Cutting through the political spin on Issue 3

Mr. Todd Danielson again used his blog today to address Issue 3.  This is an important issue that all Avon Lake residents should study before voting.

Mr. Danielson is the Chief Utilities Executive.  His job is to run the day to day operations of Avon Lake Municipal Utilities.  For somebody who claims that the current setup of the Board of Municipal Utilities is not political, he spends a lot of time campaigning.  And the idea that the Board of Municipal Utilities, that is elected, is not already political exhibits an ignorance of what the word political means.

As a member of the Avon Lake Charter Review Commission, I find it insulting that Mr. Danielson, Mr. Marquard, Mr. Zuber and their political cronies continue to preach the lie that Issue 3 is a political power grab by city council and the mayor.  Nine independent residents, including myself, were appointed to this commission.  Every member of the commission will tell you that no member of City Council or the City Administration tried to influence them before they were seated on the Commission.  No member of city government even suggested what topics we discuss in our meetings.  The nine of us met thirteen times and spent many hours outside of meetings researching the issues that led us to propose Issue 3.  ALMU and their Board members spent much more time lobbying our group than the rest of city government combined.

Issue 3 adds the Mayor and one member of City Council as non-voting members to the existing five member elected Board of Municipal Utilities.  In our Charter Review Commission meetings, we heard repeatedly of issues between ALMU and the rest of city government.    ALMU relies on city government for services such as human resources, legal, engineering, and finance.  They rely on the city’s credit when obtaining some of their financing.  And yet they claim to be an independent, non-political entity?

One specific disturbing example of the petty power plays exhibited by ALMU is not allowing the city to use a specialized truck that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.  So the residents of Avon Lake, the constituents of both ALMU and the rest of city government, have to pick up the tab for another truck.  This type of inefficiency is not fair to the taxpayers that elect these officials.  This type of dysfunction is why I strongly supported Issue 3 as a member of Charter Review Commission and why I decided to become a candidate for the Board.  This kind of waste will be eliminated with better communication and collaboration.

While Mr. Danielson wonders why members of City Council are trying to provide information to their constituents, I wonder what ALMU is trying to hide.  They have fought against having their meetings be more accessible to the public and are now fighting against having more voices at the table when important decisions are being made.

For Mr. Danielson to claim that ALMU could lose customers if Issue 3 passes is so illogical it only reinforces the fear that there is something to hide.  ALMU consistently touts that our water quality is among the best in the state and that our rates are among the lowest in the state.  The competing water providers that our customers could choose from are run by political appointees.  So a customer is going to switch to a provider with worse quality, worse pricing, and a more politically run department because our Board has NON-VOTING members of city government?  This makes no sense.

Despite the rosy proclamations of quality, price, and efficiency that we have heard from the Board, ALMU has significant challenges ahead.  The $85 million capital improvement plan will be largely debt financed.  The related debt payments will likely lead to rate increases.  ALMU does not have sufficient disaster recovery plans or redundancy in their system.  They are not properly staffed.  They are not as well capitalized as they should be.  LORCO continues to be a financial drain to residents of Avon Lake.  Mr. Danielson’s time as Chief Utilities Executive should be spent addressing these types of issues, not campaigning.

I have confidence that the more Avon Lake residents understand Issue 3, the more likely they are to support it.  I appreciate that member of City Council are taking the time to educate their constituents on this important issue.  Taking the time to educate, rather than running a bunch of typical, politically misleading TV ads shows these Council Members’ dedication to their jobs.  If I am fortunate enough to be elected to the Board, I will work to change the culture at ALMU and show the same dedication to the residents of Avon Lake.  I urge you to vote Yes on Issue 3.

C.J. Tyree

Candidate, Board of Municipal Utilities