Emergency Manager Law

[Centrehalf]

The State Of Michigan has an emergency manager law which allows the state government to "take over" failing municipalities. We have a ballot initiative this year which asks the voters to go thumbs up or down on the law. I bring this up because this situation is a perfect example of how politics and government are not black and white affairs, there's quite a bit of gray.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/mich-senators-draft-law-voters-17348071

The leader of the Michigan Senate said he and fellow Republican colleagues are armed with a proposal to replace the state law that lets emergency managers take over local governments in the event voters strike it down in November.

The law passed last year by the Legislature and signed by Snyder allows the governor to appoint people to run cities and school districts that are broke. Managers have sweeping authority to cut spending, sell assets and tear up contracts without the approval of elected officials.

I find the idea that the state government can just decide to come into a municipality and take it over abhorrent and I'm also tired of the game we play in this state where the voters decide an issue at the polls and the government decides to ignore the outcome so you may think I would automatically vote against this. The problem is, we've got some cities in this state which have been so badly mismanaged over the last 20 years that you wouldn't recognize them as American cities if you saw pictures of them or read about their financials and public services. Perfect example of "gray area", I still haven't decided which way I'm voting on this one yet.

 

[dogtowner]

How did the localities come into being to begin with ? im guessing a state recognition of some sort.

 

[Centrehalf]

How did the localities come into being to begin with ? im guessing a state recognition of some sort.

I live here and it's hard to tell. The state claims they gave recognition but many of the cities and townships in my area predate the state.

 

[dogtowner]

I live here and it's hard to tell. The state claims they gave recognition but many of the cities and townships in my area predate the state.

I don't doubt that but when the state came into being assumed the role of managing intergovernmental matters. It kind of sucks as Michigan the state most likely abetted the woes of the localities with it's inane policies over the generations but it could be worse, it could be the Feds...

 

[Centrehalf]

I don't doubt that but when the state came into being assumed the role of managing intergovernmental matters. It kind of sucks as Michigan the state most likely abetted the woes of the localities with it's inane policies over the generations but it could be worse, it could be the Feds...

We're not talking about intergovernmental matters here, what they're doing is deciding to enter a municipality and negate elections, contractual agreements, things of that nature because they voted that power to themselves. It didn't always exist. I dislike the idea that they can get away with doing that but on the other hand something had to be done.

This law has existed in one form or another for almost 10 years. What I find interesting is that the first communities to have been placed in Receivership are still under state control. I'm just saying that some decisions appear easy at first but really aren't.

Btw, the state government here really isn't bad at managing money and budgets, the rest of the country seems to think they're not that great but they are pretty good. I would rather see the state investigate potential criminal activity among officeholders at all levels in the state and then bring action while the situation can still be salvaged. Almost all of the cities in Receivership suffered from a culture of graft for at least 2 decades but the state did nothing because they didn't want to be seen as racist.

 

[Cruella]

Don't cities have to report their financial dealings? Isn't this also the responsibility of the people who live there to know what's going on in their own communities?

 

[Centrehalf]

Don't cities have to report their financial dealings? Isn't this also the responsibility of the people who live there to know what's going on in their own communities?

And that's the rub. Some people either don't know or don't care what's going on in their community and that encourages some other people to run the city entirely on the grift. Cities do have to report their financials but there's been no law here requiring cities to report to the state, they only have to report to their own residents.

 

[Cruella]

And that's the rub. Some people either don't know or don't care what's going on in their community and that encourages some other people to run the city entirely on the grift.

We had a horrendous case here in the city of Bell, Calif. You wouldn't believe what a handful of people did. You name it, they did it. The city manager was getting 1.5 million in salary and benefits and a huge retirement package. They were all in on it. If they hadn't been so greedy, they probably would have gotten away with it. It was actually a reporter who outed them.