Hamtramck firefighters say the city needs a full-time department because houses here are close to one another. Waiting for on-call firefighters to arrive would lead to a fire spreading to another house, they say.

By Charles Sercombe

          For some Hamtramck firefighters, it’s do as we say, not as we do.

Hamtramck firefighters have insisted in the past that the only way Hamtramck can be protected is by having a full-time staff in the station.

However, in a review of the 18 communities – including the City of Hamtramck — that the department’s 26 firefighters live in, only seven of the communities have full-time staffs.

In the other communities, the departments are staffed by paid-on-call firefighters, or by a combination of a small full-time staff aided by paid-on-call firefighters.

          In the past year city officials have been struggling with how to overcome an ever-increasing budget deficit. One suggestion to lower costs is to restructure the Fire Department.

          Currently, the department eats up $5 million of the city’s total budget. There is a projected $3 million deficit expected by June.

          With little room to cut in the budget, some city officials have looked at ways to trim at least $3 million from the Fire Department’s budget.

          One way would be to resort to copying how other communities handle their fire protection by having a core group of full-timers and a majority of firefighters being on call when needed.

          Hamtramck firefighters insist, however, that plan can’t work in the city because of the density of housing. In other words, with Hamtramck’s housing stock being crammed within a few feet of each other, a fire in one house could quickly spread to another.

          In the rural and suburban communities that most of the city’s firefighters live in, that’s not the case.

          The president of Hamtramck’s firefighters’ union, Matthew Wyszczelski, said it’s all about timing.

          “With a full-time staff we can manage a fire in a timely manner,” Wyszczelski said. “We don’t have the luxury of time.”

          Wyszczelski also said that a paid-on-call method would require having a lot of people living close by and available at a moment’s notice.

          “You don’t have a lot of trained people here,” Wyszczelski said.

          But Acting City Manager Kyle Tertzag said if the paid-on-call system works in other communities where a majority of Hamtramck firefighters live, it can work here.

          “After telling the folks in Hamtramck how vital it is to have a full-time department, when they (Hamtramck firefighters) choose where to live, they don’t have that kind of fire system,” Tertzag said. “By them choosing to live elsewhere, that tells me those systems are not bad at all.”

          The future of the Hamtramck Fire Department has become a heated topic in recent weeks. It appears that an emergency manager will be appointed to take over financial control of the city.

          Tertzag said it’s his understanding that the state plans a major overhaul of the Fire Department.

          Just what that means remains to be seen.

          Wyszczelski said he realizes that depending on who is appointed the department could be either wiped out and replaced with the service of another community, or there could be a type of manager who works with the department.

          Wyszczelski questioned the managerial decisions being made now concerning the department. He pointed out that the city has refused to hire an additional four firefighters whose salaries would be covered by the federal SAFER grant that was awarded to the department.

          The two-year grant is now reimbursing the city for the salaries of eight lowest-paid firefighters. There is room to cover the costs for four more firefighters, but they would have to be new-hires.

          Tertzag said that he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to hire more firefighters at this point if in three months an emergency manager eliminates the department. 

          “That’s not fair to the new-hires,” he said.

          But at a budget work session with the city council on Tuesday night, Fire Chief Paul Wilk pointed out that hiring four more firefighters would eliminate the need to budget an extra $50,000 in overtime.

          Councilmember Tom Jankowski urged Tertzag to consider that move, saying it would be up to the new-hires if they want to take the risk of being unemployed in a few months.

          Wilk and Wyszczelski also say the city is missing out on collecting up to $20,000 a month by providing ambulance service. Tertzag canceled the department’s ambulance service recently because the department’s two ambulance vehicles are unreliable and need repairs.

          He contracted out the service with DMC, which provides the service free of charge to the city.

          Tertzag said the department had been bringing in $10,000 a month from the service, but noted that there are costs to the city to pay firefighters extra to man the ambulances and for the vehicles’ maintenance.

          “It isn’t free to run,” Tertzag said.

          Plus, Tertzag said, the DMC service offers higher-quality care because their crews have advanced training.

          For instance, Tertzag said, one man’s life was saved by a DMC crew because they had the ability to give the man medication right away. The man was having a heart seizure.

          Hamtramck’s ambulance crews are not certified to give patients medication.

          Even if city officials wanted to restructure the Fire Department at this point, their hands are tied because of the firefighters’ labor contract with the city. Their contract runs out in another year or so.

          However, under the state’s emergency manager law, it’s unclear if contracts could be torn up. Because the state’s emergency manager is new and has not been challenged, it’s likely that any drastic action will result in a legal battle.

            That’s right: “Advancing Hamtramck.” It’s my new motto.  It is also the slogan by which I hope to help transform this city.

            The main definitions of the word “advancement” include, “to move forward; proceed,” “to improve or make progress,” and “to grow or rise in importance, and/or status.” Thus, synonyms for “advancement” are (1) progression; (2) development; (3) acceleration; and (4) betterment.

            But before I expound further on the significance of these four words, I wish to make an important announcement.

            Hello, Fellow Hamtramckans!

            My friends, today I am declaring my candidacy to be your next Mayor of Hamtramck.

            I’ve been planning my run for mayor for the past few years. I see that our city is in desperate need for leadership and innovation — the very qualities that can drive us ultimately down the road to success and prosperity.

            I am often asked whether Hamtramck can survive, and furthermore remain a sovereign entity. The answer to that question — of course — is that it must.  And it will!

            Progression, Development, Acceleration, and Betterment will be the four building blocks of my campaign. They will form the foundation of, and be the driving force behind, my plan to recreate Hamtramck.

             You may well be asking yourself, why are you running? What is your specific plan for the city? Do you have the experience that is needed to propel us forward?

            Being raised in Hamtramck, and living here all my life; having attended three separate public schools from kindergarten on up (Dickinson East, Kosciuzsko, and Hamtramck High), and graduating  in 1991, I have deep, deep ties to this wonderful city.

            I remember being a kid growing up in the 80′s here in town, and playing in the alleys — how clean and proud this city once was. I want to restore the pride in our city.

            With my experience both in commercial development and as an active real-estate broker, I understand what it takes to increase our tax base: strong economic development. I believe that empowering small businesses is the key to keeping Hamtramck a strong city, with its own special and specific identity. Which brings me to the point where I explain my plan for the city.

            And that is this: by the end of my first term in office, I plan to have helped create the conditions for your property values to increase by 25%.

            This will, obviously, bring more revenue into the city coffers in turn, thus helping insure our public safety, the viability of our schools, and the overall desirability of Hamtramck – and without the necessity of asking voters for one more dime in taxes.

            Preserving public safety must be our first priority, and that means keeping both our police and fire departments our own. As a former chairman of the city assessor’s board, I am familiar with the factors that are used to valuate properties, and how these values then impact the city’s overall financial picture. Increasing property values will make the city stronger and healthier.

            Small businesses are the lifeblood of any neighborhood or town, and Hamtramck’s most successful businesses are known all over the greater Detroit metro area. That ready identification is one of the starting points in what will be the major marketing of our city to the suburbs, and beyond. Increased tourism, from both near and far, will also help increase our tax base, and thus enhance the city’s image. This, in turn, will boost residents’ morale, and spur better services for residents, improving everyone’s quality of life here.

            It would be all too simple to dwell on the negativities of life, or point fingers and cast blame on one another. I believe this is counter-productive and a complete waste of energy. I want to channel my energy into bettering your lives, by providing you with a safe and clean city.

            Certainly, two things that will turn the tide for our city are to repair the basic infrastructure, and to maintain a strong police force. I want to employ the concept of officers on bicycles, to help protect the downtown areas and main streets. Downtown businesses will benefit strongly from this program, and then word will get out that Hamtramck is a great, safe place to run a business.

            We need to incrementally begin restructuring and repaving all the streets and alleys. Rebuilding the infrastructure will also help accelerate business development and better the quality of your lives.

            We must do these things in an orderly fashion , in order to build and draw in businesses from the outside. Without an improved infrastructure, without cleanliness and a strong police force, we will not be able to adequately market or appeal to corporations to come here. Blight must be dealt with immediately, and we must show the slum lords that we mean business, through the use of fines and even the potential of jail time.

            In truth, I want to chase all the slum lords from out of this city, and restore the quality of life that you the residents so richly deserve. You want experience in the mayoral race: my vast experience in multiple businesses right here in this town will help to create a city we can all enjoy, and again be proud of.

            On a related note, it’s been four years now that The Review has been in business. Thanks to all the residents – and by the grace of God — it’s running strong and flourishing.

            When I began this enterprise, some were skeptical about my perceived lack of experience in owning and running a paper. Well, the answer to how I achieved a successful local media stronghold was by applying common sense and running my business as efficiently, and self-sufficiently, as possible.

            The key to any successful business is intensive marketing. Examine the business models of just about any Fortune 500 company; believe me, this strategy works.

            I will do the same for Hamtramck, and I will make it work here, too.

            I also want to make it very clear that, in the interest of the newspaper’s integrity and impartiality, and out of respect for the residents who have always supported this paper, we will not endorse any candidate for mayor in The Review. Other endorsements will still take place including for the race for City Council. I have therefore made the decision to pass over the baton as endorser to Charles Sercombe, my editor and a long-time student of this city’s political landscape.

            In summary, I wish to say to you that we are all in this together. However, when the city is experiencing corruption, or an emergency manager takeover (for a second time); a broken infrastructure, low morale, dirty parks, an unfinished historic museum, to name just some of our ills; then our normal lifestyles, in fact our city’s very existence as we know it, are put at grave risk.

            I promise you this: that I will have the best interests of the city at heart, and will complete the work that should have been completed for the past 20 years or more.

            Under my leadership, and with the help of those who I choose as delegates, we will have the best parks, a powerful police force, a clean city (from the street to the alleys), repaved streets and alleys, the removal of all blight, planting of trees throughout the city, a bike trail, a skateboard park at Veterans Park; we will see baseball restored, police officers patrolling on bicycles, adequate and functional lighting at night, and much more.

            I am asking for your vote on August 6th to be your next Mayor. Let’s make Hamtramck the city it once was — and more.  And better. As it was in the days of Albert Zak, so shall it be in the coming days when I am your elected mayor.

            A clean city, a prosperous city. A city we can all proudly call home.

            May God bless Hamtramck, and all of you!

   By Charles Sercombe

          The countdown has begun for this year’s field of political candidates running for local office.

          As of Thursday, the day The Review went to press, there were 18 candidates who have either pulled petitions or have turned them in.

          Anyone thinking of running for city council or mayor has until next Tuesday (May 14) to file a petition. Candidates who may have second thoughts about running have until May 17 to withdraw from the race.

          So far, one would-be candidate, Mark Hausner, who is a member of the DDA, withdrew his petition for city council.

          Councilmember Tom Jankowski has yet to pull a petition for re-election. But don’t hold your breath because Jankowski says he’s not running again. Jankowski has previously served one term as mayor, and is finishing up his first term as a councilmember.

          The reason for his departure?

          “It’s a personal decision,” he said. “It’s basically a matter of time and how much time I can contribute to the city.”

          As for a possible return to public office in the future, Jankowski said “anything’s possible.”

   His step down from the council means his seat is wide open for grabs, making a total of four seats in the running.

          One of the seats, however, is only for two years, as opposed to the normal four-year term. That’s because Councilmember Cathie Gordon has resigned from her seat to run for mayor.

          She doesn’t actually leave the council until Dec. 31 of this year, at which point the winner of that election takes over.

          As of Thursday, there are three candidates who pulled petitions for the two-year seat, with Beverly Tran being the only one to file for it.

          Councilmember Mohammed Hassan pulled petitions for both council seats as well as for mayor. He decided to run for mayor.

          The field for the mayor’s position includes Councilmember Abdul Algazali and Review Publisher John Ulaj.

          Mayor Karen Majewski is seeking re-election but has yet to file. She is in her second term as mayor.

          Councilmember Gordon also has yet to file for the position despite having already resigned from council.

          For political junkies, this year’s election promises to be an exciting one. The Bengali community, which has proven to be the dominate voting bloc in recent years, will likely be the deciding factor in who survives the August Primary, and ultimately, who takes office.

          The question is, will the strength of the Bengali voting bloc prove to be a slam dunk, or will it be edged out by other voters?

By Charles Sercombe

          Could this be the beginning of the end of the Hamtramck Blowout?

          This year’s attendance seemed to be down by half, some said, and there is plenty of blowback coming from bar owners and fans of the music festival.

          The reason for the dramatic downturn, many said, was that festival organizers, The Metro Times, expanded the event to include Ferndale.

          “That’s what happens when you split it in two,” said Mikel Smith, the owner of Detroit Threads.

          Hamtramck’s portion of the Blowout happened last weekend and this weekend it’s Ferndale’s turn.   

          Smith sold wrist bracelets for the Blowout and said that in past years he would have a line of people out the door waiting to purchase them. This year, he said, there was one 10-minute rush.

          “The rest of the evening there were just stragglers,” he said.

          Metro Times Publisher Chris Sexson told The Review that attendance was indeed way down this year.

          “Spreading the bands over two weekends, we expected it to be down,” he said.

          Sexson denied there is a plan to move the festival out of Hamtramck to Ferndale, which is what some in town believe is in the works. Sexson said the expansion was needed to bring in more revenue. He said turnout in Hamtramck has been trending down in recent years.

          “There has to be evolution,” he said. “This year we made a bold move. We just want to keep it going.”

          Cathie Gordon, who owns New Dodge Lounge and is a city councilmember, said she was offended when Sexson told the council the festival was expanding into Ferndale.

          “We’re hungry, we need this festival. Ferndale doesn’t,” she said.

          Sexson also stirred up some resentment in a quote he gave to the Oakland Press. He told the paper that one reason he included Ferndale is because “… I’ve found, even among some of the younger music and creative people, that some people don’t want to go down there, the same as some people might not want to go into downtown Detroit. It’s just outside of their comfort zone.”

          In response, the owner of Lo and Behold, a used record and book store on Jos. Campau, is holding his own music festival tonight (Friday, May 4) called “How I learned to stop worrying and love Hamtramck.”

          On the store’s Facebook page, the owner said:

          “For the performers not accepted to play in Ferndale,

“For people who want to see good bands play for free and need not the hassle of security guard scrutiny over overpriced bracelets,

“For those of us who remember when it was called the Hamtramck Blowout and want it to stay that way,

“For those of us who played over the weekend to a crowd divided cuz half the normal attendance decided not to ‘step outside of their comfort zones’ and stay in the suburbs until the following weekend,

“For Hamtramck who needs this little economic stimulus more than Ferndale ever did or ever will

“For those who want to keep this party a party and not an uptight business venture for those north of the border,

“For those of us who feel a responsibility to our community and carry too much love and pride for what little we have no matter how f***ed up or weird it might be to people who probably will never understand anyway,

“I encourage Hamtramck to keep this party here regardless if the name’s Blownout of town or not, we’ve hosted it and will continue to do so.”

Sexson said that it seems no matter what he says, “It’s damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”

“We’re just trying to save the festival,” he added.

Expect to be inconvenienced for the next few months as DTE Energy finishes up a gas line and sidewalk replacement project.

By Charles Sercombe

          It’s orange barrel season.

          DTE Energy is about to finish up the gas line replacement project that it began last year, as well as install permanent new sidewalk slabs to replace those that had to be dug up for the project.

          DTE was not able to pour permanent sidewalks last fall because cold weather was fast approaching. Instead, the utility company installed “temporary” slabs.

          Even that effort was undermined when cold weather hit the area earlier than expected. That meant a number of sidewalk slabs were left empty, forcing pedestrians to walk on gravel-filled, uneven areas.

          Hamtramck Director of Public Works Steve Shaya said he expects the project to be completed by July at the latest.

          Although many residents were inconvenienced by the project last summer, on the plus side many of the city’s broken sidewalks are being replaced for free.

          DTE’s sidewalk replacement project will also coincide with a city-funded sidewalk repair project that is about to start up.

          City officials are putting together a map of where the repairs will take place. Homeowners have no need to worry about being socked with a sidewalk repair bill in this case.

          The city is dipping into a $2.5 million state fund for street and sidewalk repairs to pay for the project.

By Charles Sercombe

       Have an overdue traffic ticket, outstanding water bill, or way overdue on your business license?

          Rest easy, because Hamtramck has a deal for you during the month of May. It’s an amnesty program being called “Make it Right in May.”

          It doesn’t mean you get off free from paying the bill. Instead, most late fees and penalties will just be waived.

          The city and the Hamtramck 31^st District Court are teaming up to make it easier for people to make amends with any overdue violations.

          The 31^st District Court part of the program includes all parking tickets, civil infractions and misdemeanor files with outstanding judgments through Dec. 12, 2012.

The court will waive its $30 late fee, 20 percent penalty fee, bench warrant and show cause fees. Add it all up, and it amounts to a significant savings. 

This also includes misdemeanor files in arrest warrant status. Payments must be made in full and personal checks will not be accepted. 

          And just in case you think all of this is a trick to get you into City Hall and hustled off into the police station clinker, the city is offering a “Safe Surrendering” program in which you can go to Corinthian Baptist Church on May 11 or 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and take care of matters there.

          Corinthian is located at 1725 Caniff, just west of I-75.

          Otherwise, you can go directly to the 31^st District Court during regular business hours.

          Individuals that have been sentenced by the court and who currently have a warrant for their arrest will have the $30 late fee, 20 percent penalty fee, bench warrant and show cause fees waived. Individuals that have not been arraigned will be allowed to post a bond and will be given a court date.

          On the city side of things, you can clear things up by calling the appropriate city department at (313) 876-7700 and making payment on past due bills without penalty.

          Some of the late city bills include dog licenses, building permits/inspections, water bills and income tax filings.

          Don’t have the cash now? That’s OK, just whip out your credit card and deal with the monthly payments. If you blow off this amnesty program you can face the possibility of being arrested.

          So, be sure you can enjoy the summer and pay up now.

Robert Heide, the president of Vincent Christopher LCC is proposing to build a recycling facility that will handle demolition debris, at a site on Vincent St. If plans go accordingly, there will be a total of four recycling plants operating in Hamtramck.

By Charles Sercombe

          “Are we going to be the recycling center of the state?”

          That’s a question City Councilmember Robert Zwolak recently posed about the sudden rush of industrial recycling facilities either about to start up or planning to here in Hamtramck. By the way things are going, you could say “yes” to his question.

          And we’re not talking about getting households to drop off recyclable items.     These businesses deal with business and industrial waste and haul their waste materials in by the truckloads.

          The first to come into town is Hamtramck Recycling & Transfer, which has just built a new 32,000 square-foot facility on Denton St. and will be handling paper, cardboard and plastic.

          Also new to town but already operating is a company called Styrecycle, which will recycle industrial Styrofoam, also known as polystyrene foam. The facility is located at 3901 Christopher, off of Conant.

          It’s in this area that may become a hub for two other recycling centers.

          One has been in the works for a few years, and if all goes accordingly it will locate in the former Missant site. This facility will likely be the most controversial since it will be recycling municipal waste, which in the trade is known as Dirty MRF (pronounced “murf”). It will handle mixed solid waste, as opposed to Clean MRF which is co-mingled items, such as what is picked up in curbside recycling.

          MRF stands for Materials Recovery Facility.

          The company, Green Power Technologies, has the backing of state officials. It promises that all of the waste will be dumped inside a facility, separated and the organic matter, such as food scraps, will be steam cleaned and turned into bio-fuel logs.

          There has already been concern over odors, noise and increased traffic expressed from residents living across from Missant. Green Power Technologies says it would bring in over $1 million in property taxes for the city.

          The latest proposal came just last week at a city council meeting. A newly-formed company called Vincent Christopher LCC, which includes City Councilmember Tom Jankowski as a partner, plans to build a facility at the former Kozak warehouse on Vincent St.

The plant will recycle some of the waste from construction demolition. Robert Heide, president of the company, said concrete and brick would be separated and “repurposed.”

          The remaining waste would be shipped off to landfills.

          Heide said the waste would be dropped off inside the facility, which would reduce noise. That will likely be an issue with the bordering neighborhood that’s just a stone’s throw away.

          “We don’t expect it to be a noisy operation,” Heide said.

          Heide added that the plan also calls for building a 12-foot wall along Vincent to further cut down on noise.

          The council signed off on a host agreement with the company, but hiked up the tipping fee the city would receive from 15 cents per ton to 25 cents. Heide said he is still reviewing the agreement and couldn’t say immediately if he would accept the deal.

          All of this had Councilmember Zwolak urging caution before proceeding further in order to check out what the ramifications are.

          “We need a clear understanding of what’s going here,” he said at last week’s council meeting. He also cited past development failures that came back to haunt the city and taxpayers.

          Two of the most notable had to do with the building of the Freezer Services warehouse on St. Aubin St., which was partly built on top of a former paint company. It took millions of taxpayers’ dollars to clean up that project.

          The other controversial development was a medical waste incinerator, which the owners sold the project as being completely environmentally safe.

          One of the owners at the time promised emissions from the plant would be nearly 100 percent clean.

          It was anything but that, and it took local activists years to get the attention of county and state environmental officials to take action and shut it down.

City Hall may have a new boss soon.

By Charles Sercombe

          It’s official: A state review team will look into Hamtramck’s financial situation.

          Hmmmm … sound familiar?

          Indeed. Last fall city officials requested a state review of finances when the city’s financial condition continued to worsen. That “preliminary” review, however, was just the first step toward a review team being appointed to once again look into the city’s finances.

          This time around, there is a deadline for action to take place. The five-member review team has 60 days to report back to the governor and make a recommendation on what action to take.

          If needed, the team can take an additional 30 days to wrap up the review, but it’s likely that won’t be necessary.

          “We have already met with the state treasurer himself, and he is very aware of the situation,” said Acting City Manager Kyle Tertzag. “I do not anticipate the review team will need all 60 days.”

          Some of the preliminary findings that prompted the appointment of a review team include the city passing a budget that basically spent more than what it took in, and the fact that the city fell behind on pension payments by $2 million in order to pay bills and meet city employee payroll.

          It’s highly likely that an emergency manager will be appointed.

          Hamtramck is no stranger to having a state-appointed financial manager take over. Back in 2001, the state stepped in and appointed Louis Schimmel as emergency financial manager.

          He left the city in 2007 when it was deemed the city was back on track, and indeed within two years after that the city boasted of a balanced budget and the establishment of a rainy day fund that eventually amounted to $2 million.

          But the 2008 economic crash and housing collapse conspired to undermine the city’s financial turnaround. Adding in the loss of American Axle jobs and rising health care costs for city employees, the city soon found itself in deficit spending through no fault of its own.

          Since that time there have been significant changes in the emergency manager law. Back when Schimmel was here, his hands were tied in making changes to employee union contracts.

          That’s not the case now, although the state’s new emergency manager law has yet to be tested in court.

          But if the law remains intact, an emergency manager will be able to tear up union contracts and renegotiate them.

          If an emergency manager is appointed, Hamtramck will not be alone. Emergency managers are now in charge of six cities, most notably Detroit, and three public school districts.

          Schimmel has remained busy in the emergency manager business, having been in Pontiac for the past few years. He is scheduled to leave his post in June, which has prompted rumors in town that he will be coming back here.

          And that prompts us to quote a song from the great Ray Charles:

          “Hit the road, Jack and don’t you come back

No more, no more, no more, no more

Hit the road, Jack and don’t you come back no more

What you say”

Acting City Manager Kyle Tertzag, recently rejected all bids for an upcoming citywide sidewalk repair project because the bids looked suspicious. The project has been re-bid out.

By Charles Sercombe

          A major citywide sidewalk repair project took a stumble before it could even start.

          Acting City Manager Kyle Tertzag rejected the only two bids received for the project because they looked suspicious. Tertzag said the two bids, one from Wallace Cement Co. of Shelby Twp. and the other from DeBuck Construction Inc. of Utica, were handed in at the same time by one person to the City Clerk’s Office.

          The Review received copies of the bids through a Freedom of Information Act request.

          The two bids were in identical envelopes with identical address labels and had identical fonts, font size and font color.

          Another red flag was raised, Tertzag said, when both bids were notarized by the same person on the same day.

          Tertzag said it appeared to him the two supposed competitors had colluded in some fashion.

          “I felt there were too many similarities between the two bids,” Tertzag said.

          Asked if he contacted investigative agencies to look into the matter, Tertzag declined to comment. However, it is known that the FBI is currently looking into other matters involving contractors and their invoices.

          The Review called both companies for a comment and was able to reach John Wallace, the owner of Wallace Cement Co. He vehemently denied there was collusion or any wrongdoing.

          “I think I’m being set up by someone,” Wallace said.

          Wallace admitted that he dropped off both bids, and that he used the services of a secretary who works for DeBuck. The secretary also notarized the two bids, Wallace said.

          Wallace said that while it may appear suspicious, he said he has worked with DeBuck for years.

          “There is no law against having the same person notarize the bids,” Wallace said. “We both use the same secretary.”

          Wallace’s bid came in at $317,000, and DeBuck’s bid was at $354,000.

          Ray Debuck, the president of DeBuck Construction, could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Steve Vitale, told The Review to stop calling his client.

          Vitale said that any allegation of collusion would be “ludicrous.”

          “Ray has been an honest business person for many years,” Vitale said.

          Vitale declined to comment on the bids being delivered by Wallace and notarized by the same person.

          “I haven’t seen that,” he said.

          Vitale also declined to respond to what Wallace said.

          “I haven’t spoken to him,” Vitale said.

          Wallace said that someone from the FBI called him but he has not yet spoken to the agency. He said his attorney is handling the matter.

          Wallace also lashed out at Steve Shaya, the Director of Hamtramck’s Department of Public Services. He said it was Shaya who called him to submit a bid.

          Wallace said that when he attended a meeting for potential contractors to review the project and ask questions, the only other companies there were DeBuck and Platinum Landscaping.

          As it turned out, Platinum, a contractor for the City Of Hamtramck that performs lot clean-ups, did not submit a bid for the project.

          Wallace said he came to learn that Platinum is not a cement company.

          “He’s a tree guy,” he said.

          When he was told that Shaya was a former employee of Platinum and is now serving as Director of Public Services, Wallace said: “That’s a conflict of interest.”

          “Something is super funny somewhere,” Wallace added. “Does he (Shaya) just pick and choose who to call?”

          Shaya said that Platinum sat in on the meeting because the project will involve removing trees that have caused some sidewalks to buckle.

Shaya said that since Platinum is the city’s contractor to remove trees, it made sense to have the company attend the meeting for cement contractors.

“He (Platinum) was just there as a tree company,” Shaya said.

As for contacting contractors about requests for bids, Shaya said he doesn’t normally call contractors but since the project was so large “we wanted to reach out to bigger guns.”

Wallace Cement was hired for the recent sidewalk repairs throughout the city. DTE Energy ripped up hundreds of sidewalk slabs to replace gas lines and is responsible for replacing them.

Shaya said he does not remember which contractors he called for the city’s sidewalk repair program.

“That was so long ago,” he said.

The city advertised for bids on the project in the March 15 issue of The Review.

            The city is now advertising for new bids.

Hamtramck firefighters are demanding ambulance service be returned to the Fire Department.

By Charles Sercombe

No working ambulances?

          No problem, say Hamtramck firefighters.

          In a grievance filed by the firefighters’ union, they are demanding that despite the department’s ambulances not being in running order, they should still be the first to respond to medical emergencies.

          How’s that?

          In the grievance, which The Review acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request, the union says that a fire truck should be reserved for EMT crews who would arrive at a medical run first and then assess whether an ambulance should be called.

          In that way, each EMT crew member would receive their contract-mandated extra pay.

Several weeks ago the city contracted with Detroit Medical Center to take over ambulance duty when it was determined that the Fire Department’s two ambulances were too unreliable to continue in service.

          Acting City Manager Kyle Tertzag said the firefighters’ demand is “beyond belief.”

          “The firefighters are asking for a three-to-four minute delay on every ambulance run so they can get $100 extra per shift,” Tertzag said. “It’s pretty clear to me that they are not looking out for the best interests of the residents.”

          The ambulance service is currently being provided by DMC for free to the city, although patients are being charged. (The Fire Department also charges patients for the service.)

          Firefighters say the city has a contractual duty to have firefighters be the sole provider of ambulance service. In the grievance, the firefighters say that no matter who provides EMT service, firefighters should be paid for EMT duties.

“The city has taken away a core duty without bargaining,” said union President Matthew Wyszczelski. “It’s a contractual right.”

          Wyszczelski told The Review he could not further discuss the matter because the grievance is pending.

A “Settlement Desired” included in a labor grievance filed by the Hamtramck firefighters’ union demands EMT crews still be the first responders to medical emergencies despite the department’s two ambulances being out of service.

          City officials stopped the Fire Department’s ambulance service because of frequent mechanical failures.

          One of the department’s ambulances failed to start back up after responding to a house where a boy was not breathing. The ambulance was stranded and a neighbor of the boy agreed to drive him to a hospital.

          Acting City Manager Tertzag said that after hearing about the incident and conferring with the fire chief, he had no other choice but to take the two ambulances out of service.

          “That’s when we said, ‘What’s going on here?’” Tertzag said.

          As for returning the two ambulances to active duty, Tertzag said he is waiting for repair estimates to come in.

          The firefighters’ grievance also took the city to task for inquiring with Highland Park officials about taking over fire service for Hamtramck. Firefighters say they also have sole right to provide that service.

          The city has been struggling financially for over a year, and state officials are contemplating whether to send in an emergency manager.

          It’s projected that the city will face a $3.5 million budget deficit by June or July. One of the places city officials have looked for savings is in the Fire Department’s $5 million budget.

          City officials have asked for deep contract concessions from firefighters but so far the two sides are far apart.

          The average wage earned by a firefighter is $80,000 per year when all their perks and overtime are factored in. Since firefighters work in combinations of 24-hour shifts — which is bound by union contract — they end up working only nine days out of the month.

          And because of contract-mandated minimum staffing requirements, firefighters are easily able to pick up overtime work. Some firefighters have already earned upwards of $8,000 in overtime this budget year, according to city payroll records.

          There are still three months to go before the budget year ends on June 30.