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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Brown is rushing decisions through in an attempt to overcome the possible implications of the overturn of PA 4. Just as Snyder ignored the legislature, when he entered into an agreement with Canada over the new bridge, Brown is trying to take us to the point of no return on several issues.
Brown, with his multiple conflicts of interest should never have been selected as an Emergency Manager. Whereas Kurtz did not hire extra appointees, Brown has brought on all of his cronies and he still can't make a decision on our water future.
Brown wants to quickly sell our garbage trucks, which are only about 6 yrs old, so that Flint has to privitize garbage pickup. The garbage industry is the most corrupt in the nation, so I wonder if anyone got a kick back.
Brown did not publish both resolutions in the obsolete facilities public hearing on his web site. He only published one. Naturally the Flint Journal wasn't going to print that their buildings were up for 60 5 tax abatements for 12 years. And what plans does Uptown have for the Genesee Towers.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PROMISED TRANSPARENCY?
Brown has been shown to be a bitter and vindictive man. When the police refused to accept his cuts, he gave them cuts far in excess of what the other unions agreed to.
He claimed he saved $600,000 by cutting appointees from walling. Yet he refuses to investigate allegations of wrongdoing in the walling-Eason administration. The cost of his appointees is about twice of what he allegedly saved. And we can't forget his old pal, Tom Mc Cabe. McCabe, retired City Purchasing Director, was brought back by Brown when he was Interim Mayor. Under walling, council told him what a colossal failure he was and he quit. Brown is back and so is mccabe, albeit in a different position. |
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:41 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| When the time comes for elections, Democrats and Independents alike need to recognize how the Republicans under Snyder have deliberately stalled threats to their tyranny in order to get their own way, legally or illegally. |
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:45 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Michael Brown likely out as Flint emergency manager if Public Act 4 is suspended
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 7:00 AM Updated: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 7:48 AM
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
FLINT, MI -- Michael Brown's former stint as temporary mayor of Flint could torpedo his future as the city's emergency manager should Public Act 4 be suspended.
A statewide coalition is closer to getting a referendum of the emergency manager law, Public Act 4, on the ballot for voters to decide whether to toss it out.
If the referendum is placed on the November ballot, state officials have said the law would be suspended and revert to its previous version, Public Act 72.
That's where Brown's resume comes into play.
Under that old version of the law, Brown isn't eligible to be emergency manager because he previously worked for the city in recent years.
Section 18 of Act 72 reads that the emergency financial manager "shall not have been either an elected or appointed official or employee of the local government for which appointed for not less than 5 years before the appointment."
Brown served as temporary mayor of Flint for six months after former Mayor Don Williamson resigned and before Mayor Dayne Walling was elected in August 2009.
Brown was appointed Flint's emergency manager by Gov. Rick Snyder on Dec. 1 under the new law, Public Act 4 -- which doesn't contain the clause regarding former city employees.
Terry Stanton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Treasury, said Wednesday that the interpretation of Public Act 72 is correct -- Brown would not be eligible to be emergency financial manager under that older version of the law.
Stanton said in an email that, if Public Act 4 is suspended, then the state's Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board could then appoint an emergency manager under the process spelled out in the old law.
Brown's office said in a statement that the emergency manager is aware of the conflict caused by his time as temporary mayor, and said, "The state has been preparing for that contingency."
Brown's Public Information Officer Jason Lorenz said the emergency manager remains focused on his job, and will continue to do so until the state informs him otherwise.
"The emergency manager's office is still concentrating on the task at hand: finding solutions to the city's problems," Lorenz said.
Added to Flint's uncertainty is the question of whether Public Act 4 will be suspended.
The statewide coalition against Public Act 4, called Stand Up For Democracy, collected enough valid signatures to put a referendum of the law on the ballot.
But another committee, Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, filed a challenge based on the font size of the petitions. The Michigan Board of Canvassers deadlocked on the issue and failed to certify the petitions for November.
The Court of Appeals recently issued a ruling to put the referendum on the ballot, but Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility still has time to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court, which is expected to ultimately decide the issue.
As the matter is pending in the court system, the fates of the communities with emergency managers remain in limbo.
John Philo, legal director for the Sugar Law Center for Economic & Social Justice, said it's their position that if Public Act 4 is suspended, the law is void and authority would revert back to the elected officials. The center is providing legal counsel to Stand Up for Democracy.
"It should be played out by letting the voters decide," Philo said. "Restore power to elected officials."
Attorney General Bill Schuette has issued a statement that it is his position that if the petitions are certified, Public Act 4 will be suspended pending the outcome of the November vote, "and the previous state law governing emergency financial managers, Public Act 72 of 1990, will govern in the interim."
The governor's office issued a statement Wednesday echoing that same interpretation, that Michigan "does indeed automatically revert back to the state's previous emergency manager law, Public Act 72," spokeswoman Sara Wurfel said.
"From our standpoint, we have to be focused like a laser beam on helping address the challenges facing our struggling communities and schools," Wurfel added. "Ensuring they have the tools they need to get back on sound financial footing and provide effective services to their residents, parents, and students is a top priority."
But Flint resident Paul Jordan, who opposes Public Act 4, said emergency managers are not the solution for the problems facing Flint and other communities faced with shrinking tax bases.
Still, Public Act 72 is the lesser evil when it comes to state takeovers, he said. Flint is already familiar with the situation, having been under the emergency financial management of Ed Kurtz from 2002-04.
"It's a less powerful position," he said. "That's OK, but we need to figure out some way to fund cities like Flint that have a disappearing tax base. (Emergency managers can't) find us new revenue streams -- all they can do is take on debt and cut." |
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:54 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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And if Brown rushes through the Brownfield requests for the Land Bank, the taxes for those properties go to the land Bank for the next 30 years.
The up to 60 % tax ababtements on the downtown properties are for 12 years.
Brown held the hearing for the Obsolete Facilities request at 10 am because he hoped no one would show up and the media aided him by not publishing any information on ithe hearing. People are angry they were not informed. |
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 7:58 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Even if if decisions are declared null and void, he is counting on apathy in Flint and that no one will challenge his decisions in court. |
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:01 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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doingit4me
Kristin, your article begs a number of questions but primarily what happens to all of the otherwise illegal decisions or steps Mr. Brown has made using the unilateral authority granted him under the newer version of PA 4 if the referendum succeeds? Specifically, would the numerous violations or changes to contracts Mr. Brown made be voided or would they stand until he is gone or a new EFM changes them? Would a new EFM operating under the old version be allowed to keep the changes Mr. Brown made under the new version or would the new EFM have to start from scratch? How about the new street light taxes or water rate increase? You get the picture.
While I agree with installing an EFM in Flint, I do not agree with the unilateral powers granted to them under the newer version of the law especially when considering Mr. Brown has continued to fund non-core functions of government while at the same time cutting core functions like the Police Department in the most violent city in the nation.
If I read your last post correctly are you saying that each decision Mr. Brown has made under the new version of PA 4 would have to be challenged in court? I hope not. [/b]
Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
You're right! There are a lot of questions, and some of those will probably head to the courts. I'm not an attorney, but if Public Act 4 makes it on the ballot and if voters overturn the law, I don't know that that would automatically, retroactively make his decisions null and void. At the time those decisions were made, Public Act 4 was in place. But, at the same time, it's all kind of a gray area at this point, and those legal questions will probably continue to surface.
Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.co
If Public Act 4 is suspended, it looks like the debate over what happens next will be played out in court. Flint could either get a new emergency manager under the old law, or authority would revert back to the mayor and city council.
What do you think are Flint's best options?
UpNorth
What good would it do for the power to go back to the mayor and council? That's the point with this law, the mayor/council have proven they can't be trusted with the public's money
venom
So you don't believe in Democracy? May as well turn US in to a dictatorship, you just can't trust any elected official with money. |
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:08 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The initial losses in the trash pickup originated from all of the tax abatements such as the Renaissance Zone and the Enterprise zone. These zones never produced the anticipated growth but those paying little if sny taxes were still provided with services, including trash pick up. Those zones are just now dropping off completely. Extra routes had to be created to cover new construction such as University Park and Eagle Ridge.
The unions were actively involved in proposing measures to cut costs, but their proposals were not heeded.
Editorial: Sell off Flint garbage trucks and move ahead with privatization efforts
Published: Thursday, June 21, 2012, 4:00 PM
By Bernie Eng | beng1@mlive.com
If privatization of trash pickup makes financial sense, then that’s what should occur.
When it comes to garbage collection in Flint, it does.
Emergency Manager Mike Brown is exploring the idea, and a request for proposals for garbage services is posted on Flint’s website, with the city offering to sell its 20 trucks for a minimum of $75,000 each.
That adds up to $1.5 million for the fleet, a bargain for buyers given that the city paid just over twice that amount when the trucks were purchased new under former Mayor Don Williamson in 2006 as part of a plan to upgrade the city's aging fleet and lower maintenance costs.
The move wound up being a case of good money tossed after bad.
Let’s hope for the city’s sake the garbage trucks sell now, and Flint can get out of the waste-collection business for good.
As it is, the cash-strapped city has stayed in too long, especially when one considers the other essential services -- such as police and fire protection -- that have been trimmed the past few years as the budget crisis worsened.
Even the city’s attempt in 2010 to save $1 million annually by collecting garbage every two weeks failed to get far. The effort was abandoned in short order amid residents’ concerns over stench and rodents.
Putting collection in the hands of a private company should be met with more enthusiasm by residents if it means keeping weekly service.
Other communities in Genesee County contract out for waste collection, and competition has ensured savings. For instance, in December 2010, Fenton officials changed waste haulers when they realized they could save $20,000.
As we said in an editorial at the time, there is no reason for cash-strapped municipalities to staff and maintain departments whose services can be provided by the private sector at a savings. |
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 6:38 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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This editorial is understandable and I would expect no less from the Flint Journal!
After all they owe Brown and the Uptown group. They have exhausted their tax breaks and never kept the employment promises that went with them. They are getting rid of their last two buildings along with the several hundreds of thousands in taxes they paid last year.
The citizens of Flint are getting more buildings with ta breaks for 12 years under the Obsolete Facilities Act. And you haven't see a single Journal story about the public hearing and it's implications.
This is typical of the hypocracy that has become the Flint Journal daily reporting. |
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Thu Jun 21, 2012 9:18 pm |
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