Owosso Township Recall – Part 2

The recall petitions for Richard and Judy Gute are identical, with the exception of the names:

“Supervisor Richard Gute showed a blatant disregard for the consensus of the constituents when they failed to carry out the direct request of the people by contracting ambulance service with Mobile Medical Response of Saginaw and dissolving Owosso Township Rescue. Said contract will result in a loss of a minimum $102,000 in taxpayer assessment annually and an additional loss of approximately $600,000 in ambulance revenue to Owosso Charter Township. The actions and secret maneuverings in orchestrating the acquisition of Owosso Township Rescue by Mobile Medical Response is a direct example of malfeasance (a wrong doing ) of office.”

On the surface this petition appears sound, but a line by line assessment of the petition language reveals otherwise:

“Supervisor Richard Gute showed a blatant disregard for the consensus of the constituents when they failed to carry out the direct request of the people” – This statement is false. There was no “consensus of the constituents” for them to disregard; only a group of people at a public meeting. The people in attendance at this meeting may or may not have been the Gutes’ constituents, and there were not enough of them to form a consensus representative of the township. Furthermore, there was no “direct request of the people” the Gutes represent. At best, there was only a direct request of some of the people at this meeting.

“by contracting ambulance service with Mobile Medical Response of Saginaw and dissolving Owosso Township Rescue.” – This statement is false. Owosso Township Rescue was never an entity to dissolve. As stated earlier, OTR was staffed with township employees who used township assets. There is an Owosso Township Rescue Fund, which is still in use. OTR assets are still owned by the township and will remain in township possession if the contract with MMR is not renewed.

“Said contract will result in a loss of a minimum $102,000 in taxpayer assessment annually” – This statement is false. This figure is based on the $30.00 per household assessment that funds local rescue services. Of this $102,000, only $72,000 is paid by Owosso Charter Township residents. The remaining $30,000 is paid by residents of Rush and Bennington Townships, who may or may not renew their annual rescue service contracts with Owosso Township. All assessment money is kept in the township for the rescue services, regardless of the provider. There is no loss.

“and an additional loss of approximately $600,000 in ambulance revenue to Owosso Charter Township.” – Under most conditions, this statement is false. This figure is a projection of revenues, which is loosely based on unreliable OTR data regarding revenues and rates. Using this $600,000 figure is analogous to claiming that a broken watch will give the correct time at any point during the day. It is possible that the $600,000 figure will be correct, but it’s not likely.

“The actions and secret maneuverings in orchestrating the acquisition of Owosso Township Rescue by Mobile Medical Response” – This accusation is false. After a 6 month recall campaign, the only evidence put forward by the petitioners is the following:

“We have in our possession a camcorder tape recorded at one of the “secret” meetings held by MMR at Henderson Park where they requested all OTR employees meet with them to discuss the future. At this meeting held Aug. 17, 2005 (date recorded on tape), an MMR vice president suggested in effect they were taking over the service Aug. 24. It was not a joint venture but an all or nothing deal. He asked them to fill out a form and return it in two days. If they did not, MMR would assume they were not supportive of the new deal. No assurance of job security was given. This tape proved the contract was already drawn by the Gutes and MMR prior to Aug. 17, 2005.” –Sherman Garnett, Letter to the Editor, Argus Press, Feb 18, 2006

The regular meeting of the Owosso Charter Township Board was held on August 8, 2005. At that meeting, the board accepted the resignation of OTR Executive Director Brett Murphy, and immediately voted 5-2 to enter into a joint venture with MMR. (View an excerpt of the minutes here) Mr Garnett is correct in that there was a tentative agreement in place by August 17, but that is 9 days after the legal and public vote by the full Owosso Charter Township Board.

“is a direct example of malfeasance (a wrong doing ) of office.” – This statement is false. The prior statements leading up to this claim have all been shown to be false. As such, no malfeasance has been demonstrated by the petitioners.

Outside of the petition, the petitioners have made other false accusations. David Chrenka told WLNS Channel 6 that Owosso Charter Township had forfeited all of the OTR assets. (http://www.wlns.com/Global/category.asp?C=34083 , Residents Want To Recall Husband And Wife Officials). Betty Jo Nelson added to this accusation “Mobile Medical Response was given three ambulances, an Echo unit, all equipment and the use of the ambulance quarters for a mere $5 per year.” (Letter to the Editor, Argus Press, Feb 21, 2006)

These statements are not accurate. Owosso Township owns the four vehicles; two ambulances and the echo unit are being leased by MMR and the third ambulance is being sold. The funds from the sale of the third ambulance will be deposited into the Owosso Township Rescue fund. MMR has assumed responsibility for the costs of all maintenance, repairs, and liability on these vehicles, as well as capital improvements on the building. Furthermore, the third ambulance that is being sold by Owosso Township has been replaced by a newer vehicle from MMR. This is a significant investment by MMR. The $1.00 lease amount per item is required by law, in order for the lessee to insure the property.

Owosso Township residents have also reported that petitioners used scare and bully tactics to collect signatures. One petitioner allegedly told residents that their ambulance would now be coming from Saginaw instead of Owosso Township. Another was said to have told residents that MMR took so long responding to a call that a man died during the wait. One resident reported that a petitioner held his foot in the door to get a signature, and another resident signed the petition just to get the petitioner to leave, after he had been at her door for over 30 minutes.

Richard and Judy Gute are not the only people who have been hurt by this process. When asked about the recall, Jason MacDonald, Operations Manager of Owosso Township MMR, responded with this: “MMR has tried very hard to avoid involvement in the local political process. We were invited in to Owosso Township by a 5-2 majority vote of the board, and renewed recently for three years by a 6-1 majority vote. We have been defending ourselves from inaccurate information that has been conveyed by people on a door to door basis, and through the media. “

Owosso Township MMR has been under intense pressure during this process, but Jason and his colleagues feel they can stand up to any public scrutiny. “MMR is a reputable company with 11 years of excellent service throughout the Mid-Michigan area. We are bringing EMS in this area to new heights that have never before been achieved.”

Next time: A Recall Timeline

Note: Members of Citizens for Better Government (leaders of this recall) were invited to comment on this series of articles. They have not yet responded. Should they choose to comment, I will update these articles to include their statements. I also invite them and any other interested parties to leave comments at the end of these articles. All points of view are welcome.