Bl. Twp. Water/Sewer Lawsuit: Judge read into the RECORD !

Hi All,
This is my account of today's event:

YOUMANS JAMILA vs. BLOOMFIELD TWP
 2016-152613-CZ
    
July 12, 2018
 
Reading by Judge DANIEL P. O'BRIEN into the record:  was to begin at 1:30 pm  at the Oakland County Circuit Courthouse,  but apparently began earlier around 12:30 pm.   The reading continued until approximately  4: 17 pm.  with just one small break.

Gregory D. Hanley, Attorney for the Plaintiff was present in the courtroom along with  Jamila Youmans (also class action suit) in the audience.   Others in attendance:  Bill McMaster, (TaxpayersUnitedMI.org ), a vocal voice at township meetings about water and sewer issues and how the township was/was not dealing with issues;   David Thomas, former candidate in Nov. 2016 election for Supervisor (lost by less than 500 votes to current Supervisor Leo Savoie) and the lead person with a petition for a forensic audit of the water and sewer department that was quickly ignored by the township leadership; and me, Marcia Robovitsky,  self appointed watchdog of Bloomfield Township issues and the author of the many articles in this blog and archived blogs some concerning water and sewer issues.

A surprise visitor sitting quietly during the almost 4 hours of reading into the record turned out to be none other than the Judge's mother.  This was a very complicated and difficult case,  and she has every right to be proud of the detail and attention and legal standards that her son, Judge D.P. O'Brien gave to this case.

Also in the Courtroom were the attorneys for Bloomfield Township:
William P. Hampton,   retired from Secrest Wardle, now independent $100,000/year contracted attorney for the township;   and  Mark S. Roberts,  Secrest Wardle law firm.   For a few hours, current Treasurer Brian Kepes was in attendance, but left early.

So, you want me to get to the point?  WHAT HAPPENED? 
Well, I'll just tell you this:
Bill Hampton and Mark Roberts left the courtroom quickly.
From what I heard and understood,  (and I arrived late because of the earlier start than scheduled)  - Bloomfield Township took a BIG HIT..... the Plaintiff prevailed to some degree in many of the various issues the Judge ruled on.   Can you say millions?   The parties still need to return to the court.  I believe the judge is giving the township time to "reflect"  and to settle with the plaintiff attorney some more case-related sections as to appropriate damages.

The Township's lack of transparency and methodology among other damning comments were scattered throughout the 4 hour reading.  The Township and how they managed this department, how the budget was shown , rate formulas, fees, etc. and the way some employees perhaps kept information from being transparent were basically the reasons they lost  ( that's how I understood the 4 hours).  I will write more when the transcript is available and publicly correct in my next blog any mis-spoken/ printed information here today, if any.

Whatever the cost,  I am ordering a transcript of this decision.  All township residents should read this decision !

All Bloomfield Township residents should heed one of the many comments made by the judge:   my paraphrasing:   the courts can't decide everything....but the CITIZENS  should go the the BALLOT  BOX  when election time comes.  Each citizen should know about each candidate and how he/she will run the municipality and then vote your preference. 

FYI:
The 2016  Bloomfield Township election was decided at the PRIMARY in August 2, 2016.    There were no Democratic candidates in November.     There were CHOICES  for the first time for ALL seven of the Bloomfield Township positions.   Only 2 candidates that I supported won.  However,  the voting was VERY close (scroll down in link for local results).  Unfortunately,  those two  (Buckley and Walsh) are constantly outvoted on many issues by the other five.  Change needs to happen in Bloomfield Township.   Next chance:  August Primary in 2020.

Please,  pay attention to ALL elections.

Fair warning:   August 7, 2018....... there are some Bloomfield Township ballot issues on the PRIMARY BALLOT.   READ!     Public Transportation and Safety Path Millage 

Proposal Language for the August 7, 2018 Primary Election

  Proposal List

and of course,   CHOOSING  the candidates you want to represent YOU in Michigan in the NOVEMBER 2018  election.   Candidates that do NOT win in August will NOT have their name on the November ballot.   Choose wisely.   Here is a link for Bloomfield Township residents to see THEIR sample ballot for THEIR specific precinct.   Not all ballots are the same as Bloomfield Township has different boundary lines for some district representatives.
 https://www.bloomfieldtwp.org/Government/Services/Clerk/Elections/Voting.aspx

Bloomfield Township Offices:

4200 Telegraph Road
P.O. Box 489
Bloomfield Township, MI 48303-0489
Phone: 248-433-7700
Fax: 248-433-7714

Supervisor:  Leo Savoie    lsavoie@bloomfieldtwp.org



Attorneys for the Plaintiff:

Kickham Hanley PLLC
32121 Woodward Avenue
Suite 300
Royal Oak, Michigan 48073
Main:   (248) 544-1500

"Refunding Bonds" Removed from Wed. Agenda (10-26-16) and D. Thomas letter to Editor

Hi All,
Well,
The township CHANGED the online posted agenda for this WEDNESDAY,  Oct. 26, 2016  Board of Trustees meeting @ 7 PM.

They have REMOVED the REFUNDING of BONDS  from this agenda.  Hmmm.  Could it be because of my blog on this issue?

Or could it be because of a letter to the editor of the Birmingham Eccentric that was published in the print edition of the Sunday,  October 23, 2016 edition?   David Thomas,  (who lost to Leo Savoie in the August 2, 2016 Republican Primary for the Bl. Twp. position of Supervisor... by less than 500 votes)  was the author of that letter to the editor opinion piece.   (I could not find the letter online, so with permission from the author, the letter is copied at the end of this blog.)

Or was the issue of refunding the bonds removed because the township leadership and their NO BID contractors are getting nervous about how the township often conducts business?

Perhaps the feds are now looking at this municipality and contractors ?

At any rate,  the REFUNDING of the BONDS  is no longer an agenda item for Wed., Oct. 26.    To be rescheduled for a different meeting.

NEW AGENDA POSTED:
The "To Be Discussed at a Later Date"  notice is the only place on this website that notes the change... and even then,  does not even acknowledge the fact that the online agenda posting said something else previously.  Wonder what else gets changed electronically at Bloomfield Township without notice?


Reprinted with permission from David Thomas.

What Are Our Tax Dollars Paying for in Bloomfield Township?
Bloomfield Township has one of the highest property tax rates for a Michigan Township.  What are we getting for that? Special millages pay for Police and Fire; SAD’s pay for sewer and road improvements, and residents pay for trash pick-up. So what are we really getting for our tax dollars? 
This question is very relevant given the recent expose on the Rizzo trash hauling bribery case in Clinton Township.  No bid contracts were the basic issue of the investigation.
Presently Bloomfield Township has three executive positions that are costing the taxpayer approximately $430,000 plus cars, maintenance, gas, insurance, and perks bringing the cost of these positions to approximately $500,000 or more annually.  They were asked multiple times in Trustee meetings to put in place a procurement policy that requires competitive bidding for professional services and outside contractors.  Every time they refused to do it, often with smirks on their faces. What is more troubling, many of the beneficiaries of Township contracts were campaign donors to the Supervisor and others.
Last February the Trustees renewed the latest contract with Rizzo, without any competitive bidding.  After last Sunday’s revelations in the Detroit Free Press about the pay for play in Clinton Township the question has to be why? 
The bigger question is why should the public continue to pay these folks the big bucks when they are obviously not interested in doing their basic fiduciary duty.  I cannot think of a better reason to reduce their positions to part time with a stipend of $20,000 annually; no cars or benefits, and replace them with a city manager who will do the job properly.
In April 2015, the Trustee’s attempted to make the case for reducing the Treasurer’s job to part time.  The Supervisor tried to make the case by citing the fact that the Deputy Treasurer did most of the work and that the Treasurer did not have to put in a full 40 hours to do the job. Observing the vehicles in the Township parking lot each day; a case could be made that none of the leadership is there 40 hours a week.
Bloomfield Township will soon have an administration made up of three people who all have outside business interests, several with potential or direct conflicts of interest with running the Township.  We now have a unique time and legitimate reason to make these positions part time.
If the Trustees are not willing to do their most basic function; protecting the taxpayers hard earned money, then it is time to reduce their pay.  They have been acting cavalier with our tax dollars by placing a major multi-million-dollar contract that spans multiple years without getting at least 3 bids! 
Rizzo has provided very good service, but that alone does not exclude them from having to bid on any renewals. Having an effective purchasing policy and competitive bidding are cornerstones in helping to keep our taxes down.
Signed,
David C. Thomas
2945 W. Hickory Grove Rd.

Class Action lawsuit certified: $11M + Water and Sewer vs Bl. Twp., MI

Hi All,
BREAKING NEWS: ( I am not an attorney, so I hope I am representing this correctly)

According to court explorer website for circuit court: Judge Dan O'Brien granted class action certification on the water and sewer case today.

The water and sewer lawsuit filed by Kickham Hanley, PLLC law firm for one person has been accepted as a CLASS ACTION lawsuit against Bloomfield Township, MI. 

The monetary amount could be over $11 million.  Accepting the filing as a class action lawsuit, the court is basically saying that if the claims in the lawsuit could be/ or are proven true,  that there are numerous people that were/are impacted and therefore have standing in this lawsuit.

Kickham Hanley, PLLC law firm in Royal Oak (248-544-1500) had filed a lawsuit asking for it to be as a Class Action lawsuit in Oakland County Circuit Court (Case No. 2016-152613-CZ Judge Grant) against Bloomfield Township.  Below is just page 1 of 18 in that PDF :



That same law firm won a $2 million settlement from the City of Birmingham in a dispute over water and sewer billing practices.

FYI:

While waiting for the courts to take action, two citizens kept water and sewer issues in front of the Board of Trustees trying to bring about doing/voting for the right outcome and to try to get an audit of the water and sewer department.   Not all of the citizens' water and sewer issues may be included in the lawsuit, but the actions of this administration are still a major concern and a problem.

Bill McMaster, State Chairman (Volunteer) of TAXPAYERS UNITED MICHIGAN FOUNDATION was insisting at many township board meetings that the actions being taken by the township were in violation of the Headlee Act.  You can contact him at:
Email Bill@TaxpayersUnitedMI.org   
Web www.TaxpayersUnitedMI.org

One of McMaster's issues with the W & S  was the Upper Long Lake Estates $1.6 million Detroit Sewer project that was constructed without establishing an S.A.D.  for the less than 50 properties benefiting and without a majority voted approval of the 102 families of that subdivision.  The project was paid with money from the W&S funds.   This was done via no bid contract.  Included in the deal was a repaved road.

Other water and sewer issues that may or may not be in the lawsuit, but of concern to citizens:

•  The RTS fees  (Ready to Serve) 
• The transfer of @$ 2.7 million into a Retired Employee Health Trust 
• Perhaps how many and which employees are actually assigned to this department as it is an "Enterprise fund" and those employees get wages/benefits/pensions  paid from your water bills not your property taxes 
• Another issue could be the exemption of some businesses (restaurants) to not pay a special cost / grease/ etc.
• Perhaps an issue is the charges of depreciation for both water and sewer
• others?  most likely

David Thomas was instrumental in presenting a 200 person signed petition to the Board of Trustees prior to the election asking for a audit of the water and sewer department.  Thomas was an August 2, 2016 Primary Election Candidate for Supervisor of Bloomfield Township.  Thomas lost to current  Supervisor Savoie in that election by less than 500 votes with more than 8000 votes cast.
Supervisor Savoie and township attorney Bill Hampton and others continued to insist prior to the election that the Water and Sewer department was fine and that this lawsuit would go nowhere.   They even used time at Board of Trustees meetings  (listed as an agenda item) to present their opinions and to try to discredit the claims of Thomas and others  about this filed lawsuit.  Thomas and others were trying to inform the public about the W & S issues through their campaign literature. Many in the township wanted the W&S  audit... and perhaps now the fact finding and discovery that will come with the pending lawsuit may give the citizens some answers.

I recommend a review of the budget for the township... all debt listed on page 8 and budget for water and sewer on pages 97-99.

See my archived blogs found in the right side column... listed by year and month.... for more on water and sewer and other issues.  

Marcia