[Vendorsmi] Fw: [nfbmi-talk] Business Enterprise Program article ann arbor news

Sat Dec 1 01:07:22 UTC 2012

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Terry Eagle" <terrydeagle at yahoo.com>
To: "'Joe Sontag'" <suncat0 at gmail.com>; "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing 
List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2012 14:53
Subject: RE: [nfbmi-talk] Business Enterprise Program article ann arbor news


>I have had first-hand contact and knowledge with Mark Rothenhauser with
> regard to his business at the capitol as a member of his Business 
> Enterprise
> Support Team, known as BEST, and if the truth be known, people would not 
> be
> casting stones and insults at Mark Rothenhauser.  If Mr, Essenberg, one of
> those casting insults at Mark, and a member of Mark's BEST, were to stand 
> up
> for blind operators and demand accountability from management, rather than
> doing unethical things to protect and get more favor for themselves, their
> friends, and sighted significant others, they wouldn't have to be throwing
> Mark Rothenhauserunder the rolling bus wheels, then, just perhaps, the BEP
> would not be facing exstinction as it is today.
>
> I can say as a fact that Mark's promotional agent never followed through 
> on
> ideas that could assist Mark's business, for example, getting the 
> authority
> and permits to establish a hot dog/sandwich cart outside the Capitol
> building during summer months.  This lack of support is confirmed by the
> newly released BEP audit report by the auditor general, an independent
> source.  I know Mark's promotional agent was diligently busy doing
> manadatory paperwork, which was never turned in, costing the BEP $7000. 
> when
> a vending machine was destroyed with the demolishment of the Holt rest 
> area
> facility, because the promotional agent did not follow through with his
> duties, as also noted by the auditor general.
>
> For five years I have been suggesting and begging the Elected Operators'
> Committee and BEP mmanagement to visit, evaluate, and take positive,
> affirmative action on the many mimimum sales facilities in the Business
> Enterprise Program.  What has been done other than attempt and actually
> revoke the license of struggling and outspoken operators?  Absolutely
> nothing, with the exception of a Flint facility.  And now, the likes of 
> Rob
> Essenberg, Constance Zanger, James Hull, and James Chaney are visiting
> facilities as a "meet and greet" agenda.  What is the purpose of such
> questionable visits, since no report or affirmative action has been 
> reported
> or taken to assist the struggling mimimal sales facilities?  Yeah, I too
> would like a public report and explaination.  And how about seeing any
> notes, summaries, or affirmative plans for those facilities.  In fact, it 
> is
> not those struggling minimal sales facilities that have been visited.
>
> The fact is that the favored are given the attention and rewarded, such as 
> a
> facility being remodeled that was remodeled eight years ago, while there 
> are
> facilities that have not been remodeled for 30 years!  This lack of
> attention to facilities was pointed out last year by Mr. Steve Arwood of
> LARA, with a response from BEP management that such issues will be 
> addressed
> in their (BEP management) time frames.  Then the blind question the "why" 
> of
> such action as the Executive Orders and House Bill 6006?
>
> Perhaps as Hazell Brooks once publicly suggested, Mr. Essenberg should 
> tell
> and show how to use the system to get that which one needs for their
> struggling facility and business, the way Mr. Essenberg has gotten from 
> the
> state system.  Is such information so personal that Mr. Essenberg cannot
> share such valuable beneficial information.  I strongly sense the newly
> released auditor general's findings and conclusions give us as citizens
> partial insight into why such information and methods cannot or will not 
> be
> divulged by the likes of Mr. Essenberg.  However, I do challenge the likes
> of Mr. Essenberg, James Chaney, and Mark's sister Marlene , to expend the
> energy they used inthrowing Mark under the bus wheels, by blaming the
> Capitol building facility problems solely on Mark and holding themselves 
> and
> the program blameless for the lack of sales and challenges there, and I
> suggest that they put there time, energy, and own money into personally
> operating that and other minimal sales facilities for a year, and strictly
> with the lack of support and follow-up given to Mark, and without the 
> secret
> tricks used by the favored, to demonstrate just how profitable the Capitol
> and other minimal sales facilities can actually be, as hhas been suggested
> by the outspoken.  The time has come to step up and demonstrate your 
> beliefs
> for the good and survival of these facilities and the BEP.
>
> In the meantime, we are stuck with the same BEP management, despite agency
> reorganization, a sad and poor performance report from the independent
> auditor general, continued poor training of BEP operators, sighted persons
> operating and destroying facility businesses mandated for qualified blind
> persons, and incompetent management and program promotional agents, who 
> are
> charged by law to support and assist blind persons in business.
>
> Those in management and alleged leadership can once again accuse me of
> shooting another "missile" or rock in their direction with this writing,
> however I write and speak with documented facts and actions presented by
> others than myself.  I am certain though, if the BS4BP management and
> allegedEOC leadership can find another way to discriminate and retaliate
> against me for continued speaking the truth, they indeed will further
> discriminate and retaliate.  Their latest is now to retaliate against my
> sister who desires to return to the BEP from a medical leave following 
> knee
> surgery, by not accepting her bids on BEP facilities.  She likely will be
> the next operator to be thrown under the bus wheels by the EOC, exclaiming
> and blaming my sister for taking a medical leave, and for some undisclosed
> reason finding my sister ineligible to bid on facilities.  Where are Mr.
> Essenberg and Mr. Chaney, who profess to be fighting for all BEP operators
> and blind persons.  Sorry sister, I guess you too fall under the EOC's 
> Terry
> Eagle exclusion clause, because you are my sister and share my last name.
> But have no fear sister, justice will be had in the end, and the evil will
> be overcome and replaced with goodness.  Truth and justice shall prevail.
> The same will become true for you Mark Rothenhauser.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joe Sontag
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Business Enterprise Program article ann arbor 
> news
>
> You'll never guess how some members of the Elected Operators' Committee 
> and
> other operators are reacting to this article.  They are heaping abuse on 
> Mr.
>
> Rothenhauser, even his  sister, saying he's a bad operator who should be
> removed from the program.  I know nothing about his abilities as an
> operator, but I know that his facility has been a troubled location for 
> many
>
> years, well before Mark took over.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
> To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 19:47
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Business Enterprise Program article ann arbor 
> news
>
>
>> Outragious. Simply outragious. My copy of this report was totally and
>> outragiously inaccessable.
>>
>> That is a fact Jackson!
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "trising" <trising at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "nfbmi List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2012 6:36 PM
>> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Business Enterprise Program article ann arbor news
>>
>>
>>>    Mark Rothenhauser, 55, operates the snack bar at the state Capitol.
>>> He's been participating in the state's Business Enterprise Program for
>>> people who are blind and visually impaired for six years.Melissa Anders 
>>> |
>
>>> MLive
>>> LANSING, MI - The state did not properly manage a program that helps
>>> blind people run vending facilities in government buildings, according 
>>> to
>
>>> an audit report that estimates the program improperly spent about a
>>> quarter million dollars.
>>>
>>> A report released Tuesday by Michigan's Auditor General found that the
>>> Michigan Commission for the Blind did not effectively monitor the
>>> finances, contracting and inventory for its Business Enterprise Program.
>>> The program offers licenses to blind and visually impaired people to
>>> operate vending machines, cafeterias, snack bars, carts and other food
>>> services in state and federal buildings, highway rest stops and visitor
>>> centers.
>>>
>>> The audit generally covered Oct. 2008 through July 2011, when the 
>>> program
>
>>> was still managed by the Michigan Commission for the Blind.
>>>
>>> The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) realized there
>>> were several issues with the vending program and requested the audit.
>>>
>>> Gov. Rick Snyder responded to broader issues surrounding the Commission
>>> for the Blind with an executive order that replaced the commission with
>>> the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons in October.
>>>
>>> Ed Rodgers took over as director of the bureau last month with the
>>> mandate to make improvements.
>>>
>>> "While there's issues and problems we need to correct, the public needs
>>> to be reassured that this administration is not wasting taxpayers'
>>> dollars and that we are running an effective and efficient program,"
>>> Rodgers said. "We're doing what we're supposed to be doing."
>>>
>>> The Business Enterprise Program had eight staff members and more than 80
>>> licensees who operated about 400 sites throughout the state as of July
>>> 2011.
>>>
>>> Operators give 10 percent of their profits to the commission to pay for
>>> expenses such as new equipment and retirement funds.
>>>
>>> "The public needs to be reassured that this administration is not 
>>> wasting
>
>>> taxpayers' dollars." - Ed Rodgers
>>> The audit estimates that the commission improperly spent $254,000 in
>>> operator fees from Oct. 2008 through July 2011 on miscellaneous program
>>> expenses that were not in accordance with state code.
>>>
>>> The commission also did not effectively confirm operators' monthly sales
>>> reports, meaning the state couldn't make sure that it properly 
>>> calculated
>
>>> and paid retirement contributions, pension payments and operator fees,
>>> the audit found. Even though the vendors are independent contractors, 
>>> the
>
>>> program pays out such benefits.
>>>
>>> That finding didn't surprise Mark Rothenhauser, who operates the snack
>>> bar at the state Capitol. He sells pizza slices, popcorn, soda and other
>>> snacks from a small shop located on the ground level of the building.
>>>
>>> "An operator can basically pull a number out of the air and report that
>>> as sales," he said. "There's not a mechanism in place to authenticate
>>> what the operator reports as sales is actually their sales. So if you go
>>> with that, you don't know if they're paying the correct set-aside fee."
>>>
>>> Rodgers said he set aside $150,000 to create a new data program for the
>>> entire bureau that will keep better track of vending sales and net
>>> income. It should be in place early next year.
>>>
>>> Other audit findings dealt with deficiencies in monitoring equipment
>>> inventory, contracts and operator assistance.
>>>
>>> The bureau is completing an inventory of its equipment, such as coolers
>>> and microwaves, and is setting up performance measures for staff members
>>> who assist operators.
>>>
>>> "The auditor general's office should be applauded for the thorough job
>>> they did in this," Rodgers said.
>>>
>>> Email Melissa Anders at manders at mlive.com. Follow her on Twitter:
>>> @MelissaDAnders.
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>>
>>
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