Emergency manager bill advances

The Michigan Citizen

DETROIT- As this paper went to print, State Senators listened to testimony on legislation that would give absolute power to emergency managers for units of local government.

The controversial bill , SB153 , has generated much opposition from Detroiters, who protested in great number against the bill Feb. 23 on the steps of the Capitol when the House version, HB4214, passed. About 2,000 protestors from across the state also demonstrated Feb. 26 against the legislation.

Both Democrats and GOP legislators have noted the bill is moving rather quickly.

"We are offering amendments to the bills, to slow the process down," Senator Virgil Smith, D-Detroit, responded in an e-mail.

Smith, who attended the Feb. 23 protest, says he doesn't support the bill and, unlike some of his colleagues, does not see any positive aspects of the bill, which will give an individual or firm powers to eliminate union contracts, maintain legal immunity for any actions taken and no accountability to taxpayers.

"We are a home-rule state," he said. "And, legislation such as the EFM bills remove power from municipalities."

Although many, if not all, of the state's lawmakers expect the bill will pass, citizens do have some recourse.

"Individuals can submit a referendum," Smith said. "The petition requires 161,305 signatures of registered voters to either approve or reject laws that are enacted by the Legislature."

Citizens have 90 days following enactment of the legislation to submit the signatures. The sponsors of initiative and referendum petitions are permitted to make one signature submission only.

Smith says it"s essential mayors of prospective municipalities speak out on the bills, as well as other elected officials. The suburban voice, he says, is not exempt, as the bills will affect their structure of governance as well.

There are currently 70 cities and 50 school districts at risk of having an emergency manager if the bill passes. To date, emergency financial managers have been appointed to predominantly African American communities with the short-lived exception of the Village of Three Oaks in southwest Michigan.

Senator Steve Bieda, D-Warren, St. Clair Shores, Eastpointe, Center Line, and Fraser, says although he sees the early warning trigger mechanisms of the bill and the mandate for an expert in finance and state budgets as positive aspects of the bill, it's problematic overall.

He called the measure "draconian."

"In conjunction with the governor's proposed budget and steep cuts in revenue sharing and k-12 education along with this bill, it seems like we're setting up local units of government and schools to fail," he told this reporter.

Bieda says he also has a concern about the usurpation of the people's right to vote for elected officials and the destruction of collective bargaining rights.

A spokesperson for Senate Democratic majority leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, says there are generally a number of concerns regarding the bill.

"When you look at it, there's very little accountability to the taxpayers," said Katie Carey, Whitmer's press secretary.

Senator John Gleason, D- Western Genesee County, says he has concerns about the long-term ramifications once an emergency manager is in place.

"The school or city,s bond rating is going to go down; therefore, you're going to have to pay more interest," he said. "Republicans say they want less government, but this is not what this is."

Senator John Proos, R- Berrien, Cass and Van Buren Counties including says the argument can be made that municipalities and school districts in need of managers based on the criteria of the bill, lost control of their fiscal house way before the governor's budget.

Proos' district includes Benton Harbor, now under an emergency financial manager. Benton Harbor has been without resources for four decades. In the mid-1970s, the city was ranked the nation's poorest.

"For some of those communities coming in, it would have been years and years of fiscal mismanagement," Proos said in a telephone interview.

Proos, one of the sponsors of SB153, says while no one wants to lose control of their community, having the bill is all the more reason for electors to hold their elected officials accountable for fiscal stability and proper expenditures of their revenue.

"I have experience with emergency managers and communities with financial problems that have only gotten worse and required the state to step in under PA 72," Proos said.

Although he says he doesn't agree with every component of Snyder's budget, the freshman governor wants to make sure there is a well thought out and structured plan to get communities on the right track.

"It's taxation without representation," reads the proclamation approved by Proos' constituents on the Benton Harbor city commission.