Tag Archives | Emergency Financial Managers

A comprehensive look at Michigan’s new(est) Emergency Manager Law, now with STABILITY & CHOICE!

By on February 21, 2013 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

I read this stuff so you don’t have to

A mere 37 days after voters repealed Public Act 4, Michigan’s notorious and anti-democratic Emergency Manager Law, Republican legislators passed a new version to replace it. It was signed into law as Public Act 436 thirteen days later. This defiant thumb-in-the-eye to the will of the voters was even more egregious since it contains two appropriations, one to pay Emergency Managers and another to hire consultants, lawyers, “work-out experts”, and others to implement the law. These appropriations ensure voters won’t have a chance to interfere with the business of our Very Serious GOP legislators on this matter again.

So, what, exactly, is in this new law? Well, for starters, let’s have a look at the title:

“THE LOCAL FINANCIAL STABILITY AND CHOICE ACT”

I’m not kidding. That’s what they call it. It’s surprising they didn’t figure out a way to include the words “FREEDOM” and “INDEPENDENCE” while they were at it. You can read the law HERE (pdf).

All the gory details of this new law after the jump.


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With Detroit under an Emergency Financial Manager, half of Michigan blacks will have no elected local government

By on February 20, 2013 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law

A non-racist law with wildly racial impact

Back in December of 2011, I wrote a series of pieces that showed how Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law was having a skewed negative impact on African American cities. With Detroit on the verge of being assigned an Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) and with updated census data, it’s time to revisit the chart that put this law on the national radar.

In 2011, there were approximately 9,876,801 people in Michigan, about 1,402,506 (or 14.2%) of whom were African American. If Detroit gets an Emergency Financial Manager, 49% of the African Americans in Michigan will live in cities where their elected officials have been replaced by a single, state-appointed ruler.

Details after the jump.


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Detroit is bankrupt and headed for an Emergency Financial Manager. What is next?

By on February 20, 2013 in Detroit, Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law

Control-Alt-Delete

An accumulated deficit of $327 million. Unfunded obligations of nearly $15 billion with almost $2 billion due in the next five years. A District Court that is owed almost $280 million and which collects only 7.7% of what they are owed each year. A nearly $1 billion 2012 deficit masked by long-term borrowing with no foreseeable ability to pay it back. The city’s bond, pension and retiree health care liabilities account for 35 to 42 cents of every dollar the city takes in.

These items and more led to yesterday’s formal declaration by a state financial review team that, yes, Detroit is in a state of financial emergency without a plan to solve it. Not a big surprise to anyone paying attention but one that puts the situation into clear focus.

My analysis after the jump.


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Judge smacks down Pontiac Emergency Financial Manager, says he’s running the city “like a dictatorship”

By on February 15, 2013 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Managers

Some truth-telling from the judicial branch

Back in December, Pontiac Emergency Manager Lou Schimmel unilaterally decided to change the composition of the city’s pension board from 11 to 5 members. He thought they were wasting time and money and felt his role as the EM gave him the ability to simply do what he wished.

Yesterday, Oakland County Judge Rae Lee Chabot upheld a preliminary injunction filed by the pension board and reversed Schimmel’s action. In her smack-down of Schimmel’s move, she said “That’s what it looks like — it looks like a dictatorship where the (emergency financial manager) said, ‘look, I’m going to turn over the board so there is no opposition.’”

More after the jump.


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Wednesday afternoon Emergency Manager news round-up – 2/15/2012

By on February 15, 2012 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Public Act 4

All the news that’s fit to make you cringe

Lots of news to get to today. Lots more after the jump, too, so make sure you click through.

UPDATE: My article for The Nation magazine on Michigan’s Emergency Manager law will be in the issue that goes to print today and will hit the stands later this week. It may or may not be online unless you are a subscriber. I’ll keep everyone posted when it’s available.

  • Michigan Forward to turn in petition signatures February 29th
    Michigan Forward’s petition drive to repeal Public Act 4 is near its end and they will turn in well over 200,000 signatures on February 29th.

    • …


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Great mini-documentary on Michigan’s odious Emergency Manager Law

By on September 8, 2011 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Michigan

This 7-minute documentary, Dictators Over Communities of Color: Coming to a Town Near You , was put together by the New Media Adovocacy Project in cooperation with Michigan Forward and the Advancement Project. It’s well worth a watch and I would love for you to share it widely. This isn’t just something Michiganders should be paying attention to.

Big shout out to my very good friend Brit Satchwell. He’s the super-energetic guy toward the end with the sunglasses and big smile working the Ann Arbor Farmer’s market. Brit is the president of the Ann Arbor Education Association, our local teachers’ union and a phenomenal organizer.…


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Why the Michigan GOP took the “Financial” out of “Emergency Financial Manager”

By on July 11, 2011 in Education, Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers, Labor, Michigan

When Michigan Republicans passed the legislation that became Michigan Public Act 4 of 2011 or P.A. 4 or the “Emergency Manager Act” or “local government and school district fiscal accountability act” or, as I call it, the Financial Martial Law Act, they took a subtle step that few noticed. They changed the name of “Emergency Financial Manager” to simply “Emergency Manager”.

Why did they do this? A quick look at the new law tells the tale.

In P.A. 4, there is a “Definitions” section and one of the items there is this:

“Emergency manager” or “manager” means the emergency manager appointed under section 15.…

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Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Joe Harris restricts access to Jean Klock Park

By on June 29, 2011 in Benton Harbor, Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers, Joe Harris

THIS seems rather arbitrary. Which probably means there’s some underlying reason for it that will raise your hackles.

Locals are no longer allowed to take early morning walks in the park under an order issued by Benton Harbor’s Emergency Manager Joe Harris.

Jean Klock Park, the city’s public waterfront which has already been partially privatized as a Jack Nicklaus golf course, will only be open from 10 am to 10 pm between May 1 and Sept. 30, according to a May 4 order from Harris.

Residents claim that the order conflicts with the city’s charter, the deed that granted the park to the city and other legal agreements.

…


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An eloquent takedown of the Emergency Manager Law from a TEA PARTY candidate

By on June 29, 2011 in Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers, Michigan, Michigan Republicans

A while back, I wrote a piece for A2Politico.com in which I took the Michigan Democratic Party to task for, among other things, not supporting the efforts stop Public Act 4 (or, as I call it, the “Financial Martial Law Act”). Subsequent to that article, I contacted the Michigan Republican Party and several leaders of tea party groups around the state. Considering their support of smaller government and less government intrusion into the lives of our citizens, the consistent stance from them should have been a wholesale condemnation of P.A. 4.

Not surprisingly, the Michigan Republican Party never responded. I say I’m not surprised because their silence on this issue is nothing short of pure hypocrisy — a position that is hard to defend.…


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Financial Martial Law (P.A. 4) repeal gets a jump start in Ann Arbor

By on June 26, 2011 in Ann Arbor, Emergency Financial Managers, Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers, Public Act 4

The effort to repeal Public Act 4, the Financial Martial Law Act, in Michigan got a great jump start yesterday when nearly 100 local activists, concerned citizens and organizers got together for an informational townhall meeting. The event was put on by the Washtenaw Community Action Team, a group that describes itself as “a coalition of local unionists, activists, students, workers and community members working together to defend and advocate for working people at the local, state and national level”. You can visit their Facebook page HERE.

All photos except the last one by Beth Hay. Used with permission.

The event started off with me giving an overview of P.A.…


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