Try to separate your feelings about me, the pool, or the future of LFR for a minute and just look at the pattern. A citizen raises concerns about a City decision and asks whether proper law, policy, or process was followed. Instead of addressing the concern, the focus shifts to the citizen: how they said it, whether they were sufficiently “respectful,” whether they mentioned City Manager Grant Gager, and ultimately whether they should be permitted to continue speaking at all.

For months, Livingston City Manager Grant Gager has pushed back against concerns that Livingston Fire & Rescue is being defunded, diminished, or positioned for a major change. He has said the department is well funded and well resourced, and he has pointed to an increase of nearly $500,000 in Fire and Ambulance spending as evidence that the City is continuing to invest in Livingston Fire & Rescue. At the September 1 City Commission meeting, Gager again tried to reassure both

On August 18, Commissioner Cindy Daniels publicly accused an unnamed City employee of submitting false information, falsifying credentials and being unqualified for the position. She said she had “factual documentation and public records” to support those conclusions. Chair Melissa Nootz then expanded the discussion to possible fraud, City liability, violations of state law and constitutional rights. Only after making those statements publicly did the Commission move to send

Livingston has another new charge moving toward taxpayers this year: a stormwater utility. And before this turns into another argument over whether stormwater matters, let's start with what we already know. Stormwater problems are real. Livingston has aging drainage infrastructure, areas that flood and projects that will eventually need to be addressed. But City Manager Grant Gager has also acknowledged something equally important: Livingston is not currently required to laun

There is one word I think Livingston taxpayers should revisit as the new Wellness Center comes online: free. For years, one of the major selling points of the project was that Livingston residents would be able to use the facility without paying a membership fee. At the July 21 City Commission meeting, Chair Melissa Nootz specifically credited City Manager Grant Gager with moving forward with the Commission’s initiative to make the recreation center “free for taxpayers,” incl

One of the reasons I founded Livingston GAP was because I believe government works best when citizens have access to the complete story, not just the parts that fit someone's narrative. That's exactly what's happening with the Fire Department's capital requests. Over the last several days, I've watched people share screenshots from Appendix A of the budget and add up the dollar amounts as if that tells us everything we need to know. It doesn't. Those screenshots don't explain

The real story isn't the dispute. It's how we respond to hard questions. After reading today's article in the Livingston Enterprise, I kept coming back to the same question. Why are we still talking about this like it's a dispute between the City Manager and the Fire Chief? I don't think that's what this is anymore. If it were, it probably would have blown over by now. One person would leave, another person would get hired, and life would move on. But that's not what's happen

The City Manager recently told the Livingston Enterprise there are "no significant changes" coming to Livingston Fire & Rescue. The Commission echoed that message, assuring the public the department remains well funded, well equipped, and that no significant operational changes are expected. Honestly... what would you call the last month? The Fire Chief was placed on administrative leave over the length of a PowerPoint presentation. The City hired an outside investigator afte

One of the most revealing moments from Tuesday night's meeting had nothing to do with the budget itself. It was a simple explanation from City Manager Grant Gager about why dispatch may need another employee. It was a perfectly reasonable explanation. The problem is that it's completely different from the explanation taxpayers were given when Livingston Fire Rescue raised the very same concerns. During the discussion of the dispatch budget, Gager explained that dispatchers ha

And Why Our Commissioners Should Know the Difference Before Voting on the Budget One of the comments that caught my attention during Tuesday night's budget meeting came from Commissioner Cindy Daniels. She said she was tired of people asking her about the Fire Department's capital replacement plan and pointed everyone to Appendix A of the budget. She explained that those pages were the Fire Department's five-year capital improvement plan because, as she put it, "each page is

Update (July 21, 2026) At the July 21, 2026 City Commission meeting, I asked City Manager Grant Gager what happened to the Michael J. Kardoes Excellence in Community Service Award. His response confirmed what the public record suggested. According to Gager, after arriving in 2023, the City conducted an internal solicitation for nominations. He said there was only one nominee and that there was not enough enthusiasm to continue the program. Gager then acknowledged what happene

Livingston is having a public conversation about the future of its fire department. Here's what the public record shows. A department that was asking for help On May 19, 2026, Livingston Fire Chief Josh Chabalowski and Battalion Chief Jonathan Gilbert presented what they described as the "State of Livingston Fire & Rescue" during a City Commission meeting. The presentation covered topics including: Staffing shortages Aging fire apparatus Station limitations Training needs EMS

For three consecutive years, Livingston’s independent auditors raised concerns about the City’s Impact Fees Fund. Each time, the City gave essentially the same explanation: the unusually large balance was being accumulated for a future railroad crossing project. Then the budget projected that the Transportation Impact Fee balance would be spent down to zero. A few months later, the City Manager told the Commission that more than $1 million was still appropriated in that same