‘Commonsense reforms’ will strengthen BWL

It’s hard to decide which of Graves’ misstatements deserves attention first, so let’s start with his interpretation of the City Charter.

Graves suggests the city’s founding document “guarantees the independence” of the BWL. Like most of his arguments, it’s only half true.

The city’s founders were smart folks. They knew that every city-owned agency — including the BWL — ultimately must be accountable to the city’s elected officials. That’s why the charter grants the mayor and City Council the authority to appoint the BWL’s governing board. And, that’s why the charter mandates that the BWL “shall be responsible to the Mayor and City Council.”

These things aren’t embedded in our charter as an afterthought. They are the very foundation of the proper relationship between the BWL and the city government that owns it. They strike a balance between the independence that Graves incorrectly suggests is absolute, and the accountability that the framers knew would be essential.

When public agencies have to answer to the elected leaders of the city, they are also accountable to the citizens who chose those leaders. If the people of Lansing disagree with how their elected officials are serving them, they can vote them out of office. That’s how accountability works in a democracy.

The people of Lansing also have the exclusive power to amend the charter, which they did most recently last November by adding three nonvoting regional representatives to the BWL board and granting the mayor executive authority over the BWL during a declared emergency. Both of these measures were recommended by the Community Review Team, which was formed at my direction following the December 2013 ice storm. I proposed both charter amendments, our City Council put them on the ballot, and they were both overwhelmingly adopted by Lansing voters.

The power of the people will come to the fore once again later this year if the City Council agrees to put three more of my recommended charter amendments on the ballot for the August citywide election.

One amendment will limit long-term contracts and excessive severance payments for top city and BWL executives. That’s a no-brainer.

My second charter amendment clarifies the relationship between the Lansing city attorney and the BWL’s in-house attorney. This amendment simply codifies an existing agreement between the City Council and the BWL board that was established in 1984, which says the BWL attorney shall be a “Special Assistant City Attorney, appointed with the advice and consent of the City Attorney.” This policy was in full effect while Graves served as a BWL commissioner. I don’t recall him complaining about it then.

My third proposed amendment prompts Graves to sling wildly improbable charges and hilarious hyperbole that is hard to take seriously. He either misunderstands the intention of the amendment, or he purposefully misrepresents it.

In fact, the amendment would create a new BWL inspector general who reports to the mayor and City Council. The inspector general will help ensure accountability by monitoring the BWL’s finances and operations and sharing his or her findings on a regular basis with the mayor and City Council. The inspector general will have no decision-making authority over the BWL general manager or the BWL Board of Commissioners. The position will strengthen lines of communication and give real meaning to the charter mandate that the BWL shall be responsible to the mayor and City Council.

Graves also erroneously suggests that the BWL is tantamount to a city taxpayer. Public agencies like the BWL don’t pay taxes. However, like every other municipally owned power company in Michigan, the BWL does pay an annual dividend to the city. The amount the BWL pays the city is equal to the national average for such payments. In the absence of these payments, Lansing taxpayers would likely have to pay higher taxes to support essential city functions like police and fire protection.

Finally, Graves’ assertion that the BWL reforms proposed by the Community Review Team have gotten off track is plainly false. In fact, nearly all of the group’s recommendations have now been implemented, and work continues in earnest on completing the few remaining items under the able leadership of Interim BWL General Manager Dick Peffley and his team.

Graves is right about one thing: The work of restoring the trust of BWL customers in our hometown power company is not done. That’s why I will continue to demand more accountability from the BWL, not less.