Tag Archives | Emergency Managers

Monday afternoon Emergency Manager news round-up – UPDATED

By on January 30, 2012 in Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

Anyone wanna buy a sewer?

Lotsa Emergency Manager tidbits to report today.

  1. Highland Park schools Emergency Manager takes the reins
    As I reported last Friday, a new Emergency Manager has been appointed in Michigan, this time it’s the Highland Park school district that has been taken over. You can read about Jack Martin HERE. He’s also on the team that is looking over Detroit’s finances which has raised some eyebrows.

    UPDATE: A community group has formed to oppose the imposition of a Emergency Manager for Highland Park schools:

    Community leaders opposing Highland Park Schools new emergency financial manager held a news conference Monday to make sure their thoughts were known.

    2. …


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Highland Park schools get their Emergency Manager after all

By on January 27, 2012 in Education, Emergency Managers, Highland Park

Not like we didn’t see it coming or anything…

As predicted, Highland Park schools have been assigned an Emergency Manager

LANSING – Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday confirmed an emergency manager in Highland Park Schools and appointed certified public accountant Jack Martin to take over the troubled district.

Martin’s appointment is effective Monday. The move was not unexpected after a review team recently recommended appointment of an emergency manager, citing the growth in the school district’s deficit to $11.3 million, among other factors.

Martin, founder and chairman of Martin, Arrington, Desai & Meyers PC, is the former chief financial officer for the U.S.

…


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EXCLUSIVE: The cost of privatization – Pontiac has water contamination issues under United Water

By on January 26, 2012 in Emergency Managers, Pontiac

This past year, the Emergency Manager of Pontiac at the time, Michael Stampfler signed a five-year contract with United Water to run their water and wastewater treatment systems. The move was said to save Pontiac an astonishing $2.8 million per year.

I broke a story that made national news about the fact that, by hiring United Water, Stampfler had hired a company facing a multiple felony counts by the U.S. Justice Department for violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

United Water Services Inc., the former contract operator of the Gary Sanitary District wastewater treatment works in Gary, Ind., and two of its employees, were charged today with conspiracy and felony violations of the Clean Water Act in a 26-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury, the Justice Department announced today.…

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Governor Snyder sends letter to Highland Park school parents: BE AFRAID!

By on January 24, 2012 in Emergency Managers, Highland Park, Rick Snyder

Warning, Warning! Danger, Will Robinson!

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder took the unprecedented step of sending a personal letter (pdf) to the parents of the Highland Park school system.

Dear Parent,
As a parent of a Highland Park School District (HPS) student, you are probably aware of the dire financial situation that exists in HPS. Over the past few weeks, together with the Departments of Treasury and Education and a review team, we have been attempting to work with your local school officials to address this situation.

There is absolutely no question that the finances of HPS have reached a crisis stage.

…


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Another Michigan city faces an Emergency Manager: Taylor

By on January 23, 2012 in Emergency Managers

Here comes aNOTHER one, just like the OTHER one

Another Michigan city staring down the barrel of an Emergency Manager: Taylor, Michigan.

TAYLOR — The audit presentation to the City Council by Plante Moran painted some grim financial realities Saturday morning.

A general fund deficit of $1.7 million was discussed, which the audit found of the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011.

An even bigger topic was a letter from the State Treasurer office the city received Thursday issuing a 30 day period to devise a financial plan to reduce the deficit.

If a “realistic financial plan” isn’t presented to the state by then, the state will move toward placing an Emergency Financial Manager in the city.

…


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Another casualty of Emergency Management: Detroit’s historic school buildings

By on January 21, 2012 in Detroit, Emergency Managers

Historic Detroit treasures lost in rush to save money

Eric T. Campbell has a fine piece up at The Michigan Citizen where he talks about the loss of Detroit’s historic school buildings. The Detroit Public School Emergency Managers Robert Bobb and, now, Roy Roberts, don’t appear interested in saving these historic buildings.

Once they are gone, they are gone forever.

The historic building that formerly housed Redford High School is now considered blight to many in Detroit’s northwest Redford neighborhood.

The 1.1 million square foot building, built in 1924, has been sitting vacant since 2007. With the announcement of a deal between Meijer, Inc.

…


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Suttons Bay school district fights back against imposition of an Emergency Manager

By on January 21, 2012 in Emergency Managers, Michigan

Emergency Managers: Not just for black cities anymore

As I wrote last week, tiny Suttons Bay in the “Pinky” of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula is facing the imposition of an Emergency Manager for their school district. This past week they held a community budget forum to discuss the issue. Here is video of the 90+ minute forum:

You can see the Powerpoint Presentation made by Superintendent Mike Murray. One slide stood out from the rest for me. It’s the per-pupil funding levels in Michigan over the past few years:


Click to enlarge

Interesting statistics considering the Governor Snyder made a big deal about supporting education and educators in his State of the State address this week.…


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Indiana Republicans pass Emergency Manager bill out of committee

By on January 21, 2012 in Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers

Collective Bargaining Contracts Vulnerable

I have been wondering how long it would take for a state other than Michigan to pursue an Emergency Manager law. The wait is over. This week, a Republican-sponsored bill allowing the imposition of an Emergency Manager on a “distressed political subdivision” (i.e., a municipality or school district) passed out of committee and goes on to the full state Senate.

A bill allowing the appointment of an emergency manager to right a cash-strapped local government’s finances passed a Senate committee on Tuesday.

The bill authored by State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, sets up a five-member board that local governments, including school districts, can voluntarily petition for help.

…


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Friday Emergency Manager news round-up

By on January 20, 2012 in Emergency Manager Law, Emergency Managers, Highland Park

No earth-shattering news about Michigan’s on-going Emergency Manager Emergency, but there are some tidbits worth noting.

  1. Flint Community Leaders Hold Public Forum to Discuss Emergency Manager Emergency.
    Flint community leaders held a public forum on Tuesday to discuss Public Act 4 and its impact on the community.
    The panel discussion will revolve around “The Emergency Manager: Concerns and Outcomes for Flint,” according to a news release.

    Panelists are City Councilman Delrico Loyd, Flint resident Paul Jordan, political science Professor Paul Rozycki, and state Rep. Woodrow Stanley, D-Flint.

    You won’t have to worry about what happened at the “Emergency Manager: Concerns and Outcomes for Flint Forum”, however, because no news outlets appear to have reported on it.

    2. …


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Emergency Managers, sticklers for detail? Uhhh…not so much

By on January 18, 2012 in Emergency Managers

When you put a single man in charge of the city of Flint, a non-elected financial guy with no accountablility to the local residents, answerable only the Governor, you’d probably want to choose someone who pays crazy close attention to detail, wouldn’t you? Someone who is truly gifted at dotting the the “I”s and crossing the “T”s?

Well, apparently that is not a job qualification for our Michigan Emergency Managers. Flint Emergency Manager Michael Brown released a 19-page “Financial and Operating Plan” this week. Right square in the middle of the document, is the date: January 15, 2013.

Yup, he got the date wrong.…


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