After filing a complaint with the MPSC (Michigan Public Service Commision) and speaking with folks at the Michigan Attorney General’s office, it became evident that AT&T was acting in accordance with the law.

In 2007, Public Act PA 480 of 2006 (also known as The Uniform Video Services Local Franchise Act) was signed into law.  The act (among other things) requires video service providers to collect PEG fees on behalf of municipalities and turn 100% of those fees over to them.  In many cities, this has added up to tens of thousands of dollars.

So, what we got was a great law… with some unintended negative consequences.   It seems that our legislators forgot one important point.  While the act requires video providers to transmit PEG signals to it’s customers, it does not require municipalities to pass the PEG signal to the video providers… OOPS!

It’s been 2+ years since the act passed, and AT&T Uverse customer continue to get taxed for services not rendered.

It’s worth noting that the oft-maligned city of Detroit has found a way to get this done for their residents.

Next step… work to get the law amended.

The main reasons for making the switch (aside from the cost savings) was that Uverse would offer Novi PEG (Public Education and Government) channels.  Unfortunately, it’s been about 6 months, and still no PEG.   This, even though I’ve been paying fees for these channels since day 1.

From the best I’ve been able to determine, the delay is due to some contractual disagreement between the City and AT&T.

While they continue to debate, I decided to file a complaint with the MPSC (Michigan Public Services Commission) against AT&T.   It is my hope to get reimbursed for all PEG fees paid for the time that the service had been unavailable.  I’m also hoping that the City and AT&T can finally come to terms so that we can get what we rightfully deserve.

There are currently several parks, entertainment, activity centers, throughout Novi, including the new park being built at the Faust farm. Are they being used 100% of the time? Probably not. Until they are, we are just looking at another facility used less than we would like, and the other facilities are now used even less.  But hey….we still pay to keep these facilities looking good and running good.

What about other options for financing the park? There are several companies in Novi that claim to be a part of the community. Lets make them feel like part of the community. Has City Council approached them? They will probably say NO……Every company is cutting back. Cutting wages and hours. This is bad timing. Please wait for the economy to improve.

If you can’t tell, I’m not supporting this proposal. If we are going to be a part of change, we need to lower our taxes, not raise them. You want to jump start the economy? Offer incentives by lowering taxes. Novi can be a leader in this state.  The only way to do that…..Just say NO on May 5th.

This is such a boost to the city (if not simply for bragging rights). So I ask, why is it that our city officials feel they need to keep this news from us and the local media? Why can’t we share in the excitement? The City of Howell recently publicized a movie deal they landed, and it was WITH THE SAME EXACT PRODUCTION COMPANY!

This is just absolutely silly!

“the film company requested a quiet presence and ability to do their work. We did and will respect request of any high-profile customer. That respect was emphasized by advisors who are the experts and have the connections for future such work; and the resulting positive impact for restaurants, hotels, etc in the area. We have recd positive feedback and look forward to future opportunities.”

Touch?… I stand humbled!

The City of Novi uses a system of full-time firefighters from 6am to 6pm and trained paid on-call residents who work the 6pm to 6am shift. The relationship between these 2 groups have historically been less than stellar.

I’ll let the courts iron out the labor practice issue. My concern is with the taxpayer dollars. Why are we using our full-time firefighters and paying them (as I understand) overtime pay (during the POC shift) when we can use capable POC firefighters to do the same work at normal pay?

Novi Fire Chief Frank Smith explains, “In the interest of good labor relations the parties have agreed to not discuss the details of the resolution. We look forward to a continued positive working relationship with the union.”

I have full confidence that whatever was agreed upon will lead to a better working relationship between the full-timers and the POC. Unfortunately, this does not seem resolve the question posed on this post. When I get a chance, I’ll knock on the Chief’s door.

My first blog entry EVER here questioned why Novi had only one cable provider. I argued that even though no one was actively keeping providers from coming in to our city, the rules made it financially unfeasible for new franchises to compete with incumbent ones. AT&T should be commended for doing what it took to bring choice to consumers.

Recently, Novi city officials proposed to council that communication lines be purchased and installed so that AT&T’s U-Verse customers could watch PEG (Public Education and Government) programming. This was a great turn of events, as I’ve always felt that the city treated AT&T unfairly. The money for these lines would come from PEG fees (not taxes) that subscribers of the U-Verse service have been paying for some time now. They’ve been paying, even though they have not been receiving any PEG programming. Brighthouse Cable subscribers have had PEG programming available to them since cable first came to Novi.

Recently, my good friend Scott Olson of Novi.org published an editorial which took the city to task for the communication line expenditures. Mr. Olson has been a watchdog for wasteful city spending for quite some time, so I have much respect for him. Still, I could not disagree more with him on this particular issue.

After reading his editorial, I was left a bit confused and question where he got his information from. This issue seems to have been unnecessarily complicated. It seems to be driven by the same outside influences who wish to protect what’s left of the cable monopoly that existed here for some time.

I want to take this opportunity to respond to 5 issues that Mr. Olson brought up in his column:

1) The author questions whether we shopped around the lines. Maybe, maybe not, but why would we want to purchase this from outside of AT&T? Although someone out there might offer the lines a bit cheaper, why would we want to get tangled into that web? Under that scenario, when there are PEG service transmission problems, you’d have 2 entities pointing fingers at each other, AT&T and the line provider. With AT&T as the line provider, there is only 1 person to call if there are problems. Having employees involved in debugging a transmission issue in order to determine which vendor to call is cost ineffective. I’m comfortable with this decision. I should also add that AT&T conceded almost $10k worth of equipment to the city for this venture.

2) With regard to using one of the 2 lines as an emergency internet backup for the city, I see no problem with that either. This is just an “additional benefit” of purchasing the lines as mentioned by head of Novi Technology department, Rob Petty. The line in question is earmarked for live programming from the council chambers to AT&T U-Verse customers, although it could have additional uses. In the rare case that a switchover was ever needed, it’s as simple as swapping 2 cables and would only be done during normal business hours. Live meetings from council chambers take place AFTER hours.

By the way, since the city uses Brighthouse as their Internet Service Provider, do we really expect this to be an issue anyway?

3) Mr. Olson questioned the need for 2 lines, yet he seemed to ignore the fact that there are 2 communication lines currently used to support the Brighthouse PEG infrastructure. To imply that the city (who again has been unfairly tough on AT&T since they came to Novi) is giving them an unfair advantage is just wrong. Will this give AT&T an the ability to offer more programming than Brighthouse (as he mentioned)? No. At least not as a direct result of these line purchases, but simply be as a result of better technology.

4) He questioned who is responsible to pay for the lines. As I mentioned earlier, AT&T U-Verve Customers have been paying paid PEG fees (without service), so obviously they deserve some of those dollars to go to infrastructure. It’s certainly possible that PEG dollars that were collected many moons ago were used to purchase the 2 lines that currently support the Brighthouse PEG infrastructure. Also, I’m certain that future AT&T customer’s PEG dollars will go to SWOCC for programing purposes, but I’ll leave that for the SWOCC board to negotiate with the city.

5) I agree with the editor that contrary to what was communicated to city council, there is indeed some programming by SWOCC that is available online. This is a good thing, especially for someone like me who spends MANY hours in front of a computer. Still, at the end of the day, I want to sit in my recliner, turn on my TV, and watch in comfort, just like Brighthouse customers do.

Although I am not yet an AT&T U-Verse customer, I fully expect to be shortly. I have had the opportunity to see and play with the AT&T service and I find it superior to anything available to Novi residents today.

I respect the editor of Novi.org and his concerns on this issue. Unfortunately, he’s been misinformed.

A few weeks ago on a visit to Boston, we visited several historic sights for the first time. Among them were Paul Revere’s home and the Old North Church that we all learned of as children in the famous Longfellow poem.

(By the way, the “two if by sea” and the “British are coming” were poetic license, not Revere’s real words. Longfellow was related to Revere’s ancestors by marriage, but those are for another time.)

What was amazing is that these historic sites were not saved by tax dollars. Relatives, persons and groups raised thousands of dollars to purchase and restore these sites to 18th century authenticity.

Today, you pay entry fees to the Revere home, buy souvenirs at a North Church store, and make voluntary donations. This money is largely responsible for the on going maintenance of these sites.

During the April City Councils Fuerst Farm discussion, I heard Mayor Landry request that a plan to save the existing buildings must include a funding and ongoing maintenance plan. Over the past few months several have stated their desire to maintain the status quo of the Fuerst Farm. Some have publically asked who was responsible for maintaining this site in the past. A web site published a report that implicates that the city failed to “fulfill its responsibility”. To date, no financial plan for repair and on going maintenance has been presented.

Long term there needs to be a maintenance revenue plan. It’s highly unlikely that the Farm will draw a comparable level of admission fees, souvenir purchases, and donations as the Revere properties. The levels of maintenance requirements, however, are probably much closer. Are future tax payers of Novi going to be left writing this check?

If a private funding plan is required for preserving the history of one of our First Patriots, why is it so unreasonable to expect the same for the Fuerst Farm?

Link to Oakland Press Article.

A recent article in the Oakland Press touches on the lack of transit opportunities in many suburban communities. The articles state that the major cities all participate in SMART, including Pontiac, Southfield, Troy and Royal Oak. Ferndale, Birmingham and Auburn Hills also participate. Novi does not particpate in SMART, and with 53,000 residents and a tax base exceeding $3 Billion dollars, is still not considered a major City in the County (we get little respect in the newspapers…see comments by Economic Development Czar Doug Smith below).

Coincidentally, we also received an email that spotted this comment online along with many others discussing mass transit in the region….It attempts to make a case for why bus service to Novi and the distant suburbs would benefit Economic Development and the regions residents in general.

“I used to work in a chain restaurant in Novi by the Farmington Hills border. One of the waiters there was from Detroit, and he told me one day that it was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to get from the D to Novi (He’d take SMART to Farmington Hills and walk the last 5 minutes). I asked him why in God’s name does he come out this far for a job, and he said that you have to come out this far for the best combination of consistent hours and good wages (tips).

This restaurant functioned fine, but we were ALWAYS hiring. You couldn’t get anybody to apply but high schoolers and college-age kids who’d show up hungover to every lunch shift. Where were all the unemployed folk?

Maybe you can get a minimum wage job closer to the D, but these are better jobs. I’d average 13-14 dollars an hour as a waiter. 12 Oaks Mall pays well above minimum wage. Heck, even the burger king by my house was hiring people in at 10/hour with a friggin’ signing bonus. This is just Novi, too.

Say what you want about whether mass transit is feasible or beneficial to the region OVERALL, but I have no doubt it would help out unskilled labor in Detroit get to these unfilled jobs in the outer burbs.”

The question is, how much longer can we continue to ignore the need for mass transit throughout the region, including Novi. With gas over $3.00 a gallon and climbing, how can we reasonably expect to fill all the service industry jobs available without some form of mass transit. A Free Press article originally published in 1998 could easily have been written today.

GETTING WORKERS TO NOVI JOBS 2 DETROITERS START SHUTTLE SERVICE TO MAKE UP FOR CUTS IN PUBLIC TRANSIT
Detroit Free Press March 10, 1998
JEFF GERRITT Free Press Staff Writer

Frustrated by patchwork regional public transportation, two Detroiters have started a nonprofit foundation to take city workers to suburban jobs.

Attorney Tony Jenkins and job counselor Gary Shelton hope to have at least one leased van running from downtown Detroit to Novi this week to replace an express bus to Twelve Oaks mall that was cut in January.

The Detroit Department of Transportation express shuttle served about 15 workers. The department’s decision to end roughly 20 suburban routes affected about 1,500 Detroiters who traveled to suburban jobs.

Sears at Twelve Oaks is holding open the jobs of the seven Detroit employees left without a ride.

“We want to get these people back to work as soon as possible,” Shelton said. He and Jenkins started looking at Detroiters’ transportation needs after the DDOT cutback.

Meanwhile, some people are questioning the City of Novi ’s decision to snub the suburban bus system by refusing to participate in the transportation millage. SMART won’t run buses into Novi without the money.

“They’re a major employment center and, from an economic development perspective, it absolutely makes sense,” said Jeff Kaczmarek, Oakland County’s director of community and economic development.

Sears District Manager Allen Greenfield called Novi ’s decision shortsighted. Without public transit, he said, stores will feel the pinch.

“We’re continually understaffed and so is the mall,” Greenfield said.

Novi is one of 37 Oakland County communities not served by SMART. The next millage election will take place Aug. 4. To get SMART service, a city council or township board would have to request it by June.

That’s unlikely in Novi , where City Manager Ed Kriewall, Mayor Kathleen McLallen and Councilman Hugh Crawford say they’ve heard little from citizens about bus service. The millage would cost Novi about $700,000 a year.

McLallen said some Novi manufacturers have set up transportation for employees.

Shelton and Jenkins started the People Who Care Foundation to raise money for transportation for Detroiters who need rides to jobs.

Jenkins, a Detroit Urban League board member, said he donated $1,000 to get the foundation started. He and Shelton plan to have one van running from downtown Detroit to Twelve Oaks by Friday. The van would leave Detroit about 8 a.m. and return about 3 p.m.

One 15-passenger van will cost the foundation about $850 a month to lease. Riders will be charged $25 a month. The foundation would pick up the remaining costs.

Janet Jackson, who lost the Sears job she held for 14 months, said she’s ready to go back to work. The east side Detroiter said not having a car has hurt her efforts to find work.

In these difficult economic times, SMART needs to work with local communities on alternatives to a millage to better serve this region. We challenge Hayes Jones and the SMART board to find ways to make it easier to offer services to those who need it the most.

Dave Landry – Mayor (Incumbent) – Will run unopposed.

Bob Gatt – City Council (Incumbent)

Kathy Crawford – City Council

Carol Jean Crawford – City Council

Dave Staudt – City Council

Incumbent candidates Lynne Paul and Toni Nagy have decided not to run for re-election.

Stay tuned for more on this later…