At the end of every year, I like to take some time to reflect on what has happened over the previous year. It can be helpful to review some of the challenges and successes and as this is ending the second year of my term, I like to look ahead to see what may be coming up in the next year.
This year I had to put a lot of work into researching, preparing, and reading in order to be ready for each Council meeting. In addition to those meetings we also had Economic Development Authority meetings to hold, and the work that went into researching the history of the EDA and the laws and responsibilities of being a treasurer for the EDA took a lot of focus and effort. I also made sure to keep my record of attending every meeting, and special meeting. In addition, I continued to attend every Planning Commission, Public Safety Commission, and Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. I also took the time to attend Council Meetings in other cities when the agenda pertained to Otsego. So far, these efforts have accounted for over 1,080 of work on behalf of the citizens of Otsego, this year.
Challenges
There were many challenges this year for Otsego, and for those on the Council. Some of the decisions related to these challenges will have significant impacts for decades to come.
The first challenge was the removal of City Council meetings from the City YouTube page. This was a surprise to some of us on the Council as it was not a Council action that specifically authorized these videos being removed. One day, out of the blue, 3 years of meetings were erased. What I learned was that it was not an accident, but rather a conscious decision to get rid of all of them. The reason provided was that this was in line with our data retention policy and that we had simply fallen behind. Like most residents, I was skeptical that this was being done during an election year, and I cited dozens of cities that kept years - if not decades - of videos up on YouTube; a free service that costs us nothing to maintain. Some cities even pay for additional storage on their own vendor platforms to have many years of videos up. When I moved to stop this practice, my colleagues did not support the motion and the practice, in theory, still occurs today. Since the initial removal, no additional videos have been taken down.
I had some old videos saved, and decided to create an archive of the videos as they are uploaded. I believe that transparency in what we do means that we should keep these videos up for as long as possible, regardless of what the retention policy suggests.
(Archive of Otsego City Council Meetings)
Another challenge throughout the year was the sudden resurrection of the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to finance the construction of the fire station. A majority of the Council decided to forego the use of a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Bond in favor of the more expensive, riskier, and less common EDA Lease Revenue Bond. This decision defies all decency in elected representation and will forever be a stain on the legacy of the fire department because the only reason to go with an EDA Lease Revenue Bond is to prevent the citizens from petitioning against the project. Although I was very vocal in my opposition to using the EDA this way, I was ultimately unsuccessful in convincing my colleagues to stop, and the bond and construction of the station were both approved by the majority. When I asked whose interests we are supporting and who's rights we are protecting by preventing the citizens from petitioning against the project or voting on the tax increase, I was met with silence. Throughout the entire creation of our own municipal fire department citizens have had questions, concerns, and have expressed their opposition to the project - they have been met with the same silence that I have. How much will it ultimately cost to own and operate our own municipal fire department? Silence. Unfortunately, the next year will see some of those increases start to occur - although the 2025 budget hid the true costs so far.
Successes
I ultimately did not approve the budget and property tax levy for 2025, although I do consider it to be an improvement in some areas, relative to previous years. While property taxes were actually reduced for the first time in Otsego City history last year, this year saw a 4.5% increase. This is down from the preliminary levy, but still too high when compared to our estimated growth rate. Also on the plus side, there were no projects this year that were significantly over budget. Last year, several projects exceeded 5% over budget, with some projects exceeding budget by hundreds of thousands of dollars. The one year of lower taxes may have just been a temporary reprieve from years of massive increases - but I will continue to work hard to see that the budget and property taxes go down and that our financial future is more secure for residents.
Along those lines, one of the less touted - but just as important - successes for this year (and hopefully for years to come) is the near-elimination of the property tax surplus that we had seen for over a decade. Millions of dollars have annually been included in the property tax levy as a surplus, which then went into a slush fund at the end of the year. This surplus happened for two reasons: 1) the estimation of other revenue was low, which drove the collection of city property taxes up, 2) in prior years a "tax rate adjustment" was made to take more taxes than were needed in order to keep the "tax rate" the same. I have been opposed to both practices and they have been reduced or eliminated over the past 2 years. I will continue to fight for more stable budgeting practices and returning those surplus funds back to the taxpayers.
Finally, the start of the water treatment process will see an improvement in water quality throughout the city. It likely won't be noticeable for a couple years, but the change to make our wellhouses into mini-treatment plants was a big step towards having cleaner and higher quality water, while keeping the overall implementation costs low. Currently, Otsego water has high amounts of manganese, which causes a dark staining of the water in some areas. There can also be some amount of iron which causes a red rusty color. Water treatment will significantly reduce these annoyances, in addition to dealing with the combined radium and gross alpha that are present. We currently treat some of these issues by adjusting the usage of the impacted wells and regularly testing the water. However, treatment plants will make the whole system have improved water quality. Next year, the planning for additional treatment plants, the expansion of wellhouses, and even new wellhouses will continue.
Looking Ahead
The projects related to the improvement of water quality in Otsego will take some years to complete, and there are other projects this year that will be wrapping up.
The expansion of the West Wastewater Treatment Facility is scheduled to finish up next year. The project started prior to my term on the Council, and it will be exciting to see its completion. At the last Council meeting I was able to recognize the efforts of the Utility, Streets, and Parks departments working in unison to save the taxpayers and residents a significant amount of money on this project. It is a multi-year multi-million dollar project and there are bound to be issues that come up that have to be addressed. In this case, the project is close to going over its contingency budget and the engineering firm we are working with (AE2S) is doing everything they can to get the project done on time and within budget.
Road projects for next year will be light, compared to prior years. We have no road reconstruction happening - only fog seal and resurfacing, which are quicker projects to complete. As a result, the roadways shouldn't need any long-term detours this year. That is, city streets at least. There are county road projects on Parrish and County Road 38 that are scheduled to start next year that may cause some delays.
In addition to some new trails near Prairie View Elementary, the Parks Department will also be starting a reconstruction of Lily Pond Park in the northwest portion of the city, while the new Friedrich Park will be officially opened in the beginning of the year.
Next year will bring more learning opportunities working with two new Council Members and large scale projects breaking ground.
Advisory Commission Openings
As a reminder, applications for seats on any of the four Advisory Commissions in Otsego will be open until until January 21st. The Planning Commission, Public Safety Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Heritage Preservation Commission are great ways for citizens of Otsego to get involved in their local government and contribute to the future of our city. Applications for one or more of these advisory commissions will need to be submitted prior to the deadline, and applicants will go through a brief interview with the Council before appointments take place in February.