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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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OFFICE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
January 16. 2013
The Hon. Rick Snyder, Governor
State of Michigan
George W. Romney Building
111 S. Capitol Ave.
Lansing, Michigan 48933
Dear Gov. Snyder:
The Flint City Council is requesting an investigation into a situation that, on the face of it, appears unethical at best and egregious at worst. We’re talking about the recent disclosure that Barnett Jones, former Police Chief of Ann Arbor, was working two full-time jobs — one as Public Safety Administrator for the City of Flint and one as Chief Security and Integrity Officer for the Detroit Water and Sewerage
Department — the very department that Flint is negotiating with for future drinking water.
By way of background, on at least two occasions, you and representatives from the State have been in Flint to address your commitment to fighting crime and dealing with the crime problems in our community. At your recommendation, Emergency Manager Michael Brown hired Mr. Jones to oversee the police and fire departments. Since his hiring, the City of Flint has had 66 homicides in 2012, and four
in the first 12 days of January 2013. While Mr. Jones was hired to help, it appears that he was more concerned about having two well-paid jobs at a time when our crime statistics continue to rise.
Many on the Council and in the community were stunned when Mr. Jones was hired since the police department already had a Chief— Alvern Lock — and because the city was said to be in such financial distress that your staff ordered an emergency financial takeover. Mr. Brown answered those questions with assurances that Mr. Jones would be instrumental in developing an effective public safety plan to
help deal with the high numbers of crimes per capita that Flint records each year.
Still, questions lingered, especially since he was paid higher than any other official (outside of Mr. Brown) in recent memory, since he was seldom seen by employees in his own departments, and especially when Flint tied the record for the most homicides ever last year.
It is our feeling that the time has come for you and the State Treasurer’s Office to revisit and review the Emergency Manager and the direction that the EM has taken Flint over the past 13 months. It is clear that his direction has not addressed crime, the city’s financial situation has not improved and the deficit has more than doubled since his appointment.
Moreover, we have witnessed the following:
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• A stagnant economy
• Hardship that the increased taxes and fees have caused our citizens, particularly the elderly
• Loss of population due to those same increases in taxes and fees
• Continued loss of population loss due to crime and fear of crime
All of the above have implications in terms of our ability to attract and retain industry in the City of Flint.
Clearly, we are on the wrong path, and we need to review options other than an Emergency Manager to the extent that a Consent Agreement between the elected officials and the State may better serve our
community.
It is time that we look at this very seriously and that you review this prior to your decision to reappoint/appoint an Emergency Manager before the end of March.
Lastly, we kindly request that you attend a City Council meeting where these and other questions can be posed to you by members of the Council and the community. If that is not possible, we ask that you please respond to these questions in writing.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Scott Kincaid, President
Bryant . Nolden, Vice President
Flint City Council Flint City Council
cc: Andy Dillon, State Treasurer
Roger Fraser, Deputy Treasurer
SK:jj
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Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:22 am |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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| Why no mention of paying 2 EFMs (Brown and Kurtz) and two Chiefs (Jones and Lock). |
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Sun Jan 20, 2013 12:29 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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This is a process and probably the council has several steps to take. There will be further action.
The audit will allow council to address the incompetant friends and duplication of services in place by Brown. Howard croft has no experience for the job he now has. Plus he and his wife have their home in a tax foreclosure.
The two chiefs, the duplication of staff in DCED (and we still have to pay back more money) and other issues can be dealt with now. Already the state says they will pay for emergency managers. I wish they would pay for Brown as he costs more. Hopefully both Brown and kurtz will leave. |
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Sun Jan 20, 2013 6:59 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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Flint City Council letter to Gov. Snyder: 'We are on the wrong path' with emergency manager
Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
on January 22, 2013 at 5:30 PM, updated January 22, 2013 at 5:36 PM
Print
Email
BLsnyderincaro03.JPG Gov. Rick Snyder MLive.com file photo
FLINT, MI -- Flint City Council leaders are asking Gov. Rick Snyder to investigate the former public safety administrator and consider removing the city's state-appointed emergency financial manager.
Calling the situation "unethical at best," the council wrote a letter requesting a review of the controversial resignation of former Public Safety Administrator Barnett Jones, who simultaneously held a full-time job working security for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department unbeknownst to Flint's emergency manager.
They also asked the governor to "very seriously" look at whether Flint still needs an emergency manager.
Citing Jones' resignation after recent discovery of the second job and the city's consistent high crime rate, the letter says having an emergency financial manager has not improved Flint's major problems.
It says the time has come for the governor and state treasurer to review the emergency manager and the city's direction over the past 13 months.
"It is clear that his direction has not addressed crime, the city’s financial situation has not improved and the deficit has more than doubled since his appointment," reads the Jan. 16 letter signed by Council President Scott Kincaid and Vice President Bryant Nolden.
The letter references Jones' hiring in Flint at the recommendation of the governor, saying many questioned his six-figure salary and his appointment at the time because Flint already has a police chief. Jones started his Flint job in April 2012 and was paid $135,000 with grant funds.
Flint emergency financial manager Ed Kurtz and city administrator Michael Brown said they discovered Jones' second six-figure job in Detroit on Jan. 9, when they were questioned about it by a Detroit reporter. Brown and Kurtz met with Jones about it the following morning, after which Jones submitted his letter of resignation.
Jones could not be reached for comment Tuesday, Jan. 22.
In their letter, Kincaid and Nolden asked the governor to attend a Flint City Council meeting to answer questions about the situation from the council and the public.
"If that is not possible, we ask that you please respond to these questions in writing," it says.
Kincaid and Nolden ask that Snyder consider enacting a consent agreement between Flint's elected officials and the state, rather than reappoint an emergency financial manager when the new state takeover law is set to take effect in March.
Kincaid said he agreed to write the letter because he believes the city is on the wrong track.
"(The governor) needs to rethink the path we're currently on," Kincaid said Friday, Jan. 18.
The new takeover law contains many of the same features as Public Act 4, the emergency manager law that was overturned by voters in November, and grants managers more powers than Public Act 72, the law currently governing cities and school districts with emergency financial managers.
It was signed by Snyder in December.
Under the new law, governments can choose among several options for dealing with fiscal emergency, including municipal bankruptcy (with the governor's approval), an emergency manager, arbitration with a neutral party or a consent agreement that spells out the terms of fixing local finances.
The governor could also appoint a transition advisory board to oversee the city's finances when an emergency manager exits a community.
View a copy of the letter here: Letter to Gov Snyder from Flint City Council.PDF
Kristin Longley can be reached at 810-429-5333. You can also follow her on Twitter @KristinLongley or subscribe on Facebook.
Email
Related Stories
Flint reviewing resigned Public Safety Administrator Barnett Jones' records
Union official calls for job of former Flint public safety administrator Barnett Jones
2 comments so far
Pause Live Updates »
cleartheair
Gov. Snyder: 'We are on the wrong path' with our current Flint City Council.
You guys at City Council are delusional; you are complaining that Jones took the city for a ride?
Let me ask, where was Chief Locke? I won’t even start by asking you what HE does all day, but I would ask why he did not alert anyone his counterpart was nowhere to be found, Maybe we should have put a detective in his job.
You complain about monies lost, but you continually sue the administration, wasting tens of thousands of dollars in court costs, and you never seem to make a rational decision.
Therefore, as a Flint resident I would ask you send a letter asking him to remove all of you.
26 Minutes Ago
· Reply · Like · Flag
intheknow767
The city council doesn't get it. After the EFM is finished, the City will then be governed by the County and county-wide elected officials. It has been the goal for quite some time and it is the only way to keep the City residents from continuing to elect incompetence and mismanage themselves into the ground over and over.
cleartheair likes this. |
_________________
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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Tue Jan 22, 2013 6:32 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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Flint City Council letter to Gov. Snyder: 'We are on the wrong path' with emergency manager
Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
on January 22, 2013 at 5:30 PM, updated January 22, 2013 at 5:36 PM
Print
Email
BLsnyderincaro03.JPG Gov. Rick Snyder MLive.com file photo
FLINT, MI -- Flint City Council leaders are asking Gov. Rick Snyder to investigate the former public safety administrator and consider removing the city's state-appointed emergency financial manager.
Calling the situation "unethical at best," the council wrote a letter requesting a review of the controversial resignation of former Public Safety Administrator Barnett Jones, who simultaneously held a full-time job working security for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department unbeknownst to Flint's emergency manager.
They also asked the governor to "very seriously" look at whether Flint still needs an emergency manager.
Citing Jones' resignation after recent discovery of the second job and the city's consistent high crime rate, the letter says having an emergency financial manager has not improved Flint's major problems.
It says the time has come for the governor and state treasurer to review the emergency manager and the city's direction over the past 13 months.
"It is clear that his direction has not addressed crime, the city’s financial situation has not improved and the deficit has more than doubled since his appointment," reads the Jan. 16 letter signed by Council President Scott Kincaid and Vice President Bryant Nolden.
The letter references Jones' hiring in Flint at the recommendation of the governor, saying many questioned his six-figure salary and his appointment at the time because Flint already has a police chief. Jones started his Flint job in April 2012 and was paid $135,000 with grant funds.
Flint emergency financial manager Ed Kurtz and city administrator Michael Brown said they discovered Jones' second six-figure job in Detroit on Jan. 9, when they were questioned about it by a Detroit reporter. Brown and Kurtz met with Jones about it the following morning, after which Jones submitted his letter of resignation.
Jones could not be reached for comment Tuesday, Jan. 22.
In their letter, Kincaid and Nolden asked the governor to attend a Flint City Council meeting to answer questions about the situation from the council and the public.
"If that is not possible, we ask that you please respond to these questions in writing," it says.
Kincaid and Nolden ask that Snyder consider enacting a consent agreement between Flint's elected officials and the state, rather than reappoint an emergency financial manager when the new state takeover law is set to take effect in March.
Kincaid said he agreed to write the letter because he believes the city is on the wrong track.
"(The governor) needs to rethink the path we're currently on," Kincaid said Friday, Jan. 18.
The new takeover law contains many of the same features as Public Act 4, the emergency manager law that was overturned by voters in November, and grants managers more powers than Public Act 72, the law currently governing cities and school districts with emergency financial managers.
It was signed by Snyder in December.
Under the new law, governments can choose among several options for dealing with fiscal emergency, including municipal bankruptcy (with the governor's approval), an emergency manager, arbitration with a neutral party or a consent agreement that spells out the terms of fixing local finances.
The governor could also appoint a transition advisory board to oversee the city's finances when an emergency manager exits a community.
View a copy of the letter here: Letter to Gov Snyder from Flint City Council.PDF
Kristin Longley can be reached at 810-429-5333. You can also follow her on Twitter @KristinLongley or subscribe on Facebook.
Email
Related Stories
Flint reviewing resigned Public Safety Administrator Barnett Jones' records
Union official calls for job of former Flint public safety administrator Barnett Jones
2 comments so far
Pause Live Updates »
cleartheair
Gov. Snyder: 'We are on the wrong path' with our current Flint City Council.
You guys at City Council are delusional; you are complaining that Jones took the city for a ride?
Let me ask, where was Chief Locke? I won’t even start by asking you what HE does all day, but I would ask why he did not alert anyone his counterpart was nowhere to be found, Maybe we should have put a detective in his job.
You complain about monies lost, but you continually sue the administration, wasting tens of thousands of dollars in court costs, and you never seem to make a rational decision.
Therefore, as a Flint resident I would ask you send a letter asking him to remove all of you.
26 Minutes Ago
· Reply · Like · Flag
intheknow767
The city council doesn't get it. After the EFM is finished, the City will then be governed by the County and county-wide elected officials. It has been the goal for quite some time and it is the only way to keep the City residents from continuing to elect incompetence and mismanage themselves into the ground over and over.
cleartheair likes this. |
_________________
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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Tue Jan 22, 2013 6:35 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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State Treasury changes policy after ex-Flint public safety administrator Barnett Jones caught with second job
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
on January 23, 2013 at 9:30 AM, updated January 23, 2013 at 10:22 AM
)
FLINT, MI -- The Michigan Department of Treasury is changing its policy regarding emergency financial manager appointees after Flint's public safety administrator resigned amid questions about his second full-time job in Detroit.
Treasury spokesman Terry Stanton said the department is taking steps to prevent similar situations in the future by prohibiting appointees of an emergency financial manager from taking another job without approval from both the manager and the state treasurer.
The new policy will be included in future appointee contracts, Stanton said.
"We agree that the situation, which the (Snyder) administration was not aware of until informed by the city, was unacceptable," Stanton said in an email to MLive-Flint Journal. "The matter is currently being reviewed by the Flint City Attorney and once the review is complete, the EFM and his staff will determine appropriate steps."
The same employment policy would also apply to emergency financial managers, he said. Future contracts will restrict a manager from accepting other employment or compensation without written consent from the treasurer, Stanton said.
Jones was unable to be reached for comment this week.
Jones was hired as Flint's public safety administrator in April with a salary of $135,000 paid for with grant funds.
City officials say they learned Jan. 9 that Jones has also been working another full-time job in Detroit as chief security and integrity officer for the Water and Sewerage Department.
Emergency financial manager Ed Kurtz and City Administrator Michael Brown said they were unaware of Jones' second six-figure job until a Detroit reporter questioned them about it.
Kurtz and Brown said they questioned Jones about it the following day, and Jones submitted his resignation.
The incident sparked outrage from some in the community, including the Flint City Council.
Council leadership sent a letter to the governor last week requesting an investigation into the incident. Council President Scott Kincaid and Vice President Bryant Nolden also asked Snyder to consider removing the emergency financial manager from Flint in March, saying the city is "on the wrong path."
(Read the letter here).
The governor and treasurer did receive the council's letter, Stanton said Tuesday. He said they will respond accordingly.
Kristin Longley can be reached at 810-429-5333. You can also follow her on Twitter @KristinLongley or subscribe on Facebook. |
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Wed Jan 23, 2013 12:21 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint requests ex-public safety administrator Barnett Jones' Detroit job records
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
on January 23, 2013 at 3:53 PM, updated January 23, 2013 at 4:34 PM
FLINT, MI -- The city of Flint is requesting former Public Safety Administrator Barnett Jones' public employment records from the city of Detroit, emergency financial manager Ed Kurtz said today.
The records request was made as part of the Flint city attorney's review of Jones' time in Flint, he said. The review was sparked after Jones resigned Jan. 10 amid questions about a second full-time job he was working as chief security and integrity officer for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
Kurtz said they're looking for any records that would contradict records on file in Flint of the work he did as public safety administrator. Jones was holding both jobs for eight months, but Flint city leaders said they were unaware of the Detroit job.
In Flint, Jones was not required to punch a time clock nor did he have to keep detailed record of his time in the office, Kurtz said. None of the city's administrators are required to do so, he said.
Jones' contract in Flint also did not prohibit him from holding a second job, nor did it require him to disclose any other employment.
"He was here a lot -- evenings, weekends, daytime," Kurtz said. "Was he here 40 hours a week? We can't prove it. None of our administrators have to punch a clock."
Jones was unable to be reached for comment this week.
Kurtz said he does not have any complaints about the work Jones did for the city, and believes he was working full time for Flint.
He said Jones was instrumental in the city's public safety plan, including creating new neighborhood patrol districts for police officers.
"That's working very well for us," he said.
Kurtz also responded to a policy change made by the state treasury department that will require appointees of an emergency financial manager to receive approval from the state for secondary employment. The same policy will be required for emergency financial managers as well.
"They did the right thing," Kurtz said of the decision.
Flint City Councilman Sheldon Neeley said the new policy should prohibit an emergency financial manager's appointees from holding any secondary employment because of the nature of needing a manager in the first place.
"We're in an emergency. We're in a triage situation," Neeley said. "We deserve someone's full attention."
Once the city attorney's review of Jones' employment is completed, the emergency financial manager and his staff are expected to examine the results and determine the appropriate steps, officials said.
As for the position of public safety administrator, Kurtz said the city is leaning toward hiring a fire chief rather than a replacement for Jones.
"What we believe we really need is a fire chief," he said. "We haven't had a fire chief in a long time. We haven't made a decision yet, we're analyzing it."
Jones was hired as Flint's public safety administrator in April with a salary of $135,000 paid for with grant funds.
City officials say they learned Jan. 9 that Jones has also been working another full-time job in Detroit as chief security and integrity officer for the Water and Sewerage Department.
Kurtz and City Administrator Michael Brown said they were unaware of Jones' second six-figure job until a Detroit reporter questioned them about it. In a news report, Jones said he worked 40 hours a week at each job.
Kurtz and Brown said they questioned Jones about it the following day, and Jones submitted his resignation. Brown said he was concerned about it because Flint is in talks with the Detroit water and sewer department about a possible new contract for water.
The incident sparked outrage from some in the community, including the Flint City Council, in light of the city's high crime rate.
Council leadership sent a letter to the governor last week requesting an investigation into the incident.
Council President Scott Kincaid and Vice President Bryant Nolden also asked Snyder to consider removing the emergency financial manager from Flint in March, saying the city is "on the wrong path."
A spokesman for the state treasury department said the governor and treasurer received the letter and would respond accordingly. |
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Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:40 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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"Kurtz said they're looking for any records that would contradict records on file in Flint of the work he did as public safety administrator. Jones was holding both jobs for eight months, but Flint city leaders said they were unaware of the Detroit job.
In Flint, Jones was not required to punch a time clock nor did he have to keep detailed record of his time in the office, Kurtz said. None of the city's administrators are required to do so, he said."
This is an irresponsible policy. These administrators get sick pay and vacation time. If the use of this time is never accounted for, they can accumulate the time and get paid for most of it when they leave. How does anyone know how much time administrators actually work? |
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Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:44 pm |
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