At its July 28 regular meeting, the Hart City Council heard a petition to repeal fees quoted for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from former executive director of the Starting Block, Trey Choice. The FOIA requests are for three months of emails including a total of 94 separate search terms. The resultant fees are calculated at $10,371.45.
At public comment, Choice announced his termination from his position, which he began this past spring, at the nonprofit kitchen incubator Starting Block, stating that he was present at the meeting "solely as a citizen.”
During the meeting, the city council entered closed session to discuss with legal counsel Choice’s FOIA fee appeal, but not before Council member Andrew Mullen gave a statement addressing Choice in response to his conflict with the city. Mullen spoke of the city’s initial positive outlook in working with the Starting Block and his personal shock that business owners utilizing the organization were under the impression that the facility was to be sold off or closed permanently.
Said Mullen, “Never once has this been insinuated to my knowledge… [council] has already been working on doing what we could to help save the space so that it could be improved upon and continue to offer existing and new services to those who want them.”
Also mentioned in Mullen’s statement was the now-expired lease agreement in which the City of Hart would own the Starting Block’s building, lease it to the organization, and, following 15 years of the organization’s good standing and continued property maintenance, transfer the building to the organization for $1,000. At previous meetings, Choice has wanted the city to honor its side of the lease agreement, while the council has maintained that the Starting Block had not been paying for utilities, maintenance and groundskeeping, as stipulated in the lease.
Of the FOIA fee appeal, Mullen responded that the fees were such due to the wide scope of the requested documents, the amount of time dedicated to fulfilling the request and the need to outsource the work to the city’s attorney as a third party. Said Mullen, “If you want your FOIA request to be reasonably priced, then you can narrow your scope to include only the information you actually want or need.”
Following the council’s closed session, the meeting reconvened with a unanimous vote of all seven council members to uphold the FOIA fee of $10,371.45. They said they found the fee reasonable, calculated in the manner provided under FOIA law and the city’s own policy and based on a reasonable estimate of the amount of time necessary for the city attorney to review the requested information.
Also discussed at the meeting was the November ballot proposal for a public safety millage for the city, with council needing to set the millage’s length of time and rate. This millage was proposed in response to the city’s general fund deficit of $285,000 and hopes to supplement that fund. As explained by Hart City Manager Nichole Kleiner, “Realizing the fact that public safety accounts for 43% of that expense line in our general fund, it makes sense to council to propose a millage to the voters in the November election.”
At previous meetings, Kleiner has provided a table showing the possible annual expense the millage would ask of property owners based on their home’s taxable income and explained that 4.5 mills would be necessary to cover the deficit, but any amount at all would offset the stress on the general fund. For the average City of Hart homeowner, 4.5 mills would result in a property tax increase of $450 per year. Prior to this meeting, the council had asked for projections for lower millage rates, which Kleiner provided.
Kleiner also reminded council members that the last time the city asked voters for any increase to the general fund was 2002 with a .45 mill increase. Kleiner pointed out that, back in 2002, the city’s millage rate was 12.68, and with the past 24 years of Headlee Act rollbacks, it is now at 11.47.
Of the rollbacks and their effect on the city, Kleiner said, “The Headlee Rollback has just decreased…year after year what we are able to capture in tax revenues, and then also rising expenses have led us to a point where we really have to let the voters know about this $285,000 deficit and find a way to get us back on track.”
Andrew Mullen initially proposed a rate of 2 mills for five years, which would cost the average homeowner $200 per year. Said Mullen of his proposal, “I realize it doesn’t solve the problem, but it’s a step in the right direction,” and he hoped the council could reevaluate this rate after one year.
Said council member Jim Cunningham, “This is the 50th council meeting I’ve attended, and this is the hardest decision… On one side is the welfare of the city, and the other side is the welfare of the citizens of the city. Where can we do the most good with the least amount of harm? That’s the decision we have to make.”
Mayor Amanda Klotz stated that the only reason she feels comfortable discussing this millage proposal “is that we are going to bring it to the citizens to vote…because we’re bringing it to the ballot doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to pass, and, in which case, then we will need to figure out a few things as well to move forward. At least we give everybody an opportunity to have a say in what we’re discussing here and where we’re falling short.”
Kleiner reminded the council that “it has been 24 years since council has asked the public for an increase. That’s unsustainable. That is what lead to the position that we’re in.”
She also acknowledged that the council is legally able to enforce this millage without the public votes and said, “I think it's worth mentioning that you want the public’s input. You want them to know the state of the city.”
Kleiner also discussed the methods of further educating the public on the city’s shortcomings through millages, town halls and public hearings.
The council also unanimously voted to authorize a contract with MDOT for the construction of the Safe Routes to School project. The project will go out to bid in the fall, with a hopeful groundbreaking in spring 2027. The project was originally set to begin this spring, but was put on hold while the route was adjusted, reducing the trail’s width to avoid Hart Public Schools property, as the school board and former superintendent would not grant the city an easement for the construction.
Cunningham asked if the school’s position on the easement had changed, and Kleiner disclosed that the city had not re-approached the school and went ahead with adjusting the path to avoid the property entirely.
Finally, the city has chosen a new IT service provider, following the expiration of the city’s contract with GraCon at the end of July. Kleiner explained to the council that, following a cybersecurity incident earlier in the year, “it became apparent that we might be in need of an IT company that’s more robust” and “has more of a comprehensive IT plan for us.”
For consideration were the service providers Corporate Technologies and CatchMark Technologies, with local offices in Grand Rapids and Whitehall, respectively. After reviewing the contracts, council members chose Corporate Technologies for their comprehensive plan, lower monthly cost and quicker response times.
