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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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If you saw the 1982 movie "The Best little Whorehouse in Texas", one of the most memorable scenes was Charles Durning as the Governor as he performed "The Sidestep".
"Ooh I love to dance the little sidestep/ Now they see me, now they don't/ I've come and gone/ And, ooh, I love to sweep a wide step/ Cut a little swath/ and lead the people on!"
Flint doesn't have a Charles Durning, but we do have the great team of Greg Eason, playing the City Administrator, and Peter Bade, playing the City Attorney. Together they can create a sidestep worthy of Broadway.
Sidestep #1
City administration supercedes resolution 090784, (which allowed the money from the Attorney General settlement with Countrywide Financial to be used for a magistrate in 68th district Court) with resolution 100102 to now use the money for code enforcement. Only problem is the District Court has been paying a magistrate since July 2009. According to Eason, the state "had issues with the city using the money for the magistrate", but approved it's use for code enforcement.
Kincaid repeatedly asked Eason where the money came from to pay the magistrate, but each time Eason went into a discussion of the AG's decision (made many months ago) and the administrations new resolve to use the money for code enforcement.
He then went on to say this would give council $50k more for cose enforcement than the $200k they took from plans to do energy improvements on the Oak Business Center. He said they would be bringing a resolution to restore the 200K to oak.
A second response was to advise council that he and Bade were working on a tribunal for code enforcement to eliminate the need for a magistrate. Bade had to manuever around this one because the issue has not been completely worked out.
Bottom line is Eason never had o explain where the money was coming from to pay for the magistrate.He also never had to explain why Judge Hayman still believed it was from the settlement. A frustrated Kincaid quit asking, but the resolve to settle the issue was all over his face. In other words, the saga will continue!
Sidestep #2 (attempted)
Who is in charge of Code Enforcement and is it legal? Neeley repeatedly asked who was in charge of code enforcement and he refused to be sidestepped. After Eason avoided the situation, attention turned to Tom Mccabe, former purchasing director and once in charge of DPW, who replied he was not responsible for that task. Attention finally landed on Parks Director Patrick Gerace, who had illegally been apppointed Neighborhood Services Director until reined in by Council. He is in charge of code enforcement, but did not know he was supposed to be planning it now. The public hearing on the reorganization to give Gerace that power has not even been approved yet. Kincaid said little, but you can be sure he will remember it.
Sidestep #3 (went down in flames)
Resolution #100092 Appointment/ Wendy Johnson/Director of Community and Economic development
When the discussion didn't go her way a frustrated Jackie poplar demanded that Eason confirm her assertion the appointment was because "HUD expected us to hire someone so we (city) will be in compliance".
Council wanted Johnson there so they could question her credentials for the job. She was not there at this time of the meeting so it was postponed and the discussion was for how long. That is when thing got heated!
Eason shocked everyone when he resolutely told council he had an executive order to fill that position. Peter Bade chimed in with a need to review the law to see exactly what city council approval meant. Inez got out her copy of the charter and it was read into the record .Bade hemhawed around about reviewing to see if the appointment could be made by executive order and if it could supercede council.
An upset Josh Freeman told Eason the charter gave clear role to council to vet the position. Neeley reminded Eason the mayor personally came to council to apologize for illegally violating the charter when he appointed Gerace. Now he appears to be telling us he will be doing it on purpose. Kincaid and other council told Bade and Eason that all they had to do is review the last 10 years of lawsuits between council and the mayor's office to see council does have the right to vet the position.
Eason alleged he had been running this department for 6 months. This was despite the OIG report of 9/30/09 which stated on page 4 :
"The city did not renew it's contract with the former director of the department and hired a superintendent of the deparmen on May 1, 2009 to replace the director."
When asked about Superintendent Tracy Atkinson by Josh Freeman, Eason had little to say He did not answer Freeman as to whom was receiving the salary of the director while the position was not filled and would only say he was running the department. Eason forgets Tracy is the one who comes to council to answer questions. Her poor leadership is making the strides of the past years under Nancy decline. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:30 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Webs, what was up with the scanner call about 8:30 requesting a police officer at the council chambers? it would have been ironic if none were available. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:45 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| I can't imagine as council was over. Eric Mays was angry at Bade for not following through on areferral. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:57 am |
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FlintCityMole
F L I N T O I D
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| Don't just talk about it, Recall his ass. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:20 am |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
untanglingwebs schreef:
I can't imagine as council was over. Eric Mays was angry at Bade for not following through on a referral.
That might explain it. |
_________________
I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:01 am |
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back again
F L I N T O I D
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why is eric mays even allowed in the room?  |
_________________
even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 12:54 pm |
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Pachuco
F L I N T O I D
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Eric Mays is a disrespectful, childish, fool and wanna be bully. He was cursing loudly for about ten minutes, and was literally in the faces councilpeoples and of city officials. He should have been arrested, it was unacceptable and embarrassing.... Good job to the people for being so calm during this whole thing and not dropping down to his level... Yeah Sally that meeting was crazy... I was in the blue tie and grew zip sweater btw  |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:55 pm |
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back again
F L I N T O I D
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| isn't there some type of law disallowing continually disruptive persons from entering city hall? |
_________________
even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:54 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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It turns out that the answer given to Kincaid was by Eason about general fund money used for DCED was probably deliberately misleading. As a superintendent, Tracy Atkinson must be paid primarily out of the general fund. HUD assumes the person in charge is also handling duties other than HUD, such as Cities of Promise, etc. and those duties cannot be charged to HUD.
Glenda Dunlap is a person who has duties with HUD and other entities such as Economic Development and is considered a 50% HUD reimbursement. Eason made it seem as though she was paid 100% out of general fund. I have been told that only a small portion of general fund money went to pay Robert Goodman as he is primarily Flint Area Enterprise Community and may not have been paid this fiscal year for duties with the EDC. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:34 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Back Again= It didn't help when Jackie Poplar told Mays to go on and get out of here.
Mays was furious that the City Attorney Peter Bade did not complete the investigation requested by Neeley regarding allegations Mays made of charter violations by Eason. he was also angered when Jackie Poplar disrespected Sam Sutton and two of her colleagues. Loyd stepped out of the meeting for a brief time before the meeting got a little crazy. When Loyd returned he appropriately demanded that both council and the public learn to behave in a professional manner. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:43 pm |
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Pachuco
F L I N T O I D
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| No, Eric Mays is a grown man, he need's to behave like one, there is absolutely no excuse, it's not Jackie's, Peter's or whoever's fault, it's his... I haven't seen that kind of behavior since I was in elementary, when kids would scream and pout if they couldn't speak... Atleast back then we didn't cuss or get into our teachers face. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:00 pm |
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FlintCityMole
F L I N T O I D
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Greg Eason is on crazy pills you know
quote:
untanglingwebs schreef:
If you saw the 1982 movie "The Best little Whorehouse in Texas", one of the most memorable scenes was Charles Durning as the Governor as he performed "The Sidestep".
"Ooh I love to dance the little sidestep/ Now they see me, now they don't/ I've come and gone/ And, ooh, I love to sweep a wide step/ Cut a little swath/ and lead the people on!"
Flint doesn't have a Charles Durning, but we do have the great team of Greg Eason, playing the City Administrator, and Peter Bade, playing the City Attorney. Together they can create a sidestep worthy of Broadway.
Sidestep #1
City administration supercedes resolution 090784, (which allowed the money from the Attorney General settlement with Countrywide Financial to be used for a magistrate in 68th district Court) with resolution 100102 to now use the money for code enforcement. Only problem is the District Court has been paying a magistrate since July 2009. According to Eason, the state "had issues with the city using the money for the magistrate", but approved it's use for code enforcement.
Kincaid repeatedly asked Eason where the money came from to pay the magistrate, but each time Eason went into a discussion of the AG's decision (made many months ago) and the administrations new resolve to use the money for code enforcement.
He then went on to say this would give council $50k more for cose enforcement than the $200k they took from plans to do energy improvements on the Oak Business Center. He said they would be bringing a resolution to restore the 200K to oak.
A second response was to advise council that he and Bade were working on a tribunal for code enforcement to eliminate the need for a magistrate. Bade had to manuever around this one because the issue has not been completely worked out.
Bottom line is Eason never had o explain where the money was coming from to pay for the magistrate.He also never had to explain why Judge Hayman still believed it was from the settlement. A frustrated Kincaid quit asking, but the resolve to settle the issue was all over his face. In other words, the saga will continue!
Sidestep #2 (attempted)
Who is in charge of Code Enforcement and is it legal? Neeley repeatedly asked who was in charge of code enforcement and he refused to be sidestepped. After Eason avoided the situation, attention turned to Tom Mccabe, former purchasing director and once in charge of DPW, who replied he was not responsible for that task. Attention finally landed on Parks Director Patrick Gerace, who had illegally been apppointed Neighborhood Services Director until reined in by Council. He is in charge of code enforcement, but did not know he was supposed to be planning it now. The public hearing on the reorganization to give Gerace that power has not even been approved yet. Kincaid said little, but you can be sure he will remember it.
Sidestep #3 (went down in flames)
Resolution #100092 Appointment/ Wendy Johnson/Director of Community and Economic development
When the discussion didn't go her way a frustrated Jackie poplar demanded that Eason confirm her assertion the appointment was because "HUD expected us to hire someone so we (city) will be in compliance".
Council wanted Johnson there so they could question her credentials for the job. She was not there at this time of the meeting so it was postponed and the discussion was for how long. That is when thing got heated!
Eason shocked everyone when he resolutely told council he had an executive order to fill that position. Peter Bade chimed in with a need to review the law to see exactly what city council approval meant. Inez got out her copy of the charter and it was read into the record .Bade hemhawed around about reviewing to see if the appointment could be made by executive order and if it could supercede council.
An upset Josh Freeman told Eason the charter gave clear role to council to vet the position. Neeley reminded Eason the mayor personally came to council to apologize for illegally violating the charter when he appointed Gerace. Now he appears to be telling us he will be doing it on purpose. Kincaid and other council told Bade and Eason that all they had to do is review the last 10 years of lawsuits between council and the mayor's office to see council does have the right to vet the position.
Eason alleged he had been running this department for 6 months. This was despite the OIG report of 9/30/09 which stated on page 4 :
"The city did not renew it's contract with the former director of the department and hired a superintendent of the deparmen on May 1, 2009 to replace the director."
When asked about Superintendent Tracy Atkinson by Josh Freeman, Eason had little to say He did not answer Freeman as to whom was receiving the salary of the director while the position was not filled and would only say he was running the department. Eason forgets Tracy is the one who comes to council to answer questions. Her poor leadership is making the strides of the past years under Nancy decline.
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:03 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:30 pm |
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back again
F L I N T O I D
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mays may very well have had a valid concern but there are ways to conduct oneself in a public setting. if i was a councelperson he would have been put out immediately. i really hate when he comes off with that wino street shit in public. it's disrespectful. (calm down ba........) 
someday the old guy's coming home to run for council damnit!!!!! 
Last edited by back again on Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
_________________
even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y. |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 9:59 pm |
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ConcernedCitizen
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Pachuco schreef:
No, Eric Mays is a grown man, he need's to behave like one, there is absolutely no excuse, it's not Jackie's, Peter's or whoever's fault, it's his... I haven't seen that kind of behavior since I was in elementary, when kids would scream and pout if they couldn't speak... Atleast back then we didn't cuss or get into our teachers face.
Pachuco,
Some may think this is a first, but I partially agree with you. I totally agree that Mr. Mays needs to handle himself in a more mature fashion. What is unfortunate is that Mr. Mays is an intellegent man. The first time I actually held a conversation with him, I was shocked at his level of intelligence. Unfortunately, he has not figured out that by ranting and raving and acting the fool, a lot of people do not take him seriously. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to be able to act seriously when the need arises.
With that said, I saw a tape of the meeting council had a couple of Wednesdays ago. Jackie Poplar could not keep her mouth shut when it came to making comments about Sheldon Neely. Every chance she got, she made personal jabs at Mr. Neely. If she has an issue with a proposal or issue dealing with council, then by all means discuss it. That is what she is elected to do. But these personal insults are an unfortunate carry over from the childish behavior of the previous council. Though I have a few issues with Mr. Neely, I will give him props for maintaining a professional demeanor.
With that said, I would like to applaud Mr. Lloyd for intervening and trying to get all sides to act like adults. As I have said before, I will give credit where due, even if I am not a fan of a particular politician (and no, I am not a big fan of Mr. Lloyd's).
I am cautiously hopeful that this council will have the cajones to stand up to the Mayor when needed. But as the saying goes, "Talk is Cheap!" Let's see if that talk carries over into action. Our charter spells out how the different branches of City Government can check and balance the other branches. Unfortunately, our past administration did nothing but blow smoke up our A**es and do whatever they wanted without any recourse.
I have especially high hopes for Mr. Weighill and Mr. Freeman. Though I must say that when Ms. Poplar was making her personal attacks on Mr. Neely, Josh threw in a few of his own. Here again, we have an intelligent individual that may let childish behavior get in the way of him being taken a seriously as he could be. Mr. Freeman, if you are reading this, please save your personal comments for your memoirs. Please stay focused on the issues of our City and Council and maintain a professional composure, especially in these very trying times. |
_________________
"When people fear their government, there is TYRANNY.
When the government fears the people, there is Liberty"
Thomas Jefferson |
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Thu Feb 18, 2010 10:07 pm |
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