Today, the State Court of Appeals ruled that the review teams that recommended Emergency Managers for Detroit and Flint were not subject to the Open Meetings Act. The court ruled that they are not a “governing body” so they are exempt from the requirement.
[More after the jump...]
Detroit’s financial review team was given the okay to meet yesterday morning by the Michigan Court of Appeals, clearing the way for them to vote to approve the consent agreement between the city and the state in the afternoon. And, last night, the Detroit City Council followed suit in a 5-4 split decision, agreeing to the consent agreement, actually called the “Financial Stability Agreement”, which gives city leaders some measure of control, including choosing some of the members of the financial advisory board… (more after the jump)
Last night the Michigan Court of Appeals stuck down a ruling by Ingham County Judge William Collette barring the Snyder administration from moving forward with a Consent Agreement with the city of Detroit until after a March 29th hearing on violations of the Open Meetings Act.
A three-judge appeals panel reversed a ruling by Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette earlier this week that barred Snyder and members of a state financial review team from entering into a consent agreement with Detroit until after a hearing Thursday on alleged violations of the state’s Open Meetings Act.The portion of Collette’s ruling “precluding defendants from executing a consent agreement is reversed,” said the appeals court in its ruling.
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In a comprehensive and sternly-worded letter to Governor Rick Snyder (pdf), Congressmen John Conyers, Jr., Hansen Clarke, and Gary Peters are asking for some answers regarding his administration’s proposed Detroit Consent Agreement.
The letter focuses on seven key areas:
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My favorite Michigan judge at the moment, Ingham County Judge William Collette, today issued yet another spanking to the administration of Governor Rick Snyder. The Snyder administration appealed a ruling made an earlier this week barring them from signing a Consent Agreement with Detroit until after a March 29th hearing. That hearing has been postponed twice at the request of the Snyder administration.
Today, Judge Collette denied their appeal. He said he felt “bushwacked” by the state’s request.
The Snyder administration was handed another in a long list of legal setbacks today as my now-favorite judge, Ingham Country Judge William Collette, smacked them down again.
Recall that Judge Collette had already issued a mighty smackdown to the Detroit Emergency Manager Review Team earlier in the month:
Yesterday, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder presented a Consent Agreement to the city of Detroit. You can read the 26-page Consent Agreement HERE (pdf). HuffPo Detroit has a great run-down of the key parts of the Consent Agreement HERE. There’s some surprisingly egregious stuff in there. Whoa.
Here’s the rather straight forward, if not harsh, condemnation of the proposal by Detroit Mayor Bing:
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