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Disputed figures over Iron Mountain finances

EDITOR:

Abraham Lincoln once said, “In this and like communities, public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.”

We are facing a very important election Tuesday, both nationally and locally. In our country, it is the president who sets the agenda for the nation. It is the governor who sets the agenda for the state and it is the mayor who sets the agenda for the city. It is their responsibility to lead and without leadership there can only be only failure.

Dale Alessandrini, mayor of Iron Mountain, has failed as a leader. The city of Iron Mountain has unfunded pension liability of $13,387,826 and other unfunded Post-Employment benefits of $28,584,934, for a total of $41.9 million of debt. This is more than four times the amount of the Dickinson County’s unfunded debt. The city’s fund balance has dropped by 4.6 percent, from $2.2 million in 2014 to $2.1 million in 2015. Yet the plan for 2017 is to give a 2 percent raise to employees.

If you took a comparison with Detroit as a percentage of debt to population. Iron Mountain is at the same point Detroit was prior to its financial collapse under the weight of its unfunded debt liabilities. I don’t think the state will be riding in to save Iron Mountain anytime soon.

Dale Alessandrini has a mess in his house but rather than clean it up, it is easier to run for county commissioner and leave the mess for someone else to clean up. Dickinson County cannot afford this irresponsible behavior at the county level, and the voters of Iron Mountain should make him stay as mayor and clean up his mess.

Wally Townsend

Sagola

NOTE: Iron Mountain’s fund balance from 2014 to 2015 increased by 28 percent, according to figures from Chief Financial Officer Heather Lieburn and City Manager Jordan Stanchina. As of June 30, 2014, the actual unreserved fund balance was $1,621,063 and that increased to $2,074,928, as of June 30, 2015.

All governmental entities were required to report the unfunded liabilities for the first time on their balance sheets as of June 30, 2015, due to the new Governmental Accounting Standards Board statement 68. These liabilities included pensions and other post-employment benefits such as health insurance. Unfunded liabilities are not something that go away and are looked at as long-term debts that governmental entities and school districts must now carry on their books.

Dickinson County has unfunded pension liability of $12,977,693 and other unfunded post-employment benefits of $20,507,183 for a total of $33,484,876. Iron Mountain’s total of $41.9 million in unfunded liability is 25 percent higher than Dickinson County’s and not four times as high.

Mayor questions letter’s accuracy

EDITOR:

First, I was taken aback that I would need to reply to a letter to The Daily News that was rife with factual errors.

I want to assure the citizens of Dickinson County that the city of Iron Mountain is on a very sound financial footing.

The letter to The Daily News plays fast and loose with the numbers. The writer not only distorts the facts, he engages in outright falsehoods.

For example, Iron Mountain’s general fund balance has increased 28 percent since 2014. And it continues to increase because of better management, not high taxes.

And the comparisons with Detroit are not only distortions, but outright lies.

Our employee compensation is not only fair, but well covered by our strategic planning. The council and I have taken a key role in that planning process.

The real truth about the financial soundness of the city of Iron Mountain can be found at the Michigan Department of Treasury and from City Hall.

This is a slur against all the good people who have worked for the past eight years to make the city financially sound.

The true financial picture proves that I am the better candidate for the Dickinson County Board.

Dale Alessandrini

Iron Mountain

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