the Headlee Amendment intended. A
one vote majority out of the millions in the state will pass the measure.
If it were left to Iron County, that would be a one vote majority in
11,000 or so, and your vote would count for more than it does the
way they're doing it. Why should a voter in Detroit have any say in a
tax that the state says is an Iron County local tax?

Please don't be their fool. Vote NO.

Bill Vajk

Proposal 1 - August Elections

A couple of days ago I received a 1 page flyer in the
mail urging me to vote for Proposal 1 that promises
to eliminate a business tax and increase jobs by 15,000.

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No where in the flyer does it give me the text of
Proposal 1. In short, it screams "trust me."

What?

It does reference www.proposal1facts.com

Nice of them to do that. So I went and looked,
and sure enough,, it was more of the same sort
of hype that's in the flyer, and there's no text
of the proposal to be found anywhere.

I don't believe a word of it, simply because
they're not coming clean with what the text
of the proposal is.

Too bad. Guys, you've screwed up despite
the fact you've had every opportunity to get
this right. If you're ashamed to advertise
what it is you're doing then how dare you
even think about asking for my vote.

Bill Vajk

value to the recipient

In 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court wrote:

"The phrase 'value to the recipient' is, 
we believe, the measure of the authorized 
fee."

http://tinyurl.com/m6jb87y

When the water is shut off at the curbstop 
by the provider, what "value" does a
person receive? 

It is a simple question with a simple answer
that the City of Iron River evades.

Bill Vajk

The Ultimate Evil – An Insult to All Americans

This news outlet has been silent for a 

while since your editor has been busy 

suing the City of Iron River and Iron 

County under the Headlee Amendment. 

Original jurisdiction lies with the Court 

of Appeals. In my opinion, the court's 

finding does not comply with Michigan 

laws , any system of morality and ethics, 

or any modern laws.

The ultimate evil, I think, is to hold a 

person responsible today for what some 

random unknown stranger may do in 

the future. Avoiding all religious 

trappings normally associated with the 

word “evil,” I only contemplate ethical 

and moral meanings devoid of any 

organized religion. There is no historical 

ethic, let along a formal legal system 

since the classical Greeks that allowed 

one person to be punished for the acts of 

another. So far as I know, the last one to 

permit such injustice was Hammurabi in 

about 1750 B.C. That's more than 3,700 

years ago! Yet here we are today, in 

Michigan, reverting to ancient forms that 

have long been abandoned as unjust.

Still, the Michigan Court of Appeals 

found it provident to impose the City 

of Iron River's financial interests over 

those of its citizens, and make that 

citizen financially responsible for what 

someone might do in the future. How 

far in the future? They didn't say. It 

could be next month, or a hundred years 

from now, but your humble 

correspondent is financially responsible 

for such speculative people performing 

such speculative acts as asking that the 

water be turned on.

As if that isn't bad enough, there's a 

kicker. It isn't just me, but if you read 

the water ordinances for Iron River, and 

it is found in just about all towns and 

cities, anyone who owns property near a 

water main can be held responsible to pay 

for water they don't use on their vacant lot 

because the city is required to provide water 

to you in 48 hours after request! It's right 

there in ordinance § 52.18, “Written notice 

given not less than 48 hours in advance 

shall be made to the city by the property 

owner and/or occupant of the premises when 

water service is desired.” You don't have to 

have a house or any other structure!

Here's what the Court of Appeals, at the 

instigation of the City of Iron River, wrote:

“Plaintiff provides no authority from which 

it may be inferred that, by turning off the 

water at curbstop, the City is released from 

its continuing obligation to maintain the 

capacity to provide water and sewer 

services to the Plum Street property 

should plaintiff or a successor owner 

request a resumption of the water 

supply. Under such circumstances, 

plaintiff receives the benefit of use of 

the municipal water distribution and 

sanitary sewer systems, albeit to a lesser 

degree than other users of these systems, 

and the City's allocation of maintenance 

costs to those like plaintiff who are 

connected to these systems constitute a 

fee for service for purposes of the Headlee 

Amendment.”

As the cornerstone for the Court of 

Appeals finding, it is morally, ethically, 

and legally bankrupt in my opinion. I 

filed my motion for reconsideration. 

Anyone with access to a computer has 

only to ask for a copy and I'll gladly 

provide it since all court documents 

are public unless a judge issues an 

order privatizing it in some form or 

another.

You can find the court's complete 

order at: http://tinyurl.com/opxaafu

Another significance of what happened 

here is what will this do to our future? 

How long will it be before this mindset, 

that government can do simply anything 

to us that they want, finds its way into the 

criminal laws? Hammurabi's code 

authorized the killing of an innocent 

child of a builder whose shoddy 

construction collapsed and killed the 

child of the homeowner. Is that what we 

want? No sir!

Like it or not, that's where this thing is 

headed unless I manage to stop it.

Please join me by pestering the city 

fathers with your objections, all in the 

legal way, of course, by writing letters 

and speaking at City Council meetings.

Iron River, you're back on the map again. 

But sorry, it isn't for any reason we should 

be proud of. 

Bill Vajk

Another Illegal Tax?

The agenda for the Iron County Board of Commissioners on 

13 May 2014 contains the following item: “Discussion and 

Possible Action on the Iron County Construction Code's 

Request to Increase House Numbering Fee”

During last month's meeting, the board reversed an earlier 

increase of the FOIA per page charge of 30 cents because, 

as attorney Tinti pointed out to Commissioner Patti Peretto 

before the meeting, “You can't do it that way.” But the 30 cent 

“fee” had been in effect for some time and is one of the counts 

in the lawsuit brought by the undersigned against Iron River and 

Iron County.

Now here we are, with another department asking for an 

increase in a fee, this time for something as simple as “house 

numbering.” Why? Because “fee for service” is one place 

where a local government can gin up some extra income. The 

entire principle of collecting fees is to help offset the cost of a 

governmental department existing. Back in the 1970's the 
Federal Communications Commission tried it and were sued 
by the National Cable TV Association[1] which handily won 
the case with the Supreme Court establishing the credo that 
“The phrase "value to the recipient" is, we believe, the 
measure of the authorized fee. The words 'public policy or 
interest served, and other pertinent facts' would not seem 
relevant to the present case, whatever may be their ultimate 
reach. “

Since this was a Supreme Court case it applies universally 
to every jurisdiction in the USA. In the famous Michigan 
Bolt v. Lansing case[2], our Supreme Court (repeating from 
an earlier case) stated that, “"Exactions which are imposed 
primarily for public rather than private purposes are taxes. 
Revenue from taxes, therefore, must inure to the benefit of 
all, as opposed to exactions from a few for benefits that will 
inure to the persons or group assessed."

Applying the Court's reasoning, for whose benefit is “house 

numbering” generated and applied? It seems to the 
undersigned that significant thought ought to be given to this 
topic before changes are applied, with consideration 
given to the possibility that this exaction should be eliminated 
since the service being provided is to the community as a 
whole, not to the person whose property gets a number. 
Once the consequence of the exaction benefits the entire 
community, it is a tax prohibited by the Michigan 
Constitution rather than a fee for service unless it was 
permitted as a tax prior to the enactment of the Headlee 
Amendment to the constitution.

Because local governments in Michigan are so careless 
in applying their power, it seems to the undersigned that 
an initiative needs to be undertaken by the citizens to 
assure that we are not being taxed inappropriately. The 
system that is currently in place encourages inefficiency 
on the part of government employees because they can 
simply improve their lot by applying to the county board 
or equivalent governing body at lower levels for a “fee” 
increase every few years. In the meanwhile the entire 
premise of the Headlee Amendment is defeated with 
the exception of an occasional whimper by someone 
paying an illegal tax. The only way to stop this is for 
citizens to band together and study the problem, 

bringing lawsuits whenever and wherever necessary 
to enforce the law that citizens enacted by voting for 
it.

So as soon as the lawsuit in which the undersigned is 

presently engaged is completed, this describes the new 

initiative I will undertake. All local government bodies 
keep saying that they welcome greater participation by 
the public. Here's a chance for everyone to participate 
without actually attending those generally boring meetings 
where the public knows little, and usually understands 
even less, of what happens during those meetings. Here 
is a chance for the public to sink their teeth into how 
government functions where it is significant and 
meaningful.

We will make a difference!

[1] National Cable TV Association v. United States, 
    415 US 336, 1974

[2] Bolt v. City of Lansing, 587 NW 2d 264, 1998

Bill Vajk

A Civics Catechism - Lesson First

A Civics Catechism – Lesson First

Question: What is civilization and why have it?

Answer:

Civilization is the organization of human beings into 

artificial groups for the purpose of eliminating internal and 

external predation. Today we have nothing to fear from 

the animal kingdom killing and eating us. Living outside 

the footprint of civilization, for example in the Alaskan 

bush, continues to provide such risks.

Here in Iron County our predators today are local 

governments subjecting us to economic destruction; 

sometimes they nickle and dime us, sometimes a heavier 

hand is evident such as in charging $870 a year for 

municipal utilities we cannot use, or overcharging $10 

for a few pages of a court docket. Such economic 

predation has no legitimacy.

Our governments have been around so long they think 

they are like people, especially here in Michigan. They 

forget their reason for existing, to provide safety and 

services for every citizen as a servant of the people, 

not as an organism on equal footing with human beings. 

Government is artificial, it has no life of its own! Our 

laws are designed to have governments work for us, 

not the other way around.

Michigan is worthy of mention because there is 

absolutely no oversight or control of local governments 

by those who give them limited powers, the state. We 

have to look no further than Detroit to see a worse 

case example. Or how about 13 local governments 

serving, on average, less than 1000 souls each in Iron 

County. Why two school districts, just to make a few 

jobs at the expense of providing the best education 

possible?

The model for what our governments are supposed 

to be is completely defined in our constitutions and laws. 

We must not permit failed civilizations, like Putin and 

the Ukraine, to detract from the high standards we 

have established. But sadly we haven't been living up 

to those standards.

Bill Vajk

Community Conversation 2014

Editor's note: I can't help but think that the people who attend functions like this one are the ones who have it in their power to help advance this community and get Iron County out of the economic depression we've been experiencing for decades. Two things happen: First nobody is willing to ask them to assume leadership roles and secondly no one is willing to apply the pressure necessary to get such an initiative going. In the end it doesn't matter what these folks think so long as they're not willing to do anything about anything/ 

Bill Vajk

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

Please join us for a Community Conversation to help set the agenda for Michigan in 2014, sponsored by The Center for Michigan.

WHERE: West Iron District Library

WHEN: Monday, March 24, 2014-4PM

RSVP: Sara Basso at 906-250-0416 or sara@bassoandbasso.us

Community meetings just like this are happening all over Michigan. Make sure your voice is heard.

For more information, call 734-769-4625, or visit thecenterformichigan.net

Community Conversations are presented by The Center for Michigan, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, non-partisan organization working throughout the state to amplify the voices of ordinary citizens and find common ground solutions for a more prosperous future. Please visit www.thecenterformichigan.net for more information.

What It Looks Like

This is what the bill for not using water, with the valve
shut off at the curbstop, looks like. This edition arrived
in today's mail.

The famous case Bolt v. Lansing says that no one can
be compelled to take water. I'm pretty sure that the
Court also meant that no one can be billed for water
they cannot be compelled to take! Otherwise their
statement would be nonsensical, and I'm certain that
the Michigan Supreme Court never publishes any
nonsensical decisions.

So the nonsense must come from the City of Iron River.

Anyway, the lawsuit should, if nothing else, prove
interesting.

Bill Vajk

A Piece of the Case Summary

The summons and complaints were served today on the
City of Iron River and Iron County, and the entire package
mailed to the Court of Appeals with the filing fee. A "case
summary" was included, part of which I reproduce below.

======================================
Although this case is about the violations of the Headlee
Amendment, Michigan Constitution Article IX § 31, in the
interests of understanding how we came to be at this
juncture, the case is significantly assisted by knowing a
bit if the history of the mainstream lawlessness that began
with the earliest days of Iron County and persists almost
unabated through the modern day.
It began with the “stolen courthouse” from which
history the county clerk republished the events of  1885,
see Exhibit “R”.

(editor's note- this is a segment of the Iron County Directory
of 2013)

The next major event occurred  in 1920 during Prohibition
with the Scalcucci brothers commercially making and selling
wine in Iron River. When federal officers were dispatched
from Chicago to put a stop to the illegal practice, local
officials were ordered to fire on anyone attempting to
enforce prohibition, and in the end were driven out of the
area. The event is a matter for an annual local three day
celebration. See the last page of Exhibit “R”.
Without delving into the details of this case too heavily at
this juncture, Plaintiff must here point out that the July 31,
2013 acts of amending Iron River ordinances in order to
allow the city council to establish new utility rates by
resolution instead of by ordinance directly violates the
alleged charter’s § 2.11(e). Please see Exhibit “B”. The
charter that Defendant City is allegedly obeying says an
ordinance is required to regulate the rate charged by a
public utility for its services. It is clear, in this act, and
others too numerous to discuss here, that Defendant City,
just like Defendant County, ignores the laws that govern
them unless and until someone like Plaintiff calls them to
task in court.
In Exhibit “S” Defendant City acknowledges no provision
of utilities to Plaintiff, but charges for them anyway,
knowingly violating the laws of this state and forcing the
situation to this Court for resolution that already exists in
the laws of the state.
As part of the election in November 2013, Defendant City
included a measure requesting the elimination of “conflict of
interest” by elected officials from the Iron River City Charter.
The deciding vote in the city council for the resolution to get
this measure on the ballot was cast by an individual who, at
that time, was knowingly in the very conflict he was trying to
get removed. Subsequently, after your Plaintiff complained to
the governor and the attorney general, the county prosecutor
investigated and asked two members of Iron River’s city
council to resolve the conflict issue by resigning one post or
the other. The city council, itself, did nothing while all the
members were knowledgeable about the conflicts that should
have been sufficient to keep the two from being sworn into
office and seated.
Unfortunately, both City and County defendants are so
deeply entrenched in their illegal activities that they seem to
have no way of stopping because once the first lie is told,
and then another to cover that up, the entire scheme just
spirals out of control and the lies can never stop. In
Exhibit “Q” Defendant County acknowledges it know the
source for the bills it will attempt to collect by undertaking
a foreclosure action, and ignores the illegality in Plaintiff’s
case.
That is why we are here, in order to get a fair hearing and
to break the cycle of lies, subterfuge, and deception, by
local governments who are thus damaging the Plaintiff, and
many others, financially.
======================================

It is well past time for municipalities to stop charging for
public utilities that are not delivered to citizens.

Bill Vajk

Is Futility our Hallmark?

This evening I posted Iron County's Strategic Plan for
the year 2000 at:

http://bill-vajk.angelfire.com/plan-2000.pdf

I note that not one single goal in that plan has been
achieved. This particular strategic plan was put
together by the team that included Ruth Briney, John
MacPherson, Kenneth Phillips, Bette Premo, Thomas
Rorabaugh, and J. Cyrus Warmanen.

I have to wonder why they put forth the effort to put
together this plan, and then simply disappear into the
background noise of Iron County.

Is futility the hallmark of Iron County?

Bill Vajk

Common Sense

Why is there such a shortage of common sense in Iron
River? The following is a letter to the editor submitted to
the Reporter.

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

To the Editor:

Last summer the Iron River City Council all but
announced their intention to permanently close
Blossom Street that has a failed pavement because
they lack funds to make repairs. Unfortunately there
is only one way to fund street repairs, taxes. Of
course once properly fixed, the street would be fine
for decades.

Then, in January, the same city was approached and
asked for help by funding the Iron Line Dog Race
through sponsorship, and they agreed. The level of
funding was more than half of what it would take to
fix Blossom Street. The city did this while finding
street lights to shut off because they’re trying to save
money. What for, in case there’s another dog race
asking for money? What about the requests of citizens
for street repairs?

How many sources are there for money to sponsor a
dog race? Thousands. How long does a dog race last? A
few days.

Perhaps if Blossom Street were made part of a dog race
route the City Council might see fit to fix it. But they
can’t seem to fix it for humans. Hmmm!

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

Yesterday I became involved in a discussion with a local
business owner whose philosophy is that if no one is living
on a street it shouldn't be repaired, just close it. That's
another exhibition of a lack of common sense. After all,
nobody lives on the Mackinac Bridge, or any of the
arteries in the US, but we don't close them because they're
important routes for others. The myopic views held by the
clique I keep talking about are killing this region.

There's no justification whatever for any Michigan municipal
government to fund a dog race and every justification for
keeping the streets in good repair.

What's wrong with you people?

Bill Vajk

Moving Right Along...

In my travels, and having lived and worked in different places,
one of the things I became acutely aware of is the difference
in some of the local cultures here in the USA. For example,
business in the NYC region relies heavily on social networks
where it comes to making agreements and generally doing
business with one another. The exception, that’s to be
expected, was in aerospace/defense where many suppliers
and the customer weren't part of the region, socially or
economically, in which the manufacturer functioned. To be
sure, all the people who worked there, from the CEO or local
equivalent, down to the guy who swept the parking lot, were
all part of the local social structure. But once at work, from a
business standpoint, local considerations didn't make it past the
front door.

I found Chicago to be very open and accepting. If anyone is
starting a new business, make sure your customers are either in
Chicago or some other region that’s similarly open to new
business relationships. And that’s the crux of the matter
explaining the failure of midwestern transplants to the New York
region. I saw many of them come and go when I lived at
Princeton. Typically they would last about a year, then they went
home. I don’t think they caught on to the way business is done in
the NY area. The few I talked to in what might be considered an
“exit survey” had no idea why they failed, but in the end, the
reason was that they didn't manage to break into the right social
circles in time to make a difference in their business strategies.
Migration to the west coast, on the other hand, proved a great
advantage to most transplants from the midwest. On the west
coast, midwesterners are the “go-getters.” Having heard plenty
on the topic from a  daughter and son-in-law in California
extended my knowledge base on this issue.

Because we have such a small population here in Iron County, a
set of circumstances similar to the NYC region exists here. If
you’re not enjoyed by the “in crowd” (and there’s only one here
in Iron County) you might as well whistle Dixie and look for
friendships wherever it is you go as a snowbird, you’re not
finding any meaningful socialization here.

Now that might sound as though I’m jealous or have hurt feelings.
Let me assure all readers that isn't the case at all. I have friends
up and down the east coast where I worked for decades, as well
as in the Chicago region, some overseas, and a few locally too. I
don’t need the local snobs in my life. My mother volunteered in
her community in her day, and found that the lasting friendships
were few and far between while some accused her of “social
climbing” at their expense. Now that, my friends, was jealousy
and hurt feelings arising out of their own failures to progress as
well as the best of them were able to. I am fortunate to be a
whole lot more  pragmatic than that and my world is a lot larger
than that of the majority of the local population. On the other
hand, there’s nothing wrong with living in a smaller world if
that’s what’s available to you and that’s what you want.

Moving right along, what this region needs badly is someone
somewhat like me, probably a lot better at business than I ever
was, who doesn't want to get caught up in/with local social
considerations, and is a lot younger than I am. Hire that
someone, and let that person or group run with their visions for
progress and the financial success of this county and region.
And for heavens sakes, don’t get this sort of initiative get
mixed up with adjoining counties, or we’ll end up with the short
straw again.

Sit down with that person and decide on a set of parameters
that are in stone. Which do we need, a railroad spur or a locally
based trucking company that can haul local products to a nearby
railway spur and load trains. Given the infrastructure we presently
have, including availability of utilities, roads, proximity to
railheads, and any other important considerations too numerous
to list here, where would the proposed heavy or light
manufacturing complex be best placed? Then let them run with
their mission. Don’t forget that we’re competing with New York
State that offers 10 years with no taxes for new businesses.

But I can hear the clique clamoring already, “I have this piece of
land….”

Forget it! The decision must be made by the individual we
(that’s right, all of us is “we”) hire for this position without
any consideration other than what’s best for all of us. And
that is going to be the problem with every decision, and that
impoverished mindset contributes heavily to the depressed
economy we live in today. Heaven forbid someone in the
clique get ahead while others, similarly situated, tread water.

Join me, come stand in God’s sunshine for a while, you’ll feel
better. And then realize that even someone else’s gain opens
new opportunities for you! They’re done, and you’re just
starting.

Well you now have the gist of what my current letter to the
editor intended for publication in this week’s Reporter is
about, above and beyond what I was able to provide in the
300 allotted words. Whether or not it ends up in the paper,
you were able to read it all here, so you have an advantage
already that’s denied to the others.

Letter to the editor follows:

-------------------------------------------------------------

The hospital is being taken over by Aspirus after losing about
$1.2 million in 2012. The clique that runs Iron County has
failed to run the hospital efficiently. While that group contains
most successful people in the county, their management and
entrepreneurial skill set is size-limited to the small businesses
they run well. Needless to say, it’s a subset of the same clique
that’s similarly run the EDC for decades.

Yes, we've had outsiders move into Iron County and
become part of that group. But they've done so at the
expense of abandoning the principles of success they
learned elsewhere in exchange for local social
acceptance.

The hospital is being taken over by a group that has no
apparent intention of becoming similarly localized. They
will eventually get our hospital back to supporting itself.
So the lesson is that if we are to get this county
economically viable again, we need to bring in people
with the necessary skills and give them a free hand to
achieve the sort of success this region had in earlier
days.

How can we achieve that given a non-existent budget?

1) Combine school districts, saving at least $ half-million
annually. Plow that money back into courses teaching
manufacturing skills beginning with welding, the most
needed trade in this region today. 2) Eliminate all
redundant municipalities, saving $1 to $2 million (or
more) annually, and spend that on hiring people who
can get industries to move here, assuring employment
and the economic growth that’s needed.

Of course nothing will happen if the single-issue
folks remain couch potatoes instead of holding our
elected officials’ feet to the fire every month at
meetings. Giving the EDC “another year” to waste
time and money is a well practiced decision to
procrastinate yet again.

Bill Vajk

Citizens Have No Voice In Michigan State Government

It is no wonder that citizens in Michigan don't assert
their rights more often. Governments in Michigan,
including the state, turn a blind eye to anything that's
inconvenient to the games that officials play with one
another and the tricks they play on citizens. The
corporate culture has run amock to the point that
just like the president of AMOCO discovered a
few decades ago, executives are shoving paper at
one another while providing nothing of substance
towards producing the product they were intended
to provide.

What are the basic precepts that state government
is supposed to provide? Honesty and a fair playing
ground for the citizens and for business.

For some decades Michigan has done neither, and
is hell bent on continuing, as much as possible, just
as they have for a long time now.

On Friday, October 18, 2013, I sent a complaint to
the City of Iron River and to the Michigan Attorney
General about the irregularities on the upcoming ballot
to delete paragraph 2.05(a) from the Iron River City
Charter. The motion was knowingly illegally passed by
the Iron River City Council, and subsequently illegally
put on the ballot, with the knowledge illegality by all the
involved Iron River city officials including the clerk and
city manager.

The Attorney General ignored the request for corrective
action  for more than two months, providing one of two
standard responses we know are all we can ever get out
of Michigan state government. Those two are 1) no
response whatsoever (by far the most common way that
Michigan deals with citizen interaction.) or 2) "We can't
do anything for private individuals."

Ladies and Gentlemen (I use the terms loosely,) just why
in the hell do you think you're there?

You are there to serve the public. That's me, and every
other individual who finds themselves within the borders
of the state!

The email I received today says, in essence, "You're just a
private citizen, I'm not here to do anything for you!"

WHAT???????????????????????

My complaint was about violation of state laws. Part of the
problem had previously been dealt with when Al Perlongo
received a letter from the county prosecutor telling him
he could chose one or the other of the official positions he
held, but could not serve in two conflicting positions at
the same time.

But he had already cast the deciding vote on deleting
paragraph 2.05(a) from the charter. But the measure
had no place on the ballot because his vote was illegally
cast in the first place.

No, Attorney General Bill Schuette, you are the chief
law enforcement officer in Michigan and I take severe
umbrage at your refusal to perform the duties to which
you took an oath when you assumed office. Apparently
I have to remind you what those were. You swore to
uphold the constitution and the laws of the state of
Michigan. In the letter below you have denied the
responsibilities you took an oath to perform. A man is
only as good as his word.

Email follows:

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

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From: Michigan Attorney General
To: Bill Vajk
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2014 10:26:40 -0500
Subject: Citizen Response
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January 2, 2014
To: William J. Vajk
Citizen Inquiry No. 2013-0058282-A

Attorney General Bill Schuette has asked me to respond to
your e-mail concerning a proposed amendment to the Iron
River city charter.  I regret the delay in responding.  This
Department receives hundreds of letters and e-mails each
week, making some delays inevitable.

In your e-mail, which you also sent to the Iron River city
manager, you attach a document that is identified as a
"Complaint."  In the document, you indicate that you object
to the amendment to section 2.05(a) of the city charter that
removes the prohibition on council members holding certain
appointive offices during their elected terms.  You ask that
legal action be taken to remove the amendments from the
November ballot. Based upon information received from
the November election, the amendment to the city charter
did not pass.

For future reference, the Attorney General may provide legal
advice, opinions, or representation to governmental entities
and designated public officers within the State of Michigan.
The law does not permit the Attorney General to provide legal
services to individuals.

On behalf of Attorney General Bill Schuette, thank you for
taking the time to share your concerns with this Department.

Denise C. Barton
Division Chief
Public Employment, Elections & Tort Division

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Vajk
Sent: Friday, October 18, 2013 11:46 PM
To: Michigan Attorney General; citymanager@ironriver.org@ironriver.org>
Subject: Complaint regarding pending election

Attached please find my signed complaint and supporting documentation.

Sincerely,
William J. Vajk


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

Denise Barton's final 2 paragraphs, restated correctly, say, "don't
bother me in future."

So how do we, the citizens of the State of Michigan, get our public
officials to do the jobs they have sworn, under oath, to do? Beg?
You know that doesn't work either.

Is a reform party hiding around the corner? Come Out, Come Out,
wherever you are!

Bill Vajk

An Opening on Iron County Doings

Bill Vajk

Merry Christmas

Drug Store(s)-the rest of the story

After we reported that another business in Iron River
bites the dist, I received an email from Bob and Marla
Busakowski that said, in essence:

1. The Corner Drug Store is not closing.

2. The business has been sold.

3. 2 drug stores have always survived in Iron River and as
former owners they believe will continue to do so in the
future.

4. "Please check your facts before posting misinformation."

Had I posted their email as fact I would have been posting
misinformation. After I received the email, I placed a phone
call to the CEO of MK Stores, the owner of Snyder Drugs,
and left a message respectfully asking Mr. Katers to verify
or deny the local rumors that they had purchased The Corner
Drug Store in Iron River.

Mr. Katers, relying on the unnecessary rudeness that we have
become accustomed to receiving from "the pseudo elite" in this
region of the USA, refused to return my call for that civilized
request. For his part, Robert Busakowski didn't do any better,
referring to the new owners merely as "the new owners."

What's the big secret, Bub?

Now that weeks have passed, I sought out an unquestionable
means of verifying the rumors and have discovered that yes
indeed, MK Stores has indeed purchased what has for decades
been known as "The Corner Drug Store" which business has
"bit the dust" precisely as we reported here.

The simple fact is that it became financially advantageous
for Bob and Marla Busakowski to sell assets that brought
them more money than their profits for some period in the
future would be. Whatever the particular reasoning is for
selling, they sold, not to another individual owner as has
been the history of a continuing business in the past, but to
a chain drug store firm that simply makes the facility an
extension of their corporate entity. The individuality of The
Corner Drug Store, passed down from Earl Melstrom to
Jim Sapletal to Robert Busakowski, all local residents for
the duration, is gone forever. The "mom and pop" store so
many folks say they love has closed, and the operation is
an operation that is at the small end of "the big box"
corporation.

That's OK, we cannot live in the past. I don't know how
many years Bob ran his store without so much as a sign on
the door telling folks what his hours of business were. I
noticed one had been placed on his door a while back
and thought that a great improvement in his "service model."
Perhaps it wasn't his improvement after all.

I do have to say here and now that despite Ron Katers'
rudeness towards me, the people who work for him in Iron
River have been exemplary in providing excellent service.
I would hope that seeps down into MK Stores newest
acquisition. Having been on the receiving end of what
passes for Bob Busakowski's friendly service, I don't
think that dog can be taught any new tricks. On the other
hand he's only about 60 years old so he should learn to be
a little more polite for the duration of his working years.

But an interesting fact I discovered in my perusing the historical
records of this now closed business is that Jim's Pharmacy, the
former legal name for The Corner Drug Store, had a very nice
profit sharing plan that supplied some 7 individuals with a pension.
Later, after Jim died, 6 individuals. But of course the origins of
that plan were in 1978 when things in Iron River were a whole
lot different from today. One wonders how that will be managed
now that the fund can no longer grow based on profitability, and
how much of the growth in the value of the business was put
where it rightfully probably belongs, to benefit the people who
helped make that value grow.

Indeed, the profit sharing aspects could be the most interesting
of all.

Bill Vajk

Out Of Control

When governments get out of control, eventually someone
returns the favor. And despite the fact that such people
usually land in prison for long terms, the result for the
community is never a good one.

=======================================
This matter arose because of a "ready-to-serve" fee imposed
on the water bills of some unoccupied parcels that Markham
owned in the city of Manistique. The fee was imposed in order
to repay federal loans to upgrade water treatment plants to
keep them in compliance with federal law. Markham did not
understand how there could be a legal basis for billing for water
service on property where no water was actually used, so he
refused to pay those bills. Unpaid utility bills in Manistique
eventually are turned over to the county to collect as part of
property taxes, which exposed Markham to the potential loss
of his property. The prospect of losing his property, which
Markham considered to be his only asset, led him to express
his frustration and anger in menacing language on his website.
Markham posted references to "murder, arson, and suicide,"
"crushing the skulls of or setting afire my tormentors," and the
spilling of "innocent blood."

=========================================
http://tinyurl.com/mmcj6zh

The Michigan readers already know the length and breadth of
the charging not to use water gambit played out by so many
municipalities in this state so we'll not address the ongoing
problem here, but in court where it rightly belongs.

But this publication did want to call attention to the fact that
these practices are seen by many as universally corrupt and
without any sort of merit. In effect they are just another form
of income redistribution because water should righfully, and
by statute, be paid for by the consumers rather than those
who happen to own property in a community that takes from
those, mostly out of state or out of town property owners, who
do not get to vote on such matters and usually present no
political threat to the city council members. The other subgroup
of the population are those who cannot pay their water bill for
whatever reason, and are not only charged for water, sewer,
and garbage despite the fact that they receive none of the services
so long as one bill is missed, but are heavily penalized as well,
usually with no hope of ever catching up without outside
intervention such as a charity.

The nicest thing to be said about such practices is that they are
heartless. And from that point of departure the discussion can
only get worse, so I stop here.

Bill Vajk

Another Business Bites the Dust

On November 27 I was advised that products were being boxed
up and hauled away from The Corner Drugstore and it looked
like the business was closing. So today I took a look and took a
photo of the place being dismantled and boxed up.

Is there really a large enough population in this end of Iron
County to support two pharmacies, one that has financial
strength by being part of a small chain, and the other that
was a free standing independently owned business?

In my opinion, the population isn't adequate for 2 pharmacies,
and marginally big enough for one. The question that remains
is how long will that one pharmacy hang on?

It hardly matters that the Chamber of Commerce encourages
the population to buy locally when even if that desire were met
with 100% compliance, the local population is no longer adequate
to support very many businesses.

Please note that the anchor businesses in Iron River are all parts
of small chains. Angeli's, Snyder's, Shopco Hometown, Krist Oil
and Holiday Gas can depend on business and profits generated
outside Iron County to keep the local aspects of their business
afloat for a while longer. But that's not a permanent situation by
any means.Unless a concerted effort is made to repopulate Iron
County, the business sectors will become ghost towns within a
couple of decades.

Bill Vajk

Iron County's Biggest Turkey of the Year

This year Iron County Doings awards the Biggest Turkey
of the Year award to Iron River's Mayor Terry Tarci.

It was bad enough when Mayor Tarci told me, in person
at the beginning of a City Commission meeting, that he
doesn't have to read the newspaper or anything else for
that matter, because his wife tells him if there's anything
important going on.

Nobody elected Mr. Tarci's wife to office, they elected him
and he's clearly not doing the job he was awarded. The way
things are working, she is making decisions for him that the
people expect and demand he make.

Well that wasn't quite enough, although telling Ben Smith in
that same July 31st meeting that he was "out of order" and
to "shut up and sit down" came very close to achieving the
recognition we award him today. The only thing that held us
back at that point was the simple fact we had other contenders
for this honor.

But the event that tilted the balance in Mayor Tarci's favor was
a combination of his evasions regarding future repairs of Blossom
Street combined with his unacceptable violation of the United
States Constitution (the right to petition government) and the
Michigan Open Meetings Act MCL 15.263(5).

We have a recording of the pertinent segment of the meeting
available for readers, and the world, of Mayor Tarci's disgusting,
in this writer's opinion, behavior during the September 18, 2013
meeting. The minutes of that meeting do not report what we have
recorded and put on the internet for you. The excerpt is about
12 minutes long and I ask that you listen to the whole thing.

Part of the way through Mayor Tarci states that the city council
will make the decisions on repairing Blossom Street or not. The
question was asked regardless of what we are asking for? Tarci
would only acknowledge that the statements would be taken into
consideration.

That's not acceptable. The purpose of a representative form of
government is to do what the constituents express they want,
and to find ways to achieve that no matter how difficult the
problem. Instead, Mayor Tarci places the decisions of the city
commission above the needs and demands of the electorate.

Please listen to the meeting excerpt at:

http://bill-vajk.angelfire.com/IR-is-this-the-way.mp3

So Mayor Tarci, it is my opinion that you have earned the
designation of Iron County's Biggest Turkey of the Year
and I present this award on the traditional Turkey Day,
Thanksgiving of 2013.

Bill Vajk

The Lawyers Again (still...)

I sent the following to the Iron County Reporter as a letter
to the editor. We'll have to wait another day to see whether
or not they'll print it.

=========================
Michigan’s Rules for Professional Conduct as they apply to
lawyers, part of rule 1.2(a) states, “A lawyer shall seek the
lawful objectives of a client through reasonably available
means permitted by law and these rules.” This statement
qualifies the opposite to be illegal. Why is it, then, that no
one has been complaining to the Attorney Disciplinary
Board when a lawyer, working for and paid by his client,
writes clearly illegal revisions like the two ordinance
amendments published recently for the City of Gaastra?
They have to do with noxious weeds and unsafe buildings.
See the October 30 edition of this newspaper. State law
specifically prohibits self-rule cities from creating
misdemeanors, and jail time, unless the state has already
permitted it. See MCL 117.3(k). As anyone who has lived
in Iron County for a while knows, the local municipalities all
copy from one another. What Gaastra has done will be
coming to your city soon unless they are stopped. After
WW2 Pastor Neimoeller presented his famous “First they
came…” statement on what happened during the war, with
the essence contained in the last line that went, “Then they
came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”
The law is created by us for all of us. There are no privileged
few who are above the law in the United States. It harms all
of us whenever someone is permitted to flout the law at our
expense. This can only continue so long as we, the public,
permit it to happen through our inaction. This problem isn't
limited to Gaastra by any means, but prevails throughout the
region.

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

MCL 113.3(k) follows. I have made the pertinent requirement

stand out in bold print.

*******************************************

(k) Adopting, continuing, amending, and repealing the city 

ordinances and for the publication of each ordinance before it 

becomes operative. Whether or not provided in its charter, 

instead of publishing a true copy of an ordinance before it 

 becomes operative, the city may publish a summary of the 

ordinance. If the city publishes a summary of the ordinance, 

the city shall include in the publication the designation of a 

location in the city where a true copy of the ordinance can be

 inspected or obtained. 

A charter provision to the contrary notwithstanding, a 

city may adopt an ordinance punishable by  imprisonment 

for not more than 93 days or a fine of not  more than 

$500.00, or both, if the violation substantially corresponds 

 to a violation of state law that is a misdemeanor for which 

the maximum period of imprisonment is 93 days. 

Whether or not provided in its charter, a city may adopt a 

provision of a state statute for which the maximum period of 

imprisonment is 93 days or the Michigan vehicle code, 

 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.1 to 257.923. Except as otherwise 

provided under the Stille-DeRossett-Hale single state 

construction code act, 1972 PA 230, MCL 125.1501 to 

125.1531, a city may adopt a law, code, or rule that has 

been promulgated and adopted by an authorized agency of 

this state pertaining to fire, fire hazards, fire prevention, or 

fire waste, and a fire prevention code, plumbing code, 

heating code, electrical code, building code, refrigeration 

machinery code, piping code, boiler code, boiler operation 

code, elevator machinery code, an international property 

maintenance code, or a code pertaining to flammable liquids 

and gases or hazardous chemicals, that has been 

promulgated or adopted by this state, by a department, 

board, or other agency of this state, or by an organization 

or association that is organized and conducted for the 

 purpose of developing the code, by reference to the law, 

code, or rule in an adopting ordinance and without 

publishing the law, code, or rule in full. The law, code, 

or rule shall be clearly identified in the ordinance and its 

purpose shall be published with the adopting ordinance. 

Printed copies of the law, code, or rule shall be kept in 

the office of the city clerk, available for inspection by, 

and distribution to, the public at all times. The 

publication shall contain a notice stating that a complete 

copy of the law, code, or rule is made available to the 

public at the office of the city clerk in compliance with 

state law requiring that records of public bodies be made 

available to the general public. Except as otherwise 

provided in this subdivision, a city shall not enforce a 

provision adopted by reference for which the maximum 

period of imprisonment is greater than 93 days. A city 

may adopt section 625(1)(c) of the Michigan vehicle 

code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.625, by reference in an 

adopting ordinance and shall provide that a violation of 

that ordinance is punishable by 1 or more of the following:

********************************************

There are no exceptions to the bold print section. Where noxious

weeds are concerned, MCL 247.64(3) tells us what is permitted 

in the first sentence:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(3) An owner who refuses to destroy noxious weeds as 

provided in this section is subject to a fine of not more 

than  $100.00. When collected, the fine shall become a part 

of the "noxious weed control fund" of the township, village, 

or city. By ordinance, the township, city, or village may 

designate the refusal to destroy noxious weeds as provided 

in this section as a municipal civil infraction, in which case the 

fine shall be a civil fine. If the city establishes an administrative 

hearings bureau pursuant to statute to adjudicate and impose 

sanctions for blight violations, the city by ordinance may 

 designate the refusal to destroy noxious weeds as provided 

in this section as a blight violation and any fine imposed shall 

be a civil fine.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It is clear that the City of Gaastra's lawyer is prohibited from

advising his client to enact the illegal ordinance revisions, and

further, enabled the city commission to violate state law as 

they could not have done without his assistance. 

Bill Vajk