| Author
|
Post |
 
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
CLICKONDETROIT CHANNEL 4
Judge: State-appointed financial review team's work is null and void
Team in Detroit, Highland Park accused of violating Open Meetings Act
Published On: Feb 15 2012 09:52:16 AM EST Updated On: Feb 15 2012 10:02:59 AM EST
.
DETROIT -
A judge has ruled the work of a state-appointed team reviewing the city of Detroit's finances null and void.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge William Collette's ruling comes just a week after he issued a preliminary injunction saying any future meetings by the group must comply with the Open Meetings Act.
The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Robert Davis, a Highland Park school board member and union activist. He claimed the Detroit review team violated the Open Meetings Act by meeting in "secret."
Davis also sued over the state's appointment of an emergency manager in the Highland Park district.
Gov. Rick Snyder's administration has said the review teams aren't subject to the Open Meetings Act.
The review team is working to determine if a financial emergency exists in Michigan's largest city. It is expected to report to Snyder by the end of February.
The governor then could decide whether Detroit should get an emergency manager. |
|
|
Wed Feb 15, 2012 10:13 am |
|
|
untanglingwebs
El Supremo
|
WILL BROWN HAVE TO START BECOMING TRANSPARENT?
Judge: State financial reviews must obey open meetings law
February 7, 2012 |
By Dawson Bell
Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau
MASON -- The emergency review team examining Detroit's finances, as a possible prelude to appointment of an emergency manager by Gov. Rick Snyder, must hold meetings in public, an Ingham County judge ruled Monday.
Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette said the review team has considerable authority and fits the definition of a public body subject to Michigan's Open Meetings Act.
Highland Park school board member Robert Davis, who filed the challenge, called Collette's ruling "a monumental decision," and predicted it could have far-reaching impact.
Davis said he and his attorney will ask Collette at a hearing next week to invalidate all of the actions taken by review teams for the City of Detroit and Highland Park schools.
A spokesman for the Snyder administration said Collette's ruling could have "a possible chilling effect."
The Department of Treasury's "position, for more than 20 years, has been that a review team is not a public body," spokesman Terry Stanton said.
But Collette's order, he said, "does not stop the review process. It simply means that review team meetings must be open, unless or until the court rules otherwise."
Stanton said the decision is under review.
It was not immediately clear how the decision would affect the Detroit team, or whether the 10-member group has held formal meetings since an organizational session early last month in Lansing. But Davis' attorney Andrew Paterson said team members have met in small groups with members of the Detroit City Council and other city officials, and that those sessions also would be subject now to the open meetings law.
Robin Herrmann, attorney for the Michigan Press Association, said the law is designed to give the public access to government "deliberation and decision-making." It is usually applied to legislative and administrative agencies but can apply to bodies that "exercise authority or perform a government function," she said.
Under the emergency manager law, the team must assess the condition of the local government and recommend to the governor whether an emergency manager is needed. The governor is not bound by the recommendation.
In a statement, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said: "We have always been open and transparent about the finances of the City of Detroit. From our perspective, we do not anticipate any change as to our participation in the financial review process." |
|
|
|
Wed Feb 15, 2012 10:21 am |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Register
Profile
FlintTalk.com Forum Index
> Political Talk
