(Update) Michigan Republicans Sell Cities - Dismiss Elected Officials

[Senoska]

Search has disappeared, so I can't find my old thread... But here's a little update of what has been happening in this state..

Colbert Report coverage:
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-col...for-the-people

As you probably know, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently signed legislation passed by the Republican-dominated House and Senate that gives State-appointed Emergency Financial Managers (EFMs) historically broad and sweeping powers. These new powers allow the EFM to cancel or modify contracts (including with unions) and even to fire the municipality's government. Today, for the first time, a EFM did just that. According to a press release from the Michigan AFL-CIO, Joseph L. Harris, EFM for Benton Harbor, Michigan issued "an order prohibiting all action by all city boards, commissions, authorities and other entities, except as authorized by the emergency manager."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/0...ton-Harbor,-MI

Ever wonder what would happen to America, if by some fluke, Donald Trump got elected President?

Well, you just have to take a look at what's happening in Michigan right now, to get some glimpse of what unrestrained Executive Power, can actually DO to our long-held Democratic Principles ...

Reporting -- Benton Harbor [Michigan] Emergency Financial Manager Joseph Harris has suspended the powers of the city commission. On Saturday, news broke that Harris had issued an order on Thursday stating that the elected leadership of the city may no longer hold votes on any matter, other than to start a meeting, adjourn a meeting, and approve a meeting's minutes.

How Quaint. Democracy.


City Elected Officials -- you haven't been getting the "Job Done" -- So "Take a Time Out" ...


A serious Time Out. We'll call you back, when we need you -- Maybe. First have to fly that decision by, the State Chief Executive, Rick Synder, though. We'll see ...

When former CEO of Gateway Computers, promised to 'bring his Executive Experience to bear on Michigan's problems' -- I don't think most Michigan Residents realized, THIS is what Snyder had in mind. Well at least Snyder's appointed ward, has some real-world experience "managing tough Budget problems" ...
However imperfect, emergency financial managers are preferable to 'sweeping' mayoral powers
By Jeff T. Wattrick, MLive.com -- April 17, 2011

Much has been made this week about Benton Harbor Emergency Financial Manager Joe Harris’ decision to basically lay-off the city’s entire elected government.
[...] As Detroit’s Auditor General from 1995-2005, Harris was a constant annoyance for Mayors Archer and Kilpatrick as well as City Council. Every year some new trick or gimmick would “balance the budget” and every year the Harris would say they just kicked the can down the road.
Whatever the merits of the Emergency Financial Manager law’s expanded scope, the EFM process itself is a valid one. It usurps local control, true, but when Detroiters are paying an effective tax rate of 97 mills and the streetlights still don’t work, well, local control has failed.

So, because a City's Tax-base has dried up -- that means we can just "Cancel Democracy"?
Apparently some observers think so. Drastic Times, call for Drastic Measures, apparently.
God Forbid they actually Raise Revenues by increasing Business Taxes on the local successful Corporate Players ... like the Tigers, like the Pistons; like Dominoes, like Pizza Hut; like Fords, like GM; like the elite Suburbs, like Tourism targets.

Not everyone in America, thinks "Rule by Executive Fiat" and its associated "Corporate Pampering", is a good thing -- even if Donald-like tactics can make for mind-numbing reality TV, on occasion ...
Emergency manager cuts roles of Benton Harbor officials
by Santiago Esparza, The Detroit News -- April 16. 2011

[...] The action is likely the first since Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law in March a new statute that grants more powers to emergency managers appointed by the Treasury Department to take over distressed schools and communities.
[...] But the move drew a strong rebuke from the AFL-CIO. The union represents administrative workers, among others.
[...]
Benton Harbor has struggled with a controversial trash hauling contract, lawsuits related to the contract, new competition for water services and city officials who sometimes clashed to the point that meetings dragged on for hours, [City Commissioner Bryan] Joseph said.
[...]
Emergency managers are in place at Detroit Public Schools and in the cities of Benton Harbor, Ecorse and Pontiac.

Oh My! Benton Harbor City Officials "sometimes clashed" ... they sometimes argued about City Services Contracts "for hours" ... yup that's enough reason to send Democracy Packing in small town USA -- at least according to Commissioner Bryan Joseph, it is.


Instead of "firing the whole town" in once grand sweep ... maybe the local citizens should "fire" those individual City Reps, "who aren't getting the Job done" ...
you know at election time, every 2 to 4 years ...
In that quaint system, otherwise known as Democracy ...
Government Of, By, and For the People.

CEO Snyder, may want to vest some power back into the People ... after he done with his latest round of Corporate Take-overs and all. And after the Auction to break apart and sell-off Benton Harbors most valuable assets, of course. Such wealth accumulation IS a CEO Raider's ultimate goal, afterall.
America should take note of these painful lessons, as they unfold in the State Acquisition of Michigan:
"Business comes first" ... in the Tea Party's script for an Austere America ... don't you know ... It's in the Constitution, somewhere ... in one of those "missing pages", I think.
The CEO is always Right. They are granted "Divine power" or something like that ... just don't get the Donald, MAD ... whatever you do! (Psst. your Job could depend on it.)

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapi...anager_ta.html
Watch the colbert video. The jist of what has happened is that this guy has tried to merge the Fire and Police department to "save cost." when the elected officials voted not to go through with that, Harris basically said "Fuck you" and did it anyway.

Shit is getting real.

[Kurokikaze]

Yep this has been going on for the past month... Under-reported by the media and its fairly important since its a slap in the face to the democratic voting process. ;/

[Rakiel]

Sounds like some

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/3...ror2_super.jpg

shit to me.

[Stumblingdrunk]

this is a bunch of bullshit, i heard from a reputable source that Detroit was swallowed up by the earth several months ago and no longer existed

[Senoska]

this is a bunch of bullshit, i heard from a reputable source that Detroit was swallowed up by the earth several months ago and no longer existed

Nah we're still here. But I think that might be the only solution to these problems... Or a rapture...

[Drex]

God Forbid they actually Raise Revenues by increasing Business Taxes on the local successful Corporate Players ... like the Tigers, like the Pistons; like Dominoes, like Pizza Hut; like Fords, like GM; like the elite Suburbs, like Tourism targets.

jesus christ not this again

also you should probably read http://www.thegovmonitor.com/world_n...ent-47749.html

[Olo401]

To be perfectly fair, I dug into this a little bit and discovered that this mess started before Rick Snyder came to office - at the very least the emergency manager was in place and was recommending changes. However the changes to law that have been made on Snyder's watch and with his blessing have only served to exacerbate the problem by giving the EM almost unlimited authority to negate elected public officials. That is the major problem going on now. Whether the town is in a financial crisis or not, the people of Benton Harbor elected these people and just pushing them aside for the will of someone who was appointed by a state official is fucked up.

[Senoska]

jesus christ not this again

also you should probably read http://www.thegovmonitor.com/world_n...ent-47749.html

those in favor of keeping the status quo.

Is this to GOP catch phrase of the year or something?

[Senoska]

Drex, that link is very much propaganda. If you're going to bring that argument here, please do some research. It was more than just updating a bill as that link says. In the original bill, things like this were very exclusively prohibited. Since then, we have given these people the power to fire elected officials.

Public Act 72 of 1990:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/tr...g_271926_7.pdf

Does an Emergency Financial Manager have the authority to eliminate a department or transfer functions of one department to another, or eliminate positions?
Yes. Notwithstanding the provisions of any charter to the contrary, an Emergency Finan-cial Manager may consolidate departments of a unit of local government, or transfer func-tions from one department to another department, and may appoint, supervise, and, at his or her discretion, remove heads of departments other than elected officials, the clerk of the unit of local government, or any ombudsman position in the unit of local government.

Just read what they wrote and you can tell that article is dishonest.

Despite the misinformation being spread by the media and on the Internet, the legislation does not give the governor the ability to remove elected officials at will. Claims that it does are simply not true.

• The legislation includes a series of triggers, one of which must occur before a review of a local units finances is even conducted, such as failure by the local unit of government to pay creditors or make timely pension contributions.

• Even if an emergency manager is put in place, local elected officials can only be removed from office if they refuse to provide information or assistance.

• The governor already has (and has had) the ability to put an emergency financial manager in place since 1988.

• The governor already has (and has had) the ability to remove elected officials for failing to do their duty or for corruption. This power was established in Michigan’s 1963 constitution.

Can you define these conditions for me please? Provide information and assistance? And how does this relate to a bill on corruption? The truth is, our governor has cut off funding of cities nearly completely which is forcing them to go into this financial emergency. It's a fake emergency. The reason that they are failing is because the state is refusing to fund programs, which has come about since the republicans took office. After the cuts to the cities, and the cities began to fail, he instituted EFM's in place and expanded their power to dismiss whomever they please. People are upset about this "ON DAH INTERNETZ" because the bill literally says word for word that this is the ability they're given. It's not something being blown out of proportion or a misunderstanding or a lack of education. The fact is elected officials are being dismissed at the governors will. So even beyond this little debate of what they can and cannot do, they've already done it. So now what?

[Effluo]

Oh hell nah! What the hell are they doing to my home state?! I've been reading about this and it pretty much scares the hell out of me. This is going to set a nasty precedent...

[tyven]

this shit is gonna be so cash. i cant wait to move to google michigan

[Esvedium]

This shit is as bad as, if not worse than what's going on in Fitzwalkerstan. Yes, the EFM was in place before Snyder, but Snyder (and GOP in the state senate) just handed him (and all future EFM's) the ability to play god. No checks and balances, who needs that quaint shit?

/somuchrage at Snyder/MichiganGOP for this, and for their budget plan.

[Drex]

Drex, that link is very much propaganda. If you're going to bring that argument here, please do some research. It was more than just updating a bill as that link says. In the original bill, things like this were very exclusively prohibited. Since then, we have given these people the power to fire elected officials.

Public Act 72 of 1990:
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/tr...g_271926_7.pdf

Just read what they wrote and you can tell that article is dishonest.
Can you define these conditions for me please? Provide information and assistance? And how does this relate to a bill on corruption? The truth is, our governor has cut off funding of cities nearly completely which is forcing them to go into this financial emergency. It's a fake emergency. The reason that they are failing is because the state is refusing to fund programs, which has come about since the republicans took office. After the cuts to the cities, and the cities began to fail, he instituted EFM's in place and expanded their power to dismiss whomever they please. People are upset about this "ON DAH INTERNETZ" because the bill literally says word for word that this is the ability they're given. It's not something being blown out of proportion or a misunderstanding or a lack of education. The fact is elected officials are being dismissed at the governors will. So even beyond this little debate of what they can and cannot do, they've already done it. So now what?

because the sad fact is, this guy has been trying to fix the city without resorting to this, and they would not listen. this same EFM has made numerous suggestions to other cities. the ones that listened and followed up without requiring an ass-whipping like this are recovering, while cities like benton harbor and detroit are only a year or two from insolvency. the guy was an advisor AT BEST and had absolutely no actual power to reign in cities mismanaging their funds. all this does is give him the power he needs to actually do his job, instead of writing 40 page reports that gather dust on the shelves because the city council doesn't want to stop swiping its credit card.

the city has been in receivership since before snyder was in office. the problem was that "being in receivership" in michigan was a slap on the wrist.

if the people want to be upset, they should be upset that their city council was so grossly incompetent that they needed to be fired for improvements to even begin. soundbytes and buzzwords are cute, but this is hardly an "attack on democracy". it's more like the state of michigan showing the city council how2economics so they don't default on their municipal bonds and other loans and fuck over their citizens completely.

pro-tip: cities are owned by the state from formation. the state giveth and the state can taketh away, if you're fucking retarded and run high corporate tax rates in a city with high unemployment. if you run up a big credit bill and can't pay it off, someone comes and takes your stuff. this should not be a surprise to anyone.

[Callisto]

elect Datsyuk governor, problem solved

[archibaldcrane]

If you like, you can argue that it's an appropriate reason to fire elected officials, but firing elected officials is pretty much exactly an "attack on democracy". The people voted them in, and they can recall them or vote them out next election if they like. This action is circumventing that democratic process.

[Salodin]

Would they be able to vote others in before it's too late? What even happens when the city goes bankrupt?

[Drex]

If you like, you can argue that it's an appropriate reason to fire elected officials, but firing elected officials is pretty much exactly an "attack on democracy". The people voted them in, and they can recall them or vote them out next election if they like. This action is circumventing that democratic process.

if their city survived long enough to have a next election. having the city run by its creditors would be worse. i'll concede: it is an attack on democracy to prevent an even worse attack on democracy.

Would they be able to vote others in before it's too late? What even happens when the city goes bankrupt?

then anything the city wants to do that requires funding has to be approved by a majority of the people holding the municipal bonds, which is almost impossible because they are investors who are more interested in profits and losses than the well-being of the people in the city. can read about it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=60740288

If a city or town declares bankruptcy, does it affect others nearby?

Yes. Surrounding cities and towns can find it harder to borrow money for new projects because investors — who buy and sell bonds — will question their financial viability. That's why states often intervene to prop up a faltering municipality and avoid the sting of bankruptcy. Sometimes all it takes for a town or city to get help from the state capital is the mere threat of bankruptcy. "It's an instrument of getting attention and getting others to help you," Spiotta says.

[tyven]

yo i cant wait till this shit works out so we can finally get rid of democracy and then stop spreading it to countries that dont have it and then the camels can finally just kill themselves and we can be awesome

[Kerberoz]

Nothing is ever going to save the Rustbelt because it's just people working at GM and Walmart spending their paychecks at GM and Walmart.

Thermodynamics prevents it from working indefinitely.

[kuronosan]

Makes me wonder how legit this Cain asshole is, going from CEO of Godfather's to wanting to run against Obama.

Seriously? The only candidates Repubs can put forward are CEOs? We don't want a fucking business-person running the country. We want someone who has the best interests, not counting that Corporate bullshit, running.