Maddow on Benton Harbor EFM takeover

By Ed Brayton
04.19.11
9:31 am By Ed Brayton
04.19.11
9:31 am Rachel Maddow had a segment on her show last evening looking at the controversy over the Emergency Manager in Benton Harbor nullifying election results and forbidding elected bodies in that city from taking any actions whatsoever. She specifically cited the Michigan Messenger.
Maddow specifically mentioned the Jean Klock Park situation, a story that the Messenger has been following closely for years — and most of the media in the state have been ignoring. A large chunk of that park, deeded to the city on the condition that it remain a public park forever, was leased to private developers to be made into a golf course.
The land was swapped for land owned by Whirlpool, property that turned out to be highly contaminated; taxpayers are now paying for the cleanup of that land through a Brownfield redevelopment credit worth millions of dollars.
Though that situation took place before the new Emergency Manager law went into effect, this is exactly the sort of thing that an Emergency Manager would have the power to do. Faced with a deficit, the EM might decide to sell off public property to developers — and there’s nothing that local residents or their elected officials could do to stop it because, as this situation shows, the EFM can simply order the local elected boards not to do anything.

Local groups fighting privatization of the park here and here

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First suit filed over Emergency Manager law


By Ed Brayton
04.19.11
7:47 am

The first lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new Emergency Financial Manager law has been filed in federal court by two Detroit city pension boards.

The Detroit News reports:
The city’s two pension funds sued Gov. Rick Snyder and state Treasurer Andy Dillon in federal court today to block part of a new emergency manager statute.
The suit alleges the emergency manager statute is unconstitutional, would modify the City Charter and collective bargaining agreements and allow for the removal of pension fund trustees. The suit also claims the law could potentially allow for the funds to be dissolved and have the assets transferred to another retirement system.
I expect another suit, filed by Benton Harbor officials, will be filed soon.