Hey, Genesee County taxpayers: You just lost $150,000, got nothing for it, and the governmental body that gave it away isn’t going to tell you why.
Nice, huh?
The board in question is the Bishop Airport Authority, which most people don’t even know is a city/county board, but it is, which of course means that the money they spend is, ultimately, yours.
And the person receiving the board’s largesse is former airport director Craig Williams, who “resigned” recently to “pursue other professional opportunities.”
What does that actually mean? Well, an article by the Flint Journal’s Ron Fonger, said this: “Under his leadership, Bishop struggled to buck the industry trends of losses in service and passenger traffic at small airports, hitting a low point in 2018 as departures dropped below 400,000 for the first time in 16 years in Flint.”
So draw your own conclusions.
Why should you care?
Well, first there’s the $150,000. That’s a relative pittance but it’s also $150,000 that could have been used to, say, fill a few potholes or feed some hungry kids. How you spend your pennies is how you’ll spend your dollars, right? And it’s not as if Flint or Genesee County are swimming in money.
The more troubling aspect is the secrecy. Board Chairman Winfield Cooper “declined” to discuss the agreement, which included a “no disparagement” clause saying “neither party shall make derogatory or negative comments about the other or its agents” and, as Fonger’s article indicates, “a section on confidentiality in which both the airport and Williams agree not to communicate or disclose the contents of the details of his departure.”
That, frankly, sucks. The board, I’m sure, feels like $150,000 is a small price to pay for a clean, no hassle separation, one that won’t cause future candidates for that job or other county jobs to think twice or cost them legal fees.
I get it. But if those are the reasons for the agreement, say so. Taxpayers are big boys and girls. They can handle the truth. They might even applaud the move as prudent.
But as is, there’s a much bigger cost to government operating behind closed doors: Public trust.
Secrecy kills it. And, once killed, is awful hard to regain, especially in a county where government has let people down over and over again.
And that’s why you should care.
I like your articles, keep writing.
You are so right on this Andy. It’s not as if this area is known for it’s stellar government and wise decisions about money. My first impression when I read the article in The Flint Journal was, something stinks! Secret actions and agreements are not the way to build taxpayer trust.
I’ll remember this when they ask for another millage for anything in Genesee County.
Your right. Gave the departing director a $150,000 free “parting gift”. Why? Government is not a game show. Our airport is not a billion dollar New York bank or international corporation with piles of cash to burn on already grossly overpaid executives! Gen Co. Citizens should pack the next meeting of the airport authority and demand an explanation!
This is why I cringe when our government officials say they want to run the government “like a business.” Because this is a very common business move that covers up a lot of errors.
We need less of this kind of activity, and more of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Running a businness is about making money for the boss.
Govenment is about taking care of people, their interests and infrastructures they use..
It baffles me when people think a businessman would be an ideal govenment official simply because he supposedly ran a successful business that primary focused on making him richer.
You nailed it, Andy. Everyone assumes they’ll only get the supposed benefits of “run government like a business,” but the opposite is usually the case. They get the worst of business practices, including treating human beings as commodities. Are they running leaner ships? I don’t see it. Seems like the worst of both worlds to me – bad money management plus treating people poorly.
Apparently the guy sucked at his job. Probably had a contract that they had to buy out. Their mistake in hiring him cost us 150 grand that they could care about. With major airlines leaving and the ones that are left are always late, delayed or not on time for some stupid reason the airport has gone way down hill.
Spot on; we’ll put, Fred.
Do you recall when they were persuading us to support the county airport mileage back in the day . . . How it would revitalize Flint and bring to us vast amounts of corporate investment? . . . Admittedly, we love using the facility and are proud of it when we have visitors.
For some reason the Director of the airport in Grand Rapids (Gerald Ford International)also left under mysterious circumstances recently.
The public was denied any information. I don’t recall how much of a buyout was given.