Dowagiac mayor: How to do more with less

Published 10:57 pm Thursday, October 20, 2011

In his 14 years as Dowagiac mayor, Donald Lyons changed the culture at City Hall.
In 1997, there were 88 employees, compared to 49 by 2012.
Instilling the do-more-with-less philosophy he imported from the private sector from building Lyons Industries meant investing in technology, which is now an integral part of municipal operations, devising new ways to do things, combining jobs and downsizing as much as possible through attrition.
As he told Rotary Club Thursday at noon at Elks Lodge 889, “As a taxpayer, am I suffering a diminution of services? No, not really. We rotate leaf and brush pickup by ward so we get out once a month.
“Used to be, any time you saw a brush pile, you hopped in the truck and picked it up. We don’t do that any more, but (diminish) police and fire protection? Absolutely not.
“How far (beyond staffing of 49) can it continue to go? We’ve still got some tricks up our sleeve, but we’re getting pretty close to the bone. That $165,000 (from the proposed elimination of personal property taxes) is going to be a tough nut to crack, but I think we can do it. We’re investing $250,000 a year in our local streets,” based on 25 miles with 25-year lifespans.
The mayor said, “I feel very comfortable with where we’re at financially right now. We’ve done a great job of managing that process that’s part of our embedded culture now … I don’t want back (lost funding). We’re doing a lot more with a lot less for the taxpayers of this community and this state than we would ever have done if that funding hadn’t have been taken away.”
“We had that culture established when our new city manager came on board,” he said, “and (Kevin Anderson) took right into that mode of continual reorganization. He’s that sort of guy. My dad always taught me that your only security in life is your ability to do the job. It’s not going to be the company you work for or who your boss is. Whatever you do, do it well. People have stepped up and done those jobs well and are doing more with less,” while a general fund of $4 million four years ago shrank to $2.9 million.
“We practice this in our own organization,” Lyons said. “When you have too many employed, there is less pride in the job. What happens is if you’re not there, you know the fellow down the hallway just as well, no big deal. They don’t have that pride of authorship that comes from knowing that if you’re not there the job isn’t going to get done because no one can cover for you. There’s no second team. When they do it and do it well, there’s private satisfaction that comes from that. I’m delighted we’re now combining our efforts with the school district because they very much have the same sort of work ethic. The synergies that are going to come from those two organizations sharing the same building are going to be outstanding.”
“Two very distinct types of business” run out of City Hall are the general fund, including police, fire, building inspections, streets and bridge, parks and recreation.
Enterprise funds constitute the other sector.
“These are very similar to private enterprise operations,” Lyons said. “Electrical, sewer and water. Those are businesses in every aspect and we run them like businesses. We control what the revenues are going to be, what expenses are going to be and try to be as lean as we possibly can, but at the end of the day, when you flip the switch you expect electricity and lights; when you turn the tap, you expect water to come out; and when you flush the toilet, you expect it to go away. Beyond that, you probably don’t pay a lot of attention to what goes into that. That aspect of our business accounts for $9 million of revenue a year — $6 million in the electrical fund and the other $3 million in sewer and water.”
Two major sources replenish the general fund, state constitutional revenue sharing and property taxes in two forms, real property (ground and buildings) and personal property, “everything in it. Those of us in business know that literally every table, chair and computer and every piece of equipment out on the production line is valued, taxed and depreciated.
“If you’re reading the papers right now, there’s a move afoot in Lansing to do away with personal property taxes. We’re like one of three states that levy them. The governor and Legislature feel we need to eliminate them to be competitive, so I’m working both sides of the street on that one. On one hand, I’ve got a business, so, yeah, cool, let’s get rid of them. On the other hand, I’ve got a city that says, ‘Wow! That’s $165,000 right out the window. We’re down $1.1 million over the last four years from $4 million to $2.9 million. Over 25 percent of our revenues simply disappeared,” Lyons said. “I’m proud to say that each one of those four years, we made a positive contribution to our fund balance. We’ve never had to dip into our fund equity through working smarter.”
Lyons said the recent M-62 and M-51 paving project by the state “didn’t pick the right street. They should have picked Front Street going north. That wasn’t our call.”
Lowe Street is in “obvious need,” he said, but depends on major urban thoroughfare funding when the state offers it.
“There was a time, 10 years ago, when we wouldn’t have concerned ourselves overly much. If it needed doing, we would have just done it. No more,” Lyons said. “If we can find a funding source, we’ll squeeze everything we possibly can. For the 14 years I’ve been there we’ve averaged $1 million in funding that we’ve gotten from grant sources other than the routine.”
Lyons, whose appearance was arranged by Doug Stickney, was asked about Premier Die-Cast of Berrien Springs, which is renovating the former Du-Wel or Inverness Castings Group (ICG) plant to move a satellite operation from New York across Paul Street from its other facility in the former Muskegon Piston Ring.
”Between ourselves and MEDC (Michigan Economic Development Corp.) we brought quite a bit of funding to the table,” the mayor said. “They promised us 50 jobs. Last I knew they were up to 70-some. The ICG building was in terrible shape with a lot of pollution problems. EPA came in and stepped up to the plate with $670,000 between the state and federal government. Externally, it looks like hell, but internally it’s in good shape. Premier’s got skin in the game, putting $150,000 in escrow to see that through to completion and 100 to 125 jobs. That’s one we’re very excited about, despite its dilapidated appearance at the moment.”
Bob Eady, a Detroiter brought to this area by Don Wills as Sundstrand controller, complimented Lyons: “You don’t brag about anything you accomplish, you just keep accomplishing one thing after another.