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Kevyn Orr gets down to business in Detroit

By on May 14, 2013 in Detroit, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

Detroit Rock Bottom

Photo by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog

Yesterday, Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr gave a frank State of the City report that showed that the city is “clearly insolvent”. Not a big surprise to anyone except a handful of folks who seem to think it’s all a big mistake and the city is just fine financially. For as much as I despise the concept of an unelected Emergency Manager taking over the running of a city, I do believe that Detroit will never move forward if those in charge aren’t living in the real world where even profit sharing they’ve been denied by the state isn’t enough to patch the holes in their budget.…


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Buena Vista, Michigan school district closes doors, has no money despite teachers willing to work for free

By on May 7, 2013 in Education, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers, Michigan Republicans

Yet somehow they’ll blame the teachers…

The Michigan township of Buena Vista, in the news recently for its racist Township Clerk, is back in the news today with the announcement that the school district has closed its doors over a month before the end of the school year. Why? Turns out the school district had taken $580,000 in state funding for a program for incarcerated youths that it no longer runs. With an outstanding bill of $400,000, the state cut off its funding and it now has no money.

The district’s 27 teachers had agreed to work without pay for a week while the district sorted out its mess but, this morning, the schools were closed.

Details after the jump.


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Ecorse, Michigan, population 9,554, emerges from Emergency Management

By on May 1, 2013 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

Hallelujah!

The small town of Ecorse, Michigan, under control of an Emergency Financial Manager or Emergency Manager since 2009, has been deemed to have emerged from its emergency and will now be indefinitely under the control of a Transition Advisory Board (TAB).

Joyce Parker, the Emergency Manager for both Ecorse and Allen Park will be on the TAB. Gov. Snyder provided a list of her accomplishments (after the jump.)


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Hamtramck faces an Emergency Manager. Again.

By on April 18, 2013 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

Another failure of Emergency Management

The southeastern city of Hamtramck (spelled correctly, pronounced “Ham-tram-ick”) is facing the prospect of its city being taken over by an Emergency Manager as the state has ordered a financial review team to assess its financial situation.

Hamtramck is a small city of just over 22,000. Its population is just over half (53.6%) white and has an unusually high population of Asians (21.5%.)

This would be Round Two for Hamtramck. In 2000, Governor John Engler installed an Emergency Financial Manager, a familiar player Louis Schimmel. Six years later, books balanced and financial crisis “solved”, Schimmel left and, in 2007, the city was once again back in charge of its government.

However, that didn’t last long. In 2010, facing continuing budget issues, Hamtramck asked the state to be allowed to declare bankruptcy. They were denied.

Click through for more.


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Michigan Emergency Manager news round-up – 4/17/2013

By on April 17, 2013 in Detroit, Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

It’s hard to keep up…

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a summary of the latest news about Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law and the new surrounding our illustrious saviors dictators Emergency Managers so I thought it would be a good time to so. On a personal note, I was interviewed by freelance journalist Chris Lewis this past week for a piece he’s doing for The Atlantic so it’s clear to me that this story continues to receive national attention.

It’s all there after the jump. And there is a LOT there after the jump.


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UDPATED: Today Michigan becomes 24th Right to Work state, Emergency Financial Managers become Emergency Managers

By on March 28, 2013 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers, Labor, Michigan Republicans

The fight to reclaim our state in 2014 starts TODAY

Today Michigan, the birthplace of the labor movement, becomes the 24th Right to Work state in the USA. It’s also the day that PA 436, the Emergency Manager law Republicans passed to thwart the wishes of Michigan voters, goes into effect. PA 436 transforms all Emergency Financial Managers to Emergency Managers (EMs), giving them powers above and beyond financial matters as they are the sole rulers of the schools and municipalities over which they have complete power.

Much more after the jump.


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Detroit Public Schools face federal civil rights investigation from Dept of Education over use of Emergency Managers

By on March 27, 2013 in Detroit, Education, Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

The country is waking up to what’s happening in Michigan

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating a civil rights complaint over the use of Emergency Managers in the Detroit Public Schools. The complaint alleges that black and brown students are being singled out for takeover of their school systems while kids in majority white districts facing similar financial problems aren’t similarly impacted. It also claims that black and brown students face discipline that their white counterparts do not.

More after the jump.


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Congressman Peters & Conyers summon the cavalry, ask Government Accountability Office to investigate Michigan Emergency Managers

By on March 22, 2013 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

It’s an EMERGENCY!

Congressmen Gary Peters and John Conyers have asked the Govenment Accountability Office to look into the efficacy of the Emergency Financial Manager Law in Michigan as well as whether or not it has resulted in any conflicts of interest or other improprieties as the law has been enforced.

Much more including their letter after the jump.


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There are winners in Detroit’s financial crisis: the banks – and they are shielded from any risk by the new Emergency Manager law

By on March 18, 2013 in Detroit, Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

It’s good to be the king banker

There’s a story emerging out of Detroit about the role too-big-to-fail banks have played in the creation of Detroit’s fiscal emergency. Last week, Dave Dayen reported at the National Memo that some banks have begun foreclosure proceedings on homeowners and then simply walked away before taking possession of the property. This leaves evicted homeowners on the hook financially for the home they are no longer permitted to live in. What’s worse is that the banks don’t even have to inform the homeowner or the city of Detroit which no longer receives any tax revenue from the property.

Not only that, banks have been reaping huge profits in debt restructuring fees and, as added salt in the wound of a city in crisis, Republicans have ensured that these same banks will be paid in full as Detroit works to get out from under its crushing debt.

Much more after the jump.


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Washington, D.C. lawyer Kevyn Orr named to be Emergency Financial Manager for Detroit, Michigan

By on March 14, 2013 in Detroit, Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers, Rick Snyder

And so it is done


[Caricature by DonkeyHotey from photos by Anne C. Savage for Eclectablog, not for reuse.]

This afternoon, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder appointed Washington, D.C. lawyer Kevyn Orr to be the Emergency Financial Manager of Detroit.

The Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board has to make the formal appointment of an emergency financial manager and they meet later today.

With that, nearly half of all Michigan African Americans will live without local democratically-elected representation.

Lucky for him he’s a lawyer. I suspect that’s going to come in very handy in the coming months.


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