LETTER:City outsmarted by developers again and taxpayers pay for it

To Ozaukee Press:
    Your weekly editorial thoughts are usually spot on for a current issue that should be of concern to all of us; whether that be the city agreements with developers for new developments, the vision of downtown Port Washington, closed door Common Council meetings, the horrible Blues Factory project at the lakefront, questionable creation of some of the TIF districts and the national ethanol fiasco, to name just a few.  
    I was horrified to read in last week’s Ozaukee Press that the City of Port had to borrow $1.5 million due to another project approved by our council that now seems to be in “development failure.” First obvious question: Will all of the loan expenses be extracted from the developer? And when?
    Folks, it’s time to delve into who is really running the show in Port Washington.
The city attorney should have been fired for creating cover for numerous closed-door Common Council meetings. Where was, and where is, the transparency the public is  seeking? Why wasn’t our Wisconsin attorney general looking into this activity? It certainly had the smell of violation of the state Open Meetings Law.     
     Mayor Marty Becker, you are about to be called upon to step up to the plate. As a past U.S. president famously said, “The buck stops here.” You are a nice guy—we don’t want to see you finish last.
      Who is directing these development agreements? During the last two years the big ones had to be renegotiated again and again. Why? Must have something to do with our former mayor realizing he had zero chance of being re-elected.
    Is the city’s legal counsel incompetent at protecting the resident taxpayers who are ultimately on the hook for these financial deals? The borrowing of $1.5 million would not have been needed if the agreement had been structured to protect the taxpayers. Besides the city attorney, the city administrator has responsibility here as well, not only with the developer agreements, but with the spending that has to be covered by this loan. Both professionals appear to be doing a poor job representing us.
    It really is time for change at City Hall.
The old guard appears to be outsmarted frequently by developers. Add up all of the developer renegotiations addressed at city meetings, and think of the cost to our community.
    Mayor, it’s up to you to initiate this correction or change in the appointed city officials.
Rob Burns