08/29/2026
The Coldwater Double Standard: Why Are You Paying for Downtown Handouts While City Hall Threatens Your Home?
Have you ever wondered how municipal authority actually operates in a town like Coldwater? If you listen to local officials, it’s all about “community enhancement,” “code compliance,” and “keeping neighborhoods safe.” It sounds noble. It sounds reasonable. But if you step back and look at how the rules are actually applied, a very different picture emerges—one defined by a glaring, undeniable double standard.
Take a look at what happens if you’re a regular homeowner living in a residential neighborhood.
When the city council introduced Ordinance 885—a sweeping update to the International Property Maintenance Code—it sent shockwaves through the community. Under measures like Ordinance 885, if a working-class family falls behind on home maintenance, has a damaged roof, or simply can’t afford immediate, thousands-of-dollars worth of exterior repairs, the city doesn’t offer them a helping hand. They send code enforcement. They haul you before administrative boards. They create a process that sidesteps traditional judicial oversight, leaving homeowners facing administrative orders, mounting fines, and ultimately, the looming threat of condemnation or demolition.
Think about that for a second. If you’re struggling under inflation to pay your mortgage, buy groceries, and cover basic utilities, city hall’s response to your failing roof isn't help—it's a government mandate backed by the threat of taking or destroying your home.
Now, turn your attention just a few blocks away to the downtown business district.
What happens when a commercial property owner downtown needs a new roof, a facade facelift, or structural restoration? Do code enforcement officers march in with threat letters and enforcement orders? Do they face administrative tribunals threatening to condemn the building?
Of course not. They get a government check.
Through the tax-funded Downtown Development Authority (DDA), downtown business owners enjoy access to thousands of dollars in public grants, facade rebate programs, and subsidized rehabilitation funds. Your tax dollars—collected from every working resident in town—are funneled directly into underwriting private commercial real estate. The DDA will help subsidize their roof and building repairs, match state grant money for their renovations, and even pony up public funds to hire live entertainment for events like "Hops on Monroe."
So let’s get this straight: If a working-class family can’t afford a roof repair, the city brings down the full hammer of code enforcement. But if a downtown business owner needs a roof repair, the taxpayer steps in to foot the bill—and throws in a free street party with live music to celebrate.
And if you dare to question this spending, local officials treat you like you’re the problem.
At a recent DDA meeting, the Director Kristin Johnson brushed off citizen outrage, laughing off the idea that taxpayers dollars cover costs on sculptures popping up in the downtown area. The defense? It’s paid for by grants.
It’s an insulting bit of municipal wordplay. Where do they think grant money comes from? Does it fall from the sky? Is it printed by the DDA?
Grants are tax dollars. They are dollars extracted from working families by state and federal government bodies, run through a maze of bureaucracy, handed back with strings attached, and spent at the whim of local boards. Claiming spending "doesn't cost the taxpayer anything" simply because the money was routed through a grant program isn't just dishonest—it’s gaslighting. It’s your money, but they act like you have no right to question how it's spent.
And here is the most chilling part of the entire story: Ordinance 885 wasn’t shelved because City Hall suddenly had a conscience or realized the cruelty of what they were proposing.
It was stopped for one reason, and one reason only—because the people of Coldwater said NO!
When residents caught wind of what Ordinance 885 contained, they packed the council chambers and demanded that local government keep its hands off their homes. Facing a room full of furious taxpayers, city officials did what politicians always do when caught red-handed: they retreated. They backed off, quieted down, and let the ordinance stall out.
But don't let the retreat fool you. The retreat was tactical; the instinct was real. The fact that local officials brought Ordinance 885 to the table in the first place tells you everything you need to know about their priorities. Their first choice for local homeowners was an administrative vice grip that could threaten your family's equity over unmade roof repairs or aged siding. Their first choice for downtown property owners was an open checkbook funded by your taxes.
This brings us to the question local leaders desperately want to avoid: Why do we even have a Downtown Development Authority in the first place?
The DDA has evolved into a bloated, unnecessary middleman—a government authority taking tax dollars and deciding which commercial properties win and lose.
Here’s a radical thought: There is absolutely nothing stopping downtown business owners from getting together, forming a private merchant association, and collectively paying for their own events. If downtown business owners want bands at "Hops on Monroe," they can pool their resources and pay for them. If they want a fund to help subsidize exterior building repairs for neighboring shops, they can create a private cooperative fund. Why should a factory worker or a retiree struggling to pay property taxes on the edge of town be forced to subsidize a downtown building owner's roof or a street concert?
Across Michigan, other communities are waking up to this reality. Municipalities like Otsego, Scio Township, and Northfield Township have recognized that DDAs often outlive their original purpose, serving as tax-capture machines that hoard public funds. In response, these communities passed ordinances to dissolve their DDAs, ending tax captures and returning those funds back to local tax bases where they belong.
I don't see why Coldwater shouldn't do the same.
The DDA is a waste of time, energy, and taxpayer resources—resources that could be redirected toward solving real problems for all of Coldwater residents: fixing crumbling residential streets, upgrading public infrastructure, supporting public safety, or simply lowering the tax burden on struggling families.
While we're at it, dissolve BCEGA too. We continue to pay $25,000 from the general fund and an additional $25,000 from CBPU into the BCEGA bank account. Keith Baker even said himself that BCEGA hasn't done much economic development in the last 12 months. His explanation? That they haven't hired a new director. If the BCEGA can't find a new director to run it in 12 months' time, why are we to trust they can bring economic development to the City of Coldwater? Keith is the President of BCEGA. Why hasn't he taken charge of it during that time until a new director is found? Instead, he let it sit idle, continued to siphon money from the general fund and CBPU, and somehow got a favorable review and a raise.
"Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participatory event. If we don't participate, we leave it to others who will—and we may not like the results."
— Marian Wright Edelman
The Contact info for Keith Baker, Mayor Kramer and the Council is pinned to the top of my page. I challenge everyone reading this to contact them atleast once this week. Ask a question about why the City is doing something. Demand a change! Make a request! You can call them, you can email them or even text most of them! Make these people work for you. Make them work for us!
