The Snyder Effect | Oxford Leader

New Governor Rick Snyder is shaking things up in Lansing, staying true to his word on running Michigan like a business.
Local government officials recently offered their thought on some of these changes, including the Competitive Bidding Bill and the Emergency Financial Status legislation. Opinions, while mostly positive, remain mixed.
Lake Orion Village Manager Paul Zelenak said he believes the governor has ‘taken the bull by the horns? in terms of righting the wrongs in Lansing, but also has his concerns.
‘I’m really concerned on how some of these changes are going to be implemented, but he’s made strong decisions and he’s been very forward so far,? said Zelenak. ‘I don’t agree with him completely, but that’s the way everyone is going to be.
‘We’re willing to work with other jurisdictions as much as we can to cut costs and continue services.?
In relation to the Emergency Financial Status legislation, Zelenak questioned wether it was prudent to impose Lansing’s problems on local municipalities. The proposed plan allows the Snyder to replace local government officials with an appointed official if it is deemed that local community is financially unstable. While Zelenak admits he sees merit in the idea, he still had some concerns.
‘If a community has shown they cannot be fiscally responsible, then they need someone better to run it, but if this kind of thing continues to occur, a better question is why the community is not putting someone better into office,? said Zelenak. ‘I’ve always been amazed at how Lansing will tell local municipalities what to do when they cannot fix their own budget.
‘We have employees here that haven’t had raises in three years, whereas I hear people in Lansing still get their raises and still get their healthcare even after they retire – and they want us to make cuts? Maybe they need to concentrate on their own house.?
Concerning the topic of competitively bidding services at government offices, Zelenak agreed for the most part. He spoke to some measure about how while the lowest bidder may undercut the competition, the wording details that the ‘lowest responsible? bidder will win out.
‘If a bidder is not that good at what they do, you don’t want them coming in and doing the work – you want someone with experience,? said Zelenak. ‘Lowest bid is definitely good, but we usually get more than one bid, and if someone is 50 percent less than everyone else, you have to ask ‘why do they cost so much less??.
‘In another community I worked at, we discovered one group that had bid didn’t even have the equipment they needed to do the job – they were planning on buying it if they got the bid. People will say they can do the job, but it’s up to us to determine if they can.?
Orion Township Supervisor Matthew Gibb was unavailable at the time of this article’s publication.

The Snyder Effect added by Gabriel L. Ouzounian on March 23, 2011
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Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, is running Lansing differently since he took office from his predecessor, Jennifer Granholm. And, while officials in Orion Township are overall pleased with his progress, reservations remain.
Orion Township Supervisor Matthew Gibb said he supports what Snyder is doing in Michigan’s capital; he believes the governor has yet to understand what it is to be a member of the public sector.
‘He’s a brilliant man who has never worked in the public sector, and while I like where he’s coming from, there’s an inherent process to having success in a public environment,? said Gibb. ‘He’s trying to achieve 10 years work in one year’s time, and I’m not saying he should slow down, but he needs to stop and listen to those around him sometimes.
‘I’ve been told once he gets an idea in his head, he’ll stick to it no matter what.?
Despite he concerns, Gibb said his ideas will do good things for Michigan. In particular, the competitive bidding legislation that is now in its final form, according to State Representative Brad Jacobsen (R-Oxford), pleases Gibb, who added this was something Lake Orion was already doing.
‘The new senior center, fire station, amphitheater and water tower should be costing the taxpayer upwards of about $16 million,? said Gibb. ‘But we’re doing all those projects for around $11.4 million because we’re approaching the construction very competitively.
‘When you put everyone in competition, you drive the price down. People assume government work will always be union work and this legislation breaks that outlook and says ‘that’s not a good business standpoint anymore.??
One the subject of the Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) legislation, Gibb remained cautiously optimistic. While he said Lake Orion will likely avoid such a situation, which would involve an EFM advising and directing township actions to aid the municipality’s financial downfalls, Gibb said the EFM job should be picked with care.
‘I’m a little nervous about (the legislation), but it’s not as bad as people think, though it will require the right kind of legislators,? said Gibb. ‘The recent uproar is caused by the idea that if you’re in a union, and you’re in a competitive bargaining agreement, an EFM can get rid of that contract.
‘But the part that worries me is if you don’t have the right kind of person, and you have someone that just yanks the rug out from everyone and everything in the municipality, you may have a situation where the changes do more damage than good.?
Yet Gibb added that the legislation is needed, particularly in environments that do not have the ability to invalidate contracts held by potentially expensive service providers. He said if legislators do not have this power, than they ‘will only be scratching the surface of the problem.
Overall, Gibb said he was ?100 percent? behind the recent legislation from Snyder, and added that most of the proposed laws were being misinterpreted.
‘It’s not union busting – it’s putting a little reality into the government,? said Gibb. ‘We cannot artificially inflate the cost of things to sustain what we’re used to.
‘Michigan is economically dead last in the union – how long do we wait to right this??

The Snyder Effect added by Gabriel L. Ouzounian on March 30, 2011
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