Petition the Department of Justice, Mayor Abdicates Office

Mayor Bing Abdicates Power of Office

Mayor Bing has indicated through a statement Wednesday afternoon that he has resigned to the State of Michigan placing an Emergency Manager over Detroit. By making this statement he has abdicated the power of his office and sacrificed the City of Detroit to the State of Michigan. City Council Pro-Tem Gary Brown has also abdicated his office in similar manner. Both have made declarations against their oath of office as set forth in the Charter of the City of Detroit (rev 2012).

Detroit Is Stuck Legally

The fiscal problems of Detroit are embroiled in a number of legal issues.

Consent Agreement Not Approved

Detroit's Consent Agreement was not approved by Corporation Counsel due to the debts the State of Michigan owes the city - $230,428,206.09 owed by the State to the City. The Mayor should be demanding payment.

In 2009 Mayor Bing pulled together a Turnaround Team that was very lopsided with interest - Miller Canfield attorneys monopolized the legal section of the team and were present in nearly every area. Miller Canfield worked with Gov Snyder to draft the 2011 Emergency Manager Law, which a week later March 21, 2011 Gov Snyder announced plans to dissolve city and county services moving them to metropolitan area authorities that were to be created. Legislation is currently in Michigan Congress now (SB1366, HB6025) to adopt the Michigan Municipal Area Municipal Authorities (MAMA) Act.

Consent Agreement Rendered Baseless 

The result of the referendum to repeal Public Act 4, the Emergency Manager Law put over 60% of the state opposed, passing the referendum. Over 45% of counties voted more than 60% opposed to PA4. The Consent Agreement has been contested in court on several occasions: Roots vs Bing in which 3 AFSCME Union Leaders. Miller Canfield was present to intercede on behalf of Mayor Bing.

Motivation for Representation

Why has Mayor Bing pushed Corporation Counsel to the side (which according to City Charter must approve or prepare legal contracts) and sided with Miller Canfield? Why would the same legal firm that wrote the Emergency Manager Law be referenced as the best choice to oversee legal matters of the Financial Stability Agreement?

Are the administration and state afraid that a nonbiased legal firm would find improprieties in the legal practices of the city or state? Should an audit of the administration's legal proceedings be conducted? It certainly seems TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT has been and continues to be a failure for City of Detroit administration, especially the Executive Branch.

Pursuit of Legal Justice

There have been a number of forms of malpractice and criminal activity oppressing the City of Detroit for an extended period of time. When pursuing justice it is particular note the nature of the Organization as Weapon in White-Collar Crime. The abstract at NCJRS for the Michigan Law Review article "The Criminal Liability of Corporations and Other Groups: A Comparative View" indicates...

"The offenses were antitrust violations, securities fraud, postal and wire fraud, false claims and statements, credit and lending institution fraud, bank embezzlement, tax evasion, and bribery. Three principal categories of offenders were identified: those who committed offenses alone or with affiliated others using neither occupational nor organizational role (individual offenders), those who committed offenses alone or with affiliated others using an occupational role (occupational offenders), and those who committed offenses in which both organization and occupation were ingredients (organizational offenders). Organizational offenders were found to commit crimes yielding greater 'takes' over a longer period and with greater frequency. Most victims of white-collar crimes are organizations, including the Federal Government. Organizational offenders tended to have higher educational attainment, were significantly older, and had impressive occupational and community status. Differences in the rate of incarceration among the offender categories were not significant, even though organizational offenders committed more severe crimes." 

The article is also available through JSTOR. The following forms of misconduct have occurred through and been supported by Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone, PLC. Citations of occurrences withheld at this time.

• Abuse of Process - The use of legal process to accomplish an unlawful purpose; causing a summons, writ, warrant, mandate, or any other process to issue from a court in order to accomplish some purpose not intended by the law.
• Extortion - In a large sense it, signifies any oppression, under color of right: but in a more strict sense it means the unlawful taking by any officer, by color of his office, of any money or thing of value that is not due to him, or more than is due, or before it is due.
• Undue Influence - A judicially created defense to transactions that have been imposed upon weak and vulnerable persons that allows the transactions to be set aside.

Mayor Bing Fails to Show for Special City Council Session He Called

Reported by Stephen Boyle

Monday November 26th City Council was called upon to meet with Mayor Dave Bing, at the Mayor's request. However at 12:03 pm the Mayor pulled air time with WXYZ tv to announce a close friend was sick and required a visit during the appointed time for the meeting, Mayor Bing sent Kirk Lews, Chief of Staff to act as Deputy Mayor before City Council regarding a requested re-vote on the Miller Canfield contract.

City Council found there were numerous improprieties in the manner of the Mayor calling this meeting.

1. According to Mayor Bing's liaison to City Council Adam Hollier notice was posted in 3 locations around Coleman A Young Municipal Center after 5pm on November 21st. This provides insufficient notice during the holiday weekend with offices closed Thursday and Friday. In effect notice would be seen when arriving at work Monday. Open Meetings Act requires notice posted 18 hours in advance.
2. Mayor Bing sent an appointee as Deputy Mayor Kirk Lewis to the meeting with all nine elected City Council officials present. As an elected official he should have been present personally as the person who called the meeting.
3. The issues to be discussed were voted on November 20th and results are final.

Issues to have been Discussed

Miller Canfield Contract Supplanting Corporation Counsel

A Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone, P.L.C. contract to manage legal matters for the Reform Agenda of the Financial Stability Agreement was DENIED on November 20th. This was the first Miller Canfield contract presented to City Council after over nine months of council and the public demanding contract to be presented. 

FINANCE DEPARTMENT/PURCHASING DIVISION

Jones, reso. autho. Contract No. 2870456 – 100% City Funding – The engagement is to provide legal advice and litigation representation pertaining to implementing the City’s ongoing restructuring as contemplated in the Financial Stability Agreement among the City, the Michigan Department of Treasury, and the Review Team for the City of Detroit (“FSA). – Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone PLC, 150 West Jefferson, Suite 2500, Detroit, MI 48226 – Contract Period: August 1, 2012 through June 30, 2014 – Contract Amount Not to Exceed: $300,000.00.    (Hourly Rate has been changed from $350.00 per hour to $275.00 per hour)  (Contract period has been changed start date changed from January 1, 2012 to August 1, 2012, end date changed from December 31, 2015 to June 30, 2014.)    MAYOR’S OFFICE

This agenda item was discussed on November 14th at the Internal Operations Standing Committee. Program Management Director Kriss Andrews was present to answer questions regarding the contract.

The approval of the Miller Canfield contract was a key milestone on the Milestone Agreement, due by November 30th. City Council members have claimed the Mayor is using extortion to push through an agenda. Today's rush meeting would certainly be defined as coercion, even with the multiple failures that it met.

The city is facing a law firm considered a formidable opponent, that has 109 lawyers on the Super Lawyers list. Miller Canfield worked with Governor Rick Snyder to put tooth into the 2011 Emergency Manager Law, Public Act 4 - enabling it to alter corporate structure of municipalities and alter union contracts without negotiation. 

On March 21, 2011 Governor Snyder issued a Special Letter to Michigan Legislators with his plans on use of the newly passed Emergency Manager Law. Within these plans the dismantling of city and county services is explained as the path toward creating metropolitan governments which would assume those services. Bills in the Senate and House were introduced November 8, 2011 to establish the Metropolitan Area Metropolitan Authority (MAMA) Act.The problem with this approach is how effective a broad reach would be in addressing specific needs within local communities. Local communities can push local issues forward that may not be present across an entire metropolitan area - servicing those needs is a matter of regional oversight, not outright control of local government.

Emergency Managers have been being trained through Turnaround Management Association. Kriss Andrews is one of their Certified Turnaround Professional (CTP) graduates. Jack Martin found favor through his track record as indicated by Mlive when he was appointed Emergency Manager over Highland Park Public Schools.

Pension Obligations

One additional item on the schedule, total of two items for the meeting.

BUDGET DEPARTMENT
Cockrel, Jr. reso. autho. To amend the FY 2012-13 Budget to address costs in excess of budget for FY 2011-12 UAAL pension obligations.

I believe this came forward from a document Free Detroit unearthed from a June 2012 study done by Foster McCollum White & Associates titled "17 point draft plan to re-align Detroit's fiscal and operational structure". This document is well worth reading, and points from the document will be in our next post. It details the dismantling of departments, reallocation of funds and more in a quick 8 page guide. The document can also be downloaded from the Public Documents library on our website.

Mayoral Coercion of City Council

Mayor Bing will ask for City Council to revive the vote of some of last Tuesday November 20th's agenda items. This is being encouraged by Council Pro Tem Gary Brown who believes five votes from City Council can be guaranteed to approve the Miller Canfield contract. We need to call our council members and urge them to stick by their votes.

City Council Session with Mayor Bing
Topic: Miller Canfield contract to work on Financial Stability Agreement, required by Milestone Agreement by November 30.
Monday, November 26, 2012 @ 1pm
Coleman A Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Ave, Room 1340, Detroit MI 48226 [map]

Mike McGee
Miller Canfield partner

The discussion November 14 at the Internal Operations standing committee made it clear that Miller Canfield is using extortion on the City of Detroit. Miller Canfield has written the laws-contracts-agreements, litigated cases, and are now standing to be the legal counsel guiding the "Reform Agenda" and using the Milestone Agreement to hold the city to account for making the changes prescribed. Unfortunately the City of Detroit website does not have archived footage from that day for viewing.

Ask these pertenant questions:

• Has the Milestone Agreement been approved by Corporation Counsel?
• Who prepared the Milestone Agreement?
• Since Public Act 4 was repealed the repeal of Public Act 72 was in the referendum. Where is the standing for the Consent Agreement?
• Corporation Counsel gave testimony before City Council on Nov 20 that she did not approve or prepare the Consent Agreement, by Charter section 7.5-206 that is required.
• Why does a Reform Agenda not include job creation? Everything here is contracting out and privatization. Has anyone looked at common references for Reform Agenda?
• Why is billing for Miller Canfield at $275/hr rather than standard legal rate of $180/hr?
• This is a retroactive contract, why was work done prior to approval?
• $300,000 in expenses has been consumed in the time of the proposed contract. Are there expected requests for additional funding to 2015?
• Contract periods need to be reduced, what measures through the Reform Agenda are committing to return work to Detroit expeditiously?
• Will the Mayor meet with the public to hear their concerns? Even City Council seems to have a problem gaining audience without the Mayor being the requestor.

Considering PA4 and PA72 are repealed how soon will the Mayor be requesting Chapter 9 Municipal Bankruptcy? Has the city done any planning in this direction?

• Has the city prepared an organization chart as requested by the 2012 Charter? Is that available online or at the City Clerk?
• Changes to the City Charter were made in the 2012 election - when will an updated City Charter be provided?

Unethical Conduct

When it comes to legal consel in the courts we continue to find Miller Canfield present to defend the Mayor / Consent Agreement / Emergency Managers. There have been occassions where they are not used, in those situations John Pirich, esq has been present. Attorney Pirich is the chairperson of the Michigan Board of Ethics. His involvement in 2012 has included:

• Hired by Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility as lead counsel in the case against Stand Up For Democracy
• Representative for Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts in case against Detroit School Board
• Defense for Mayor Bing at Election Commission meeting regarding recall proceedings

There is a vast pool of legal counsel around the State of Michigan. Is there an underlying reason why certain attorneys are being used? Could it be that in their position they are above the law and beyond reproach?

Mayor Bing Cancels Unscheduled Community Meeting

We were looking for the trace of an announcement that there was a community meeting with Mayor Bing in District 6 and had rumors that it would be on Wednesday, November 21 at Greater Apostolic Faith Temple. The prior call for a meeting on October in District 6 was scheduled at the same time as a public hearing for DWSD. It ended up BOTH meetings were canceled.

Meeting? What Meeting?

At 4:30 pm Monday we checked the website and found the announcement that the meeting was canceled. We still have yet to see where this meeting was announced publicly as the rumors have yet to be substantiated. Late tonight we can find the announcement as a downloadable PDF, but recall first seeing this with a CANCELED overlay when looking at 4:30pm.

Public Audience With a Public Servant

Mayor Bing - when will we see you again? You seem to have relaxed a bit for interviewing with Jack Lessenberry for Hour Magazine. The handicapped and senior citizens you walked out on due to the outburst in District 5 was pretty hard for them to take. Information was pulled together to present by many interests (not just the police) and few had a chance to speak. The setup at Martin Luther King HS was pretty odd with that chasm looking like a moat between the speaker and city officials.
Fox 2 News Headlines

We hope you don't setup secret public meetings... that just seems so shady. But we sadly expect that as the next course of action.

You'll be inviting "Just Us" for Justice then.

March on City Hall

We must march on City Hall and demand justice delivered as promised through the vote November 6, 2012. The Emergency Manager Law (Public Act 4 of 2011) has been repealed. Public Act 72 of 1990 was repealed in 2011 and according to the law CANNOT BE REVIVED.

Detroit refuses to be a puppet to State Government demands. We must gather and create a Citizen's Reform Agenda, but that requires access to our government - something this administration and those preceding it have made very difficult.

Monday November 19 9:00am rally at Spirit of Detroit

The Public Health & Safety Standing Committee will be held at 10:00am, the 13th floor at Coleman A Young Municipal Center will be packed. Click here for the agenda.

Tuesday November 20 9:00am rally at Spirit of Detroit

The last Council of the Whole meeting will be held at 10:00am on the 13th floor. The agenda is packed and we suspect the entire day until 4pm will be spent in session. Click here for the agenda.

The Call To March

November 6th we watched the votes tally - We saw Michigan Democrats win the Senate. We saw the re-election of President Barack Obama and saw Proposal 1 come in with a NO vote. The next morning we found …

• The Emergency Manager Law had been repealed
  (but nothing changed)
• Detroit’s Proposal C to ensure Corporation Counsel retained independence and the ability to prosecute Mayor Bing
  (and the Mayor continues supporting the Financial Stability Agreement born through Public Act 4, which was claimed to not conform with the requirements of Detroit City Charter)

... and what we did not get was a CELEBRATION in the streets and JUSTICE NOW. We thought certainly someone would start the celebration. We realize now that WE ARE THE ONES to start the celebration!! WE MUST DEMAND JUSTICE NOW!

WE ARE *MARCHING ON* CITY HALL MONDAY & TUESDAY MORNING AT 9AM
WE ARE *CALLING ON YOU* TO STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS AND PARTICIPATE – sitting through a revolution was never the way of accomplishing what is needed.

• We are NOT WAITING 30 days to claim victory.
• We are NOT WAITING for Detroit to have more services farmed out to private business by terms of a contract. 
• We are NOT WAITING for land grabs to be complete and departments to be shut-down sending our residents into unemployment.
• We are NOT WAITING for our public buses to be privatized, or our water, or our lighting, or other departments.
• We are NOT WAITING for more of our schools to be yanked from our hands and have our children attending EAA schools established and controlled through Jim Crow Laws.
• We are NOT WAITING for the State of Michigan to push through new Emergency Manager Laws to “save us” from bankruptcy court.
• We are NOT WAITING for our elected officials to take orders from the State of Michigan on next steps in dismantling our local governments and schools.

Both Monday and Tuesday have critical items coming before City Council committees and the final meeting of City Council for the year until 2012. There will be limited room available on the 13th floor - we need people on the street picketing the issues. Get on the text messaging group by composing a message to the number 23559 with the word @honorMIvote and send the message.

WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF DETROIT and

WE ARE NOT WAITING ANY MORE!

Moving vans ready for eviction

EXERCISE OUR RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE, TO PLAN, TO PARTICIPATE IN GOVERNMENT, TO BE AWARE
EXERCISE SELF-GOVERNANCE THROUGH OUR HOME-RULE CHARTER
EXERCISE WITH OUR FEET IN THE STREET
EXERCISE OUR VOICES HELD HIGH IN REASON AND PROTEST
EXERCISE THE FREEDOM OUR COUNTRY HAS FOUGHT FOR CENTURIES TO MAINTAIN – not overseas, here at home! Our fight for freedom is here at home! We will not be slaves to a state of confusion and despair. Our children deserve to know the hope and spirit of a brighter future. We are not sacrificing to the burdens of devastation placed on us by a CORPO-GOVERNMENT declared state of emergency.

Government SERVES the People – it is their oath of office, it is time to serve as the public demanded through a general election and insist the courts and law-makers of this land follow the will of the people. WE WILL NOT BE UNDONE BY A SYSTEM NOT OF OUR OWN CHOOSING!

Assist us by inviting those that love Detroit to march, to be THE ONES that proclaim the City of Detroit is a held by THE PEOPLE and we will not back-down.

NOTE: Recall Mayor Bing petitions will be circulating while the march is taking place. Detroit voting residents we encourage action!

Recall of Mayor Bing Begins

Chris Griffith (c) with State
Representative John Olumba and counsel
Photo: Stephen Boyle

Michigan Representative John Olumba has been meeting with members from Free Detroit No Consent on efforts to establish a Recall Mayor Bing campaign. A meeting held November 5, 2012 of the Wayne County Board of Elections resulted in approval of a recall petition.

The People Unite in Resistance

A prior attempt was made October 23 in a meeting with the Wayne County Board of Elections. Mayor Bing's counsel at that meeting was John Pirich who has been showing up in a few significant cases. John Pirich, esq. is the chairperson of the State of Michigan Board of Ethics.

Tracking Attorney John Pirich

Attorney Pirich was also hired by Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility as lead counsel opposing Stand Up For Democracy in the push for a referendum on Public Act 4, The Emergency Manager Law, to be placed to a vote of the public. The position against the referendum was financially supported by The Sterling Corporation. This battle was waged from the Board of Canvassers, which Jeffery Timmerer failed to recuse himself in the split vote on whether to accept over 250,000 signatures on petitions filed. The basis for recuse would be his involvement financially and organizationally with Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility in resisting the referendum petition campaign. Mr Timmerer later stepped down from his position on the Board of Canvassers with little explanation.

The fight for the referendum on Public Act 4 escalated through the Court of Appeals and requested time from the Michigan Supreme Court twice in its proceedings. As the final days prior to completing the ballot proposals approached the order from the court to the Board of Canvassers and Secretary of State to set the wording for the ballot was made. It wasn't until the sample ballot was available that many knew what the language for the referendum would be.

The next legal action Attorney Pirich was noticed at in Detroit was as counsel to Roy Roberts, Emergency Financial Manager of Detroit Public Schools who was in court against the Detroit Board of Education subsequent to the August ruling by Michigan Supreme Court to place the PA4 referendum on the ballot. That action suspended Emergency Managers and an opinion by the Attorney General Bill Schuette brought the repealed law Public Act 72 into effect. According to Judge John Murphy financial considerations for DPS would be handled by the EFM Roy Roberts until the results of the November 6 election were known; the Board of Education and appointed Superintendent would be granted power of administration for DPS; differences between the parties would be settled by Judge Murphy in this interim period.

If At First You Don't Succeed ... Learn the Lesson

The October 23rd meeting held up the recall campaign due to the number of statements placed in the wording of the petition. Attorney Pirich (representing Mayor Dave Bing) indicated that the word "compromised" in the original petition was ambiguous. Wayne County counsel read passage from the law such that those attending would understand why the petition request was being denied.
If any one of the conditions was not met the petition request would be denied.

Those ambiguities were cleared through a series of revised petition requests that were clear and concise. It only took one of the ten subsequent requests to be approved for the recall campaign to begin.
This grassroots recall drive will have six months to collect required signatures for the recall of Detroit's Mayor. After such time an additional filing may be made.

Another Lesson Learned

The predators that circle may be driven off from time to time, but they will continue to circle as long as the prey appears desirable. It is anticipated that Attorney Pirich will be seen fairly frequently as counsel for the State of Michigan interests, including as defense to those elected and appointed officials in the City of Detroit operating on behalf of the state. At some point, we the people need to question why is the Chairperson of the Board of Ethics pursuing the "enslavement of Detroit" by the State of Michigan.
For reference:

• Washtenaw: Snyder Recall Wording Clear, The Ann Arbor Chronicle - Apr 30, 2011
• Attorney Pirich served as moderator in 2007 at a session entitled "Tribal Business Advantages and Challenges In Economic Development Ventures" at the Second Annual Great Lakes Tribal Economic Development Symposium "Diverse Tribal Economic Development - A Sovereign Imperative". He is partner in the firm Honigman, Miller, Schwartz and Cohn, LLP, a sponsor of the symposium.

Mayor's District 5 Community Meeting is Sept 27

District 5 is the next stop for Mayor Bing on his tour around the districts of the city to interact with the people and discover how well his administration is accomplishing its goals. We encourage those in the district to come forward during public comments to be heard, and the invitation is open to the public attending. Some of these meetings have been picked up by television crews, however a few had no coverage. Some meetings have been very heated and others more subdued.

The following press release is from the Mayor's Office yesterday, as of yet there hasn't been a poster for the meeting available online and we haven't seen one around Coleman A Young Municipal Building.
Update: A flyer from the Mayor's Office is at the bottom of this post.

Mayor Bing to Host District Community Meeting September 27

Released 9/20/2012 - Please join Mayor Dave Bing for a district community meeting on Thursday, September 27, at 7 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, located at 3200 E. Lafayette Blvd in the MLK Center Amphitheater). Parking is available in the parking lot adjacent to the school. 

This will be the sixth in a series of district community meetings held in accordance with the 2012 Detroit City Charter. For more information, call (313) 224-3703.

Topics Free Detroit No Consent Is Curious About

Each month the developing story around the City of Detroit and its interaction with the State of Michigan and certain corporate and institutional investors continues to unfold. Take a look through the Ethics Complaint that Free Detroit has assembled to see some of the issues we have. From month to month we are providing updates on issues impacting the city.

Mayor Bing - Community Meeting Sept 13

Mayor Dave Bing will be holding his community meeting for District 4 as he visits each of seven districts around the city. As a citizen activist group we are encouraging the public to attend the meeting. This community meeting is for the Mayor and his staff to understand the needs of Detroiters throughout the city.

Mayor Dave Bing - Community Meeting Flyer District 4

WHO: Mayor Dave Bing and staff
WHAT: District 4 Community Meeting
WHEN: Thursday, September 13, 2012, starts at 7:00pm
WHERE: Charity Lutheran Church, 17220 Kelly Rd, Detroit 48224

FACEBOOK: Event Link

There will be a brief period likely from 6:50-7:05 when you'll be able to fill out a card requesting to speak during the public comments segment of the night. You should be offered 2 minutes to speak, although we have found 1 minute or 1.5 minutes is regularly offered. It is HIGHLY recommended those wishing to speak and find seating arrive by 6:45pm.

Prepare your presentation, deliver it direct to the point and cleanly. Ideally create an opportunity for interaction by the mayor and his staff. Targeted issues will be delegated to staff to manage. We need broad reaching change and that can be in the form of requesting audits, public documentation of results, and requesting conversational dialog that isn't happening at community meetings. Require open meetings and proper notice and publication of events offering public participation. Ask for public service announcements to appear where YOU will see them. Transparency of government is not coming from Mayor Bing's administration.

Mayor's Community Meetings

The above map also shows the declared resident locations of City Council members, seven of which will have to reside in a district to serve as its elected representative.

The map below plots the locations the Mayor has held Community Meetings around the city as he visits the seven electoral districts as shown on the map above.


View Mayor Bing's Community Meetings in a larger map

City Charter, Sec. 5-110. - Community Meetings.

Each calendar year the Mayor shall hold at least one community meeting in each of the non at-large districts. A city-wide community meeting shall be held not later than September 30 of each calendar year at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center auditorium or other location suited to accommodate at least an equal number of citizens. Meetings shall begin between the hours of seven (7) o'clock P.M. and eight (8) o'clock P.M. and shall not conflict with an evening City Council meeting scheduled under section 4-102. 

The meetings shall be published and noticed in the manner set forth in the Michigan Open Meetings Act. Meetings shall be conspicuously posted on the City of Detroit's website or then existing modes of electronic or non-print communication and on other forms of media owned or operated by the City of Detroit, including any television channels.

List of Community Meetings Held by Mayor Bing

• City-wide meeting held in the Erma Henderson Auditorium
• District 1 meeting held July 12 at Rosedale Park Activity Center
• District 2 meeting held July 27 at Northwest Activity Center
• District 3 meeting held August 30, 2012 at Brenda Scott Academy
• District 4 meeting to be held September 13, 2012 at Charity Lutheran Church
• District 5 meeting (pending)
• District 6 meeting (pending)
• District 7 meeting (pending)

Detroit Public Lighting - Detroit in Darkness

Mayor Bing released his plan to address public lighting across the city on August 10. The graphic shown here demonstrates the phases of the plan as it would occur from now to 2016.

The plan addresses the most desirable and populated areas of the city first, leaving neighborhoods that are experiencing darkness now in the dark for years. This usurping move to the bill introduced by Senator Maureen Stapleton drew her criticism. 

“That’s absolutely offensive,” Stapleton said. “Everybody deserves lights. When you start putting neighborhoods in tiers, that defeats the purpose of the legislation.”

The bills that went before Michigan Senate were defeated August 15.

It seems that as hard as they (Mayor Bing, COO Chris Brown, and City Fellow Beau Taylor) try - public lighting has become a hot issue. They are the public face behind something that resembles the film Neverending Story - the darkness of nothing is spreading throughout Detroit and even these plans are not saving it soon enough to prevent people from being killed  due to insufficient lighting on busy streets.

Mayor Bing's 2010-11 budget plan included mothballing Mistersky Power Plant and the layoff of Public Lighting Department staff (re: Michigan Citizen, May 26, 2010, Diane Bukowski). Statements in opposition were given by analysts to City Council and published in the article mentioned.

In the PLD letter, James Anderson said he and other street lighting workers had given the council the productivity plan that would save money without cutting their jobs, adding further to Detroit’s unemployment rate. 

“Ten Street Light Maintenance Workers will be eliminated and work given to Overhead Lineman at $11 an hour more,” said Anderson. “They replace and not repair. More waste. Thousands of lights are already out city-wide, calls still coming in, and an untrained [contractual] work force is handling a heavy load.” 

Anderson said the city charter mandates a vote of the people before shutting down Mistersky. It was built in the 1920s to power the entire city, including homes, not just street lights and public buildings, as does the Lansing Public Power and Light. 

“It is a multi-fueled plant with six generators,” he said. “Managed properly it can make money, an asset the city can’t afford to waste.”

The public has been outspoken at meetings saying the Mistersky Power Plant needs to be turned on. There are objections to the city's continued dependency on DTE for power. At the September 10 Financial Advisory Board meeting COO Chris Brown stated "The city doesn't want to be in the business of generating power." If the public could respond we would have asked why not?

A new generator was delivered to the Mistersky Power Plant and still has yet to be turned on. However the current administration has been seeking assistance in the usual places - corporation sponsors, municipal bonds, and privatization of municipal interests. But it isn't truly assistance - the administration is committed to the selling off of assets and placing the city into contractual arrangements with corporations and state government for services.

A solution would be to relieve the city of this administrative nightmare and bring in leadership that can perform in the best interest of the people. Free Detroit No Consent has been asking people to turn in Ethics Complaints - these have been pouring in at the Board of Ethics and investigative steps are in process. We need to keep the pressure on, showing each time the administration is jeopardizing the public which it has sworn oath to serve. We need people to continue coming out for community meetings and speaking of the violations those who are running the meetings have committed. Educate your neighbors, church members, the seniors, students, and business owners near you.

Mayor Bing - Community Meeting Aug 30

Mayor Dave Bing will be holding his community meeting for District 3 as he visits each of seven districts around the city. As a citizen activist group we are encouraging the public to attend the meeting. This community meeting is for the Mayor and his staff to understand the needs of Detroiters throughout the city.

Click here to download a copy of the flyer for the event.


WHO: Mayor Dave Bing and staff
WHAT: District 3 Community Meeting
WHEN: Thursday, August 30, 2012, starts at 7:00pm
WHERE: Brenda Scott Middle School, 18440 Hoover St, Detroit MI 48205
FACEBOOK: Event link

There will be a brief period likely from 6:50-7:05 when you'll be able to fill out a card requesting to speak during the public comments segment of the night. You should be offered 2 minutes to speak, although we have found 1 minute or 1.5 minutes is regularly offered. It is HIGHLY recommended those wishing to speak and find seating arrive by 6:30pm.

Prepare your presentation, deliver it direct to the point and cleanly. Ideally create an opportunity for action by the mayor and his staff. Targeted issues will be delegated to staff to manage. We need broad reaching change and that can be in the form of requesting audits, public documentation of results, and requesting conversational dialog that isn't happening at community meetings. Require open meetings and proper notice and publication of events offering public participation. Ask for public service announcements to appear where YOU will see them. Transparency of government is not coming from Mayor Bing's administration.

About the Location

Brenda Scott Middle School is one of 15 schools that the Educational Achievement Authority (EAA) is laying claim to pulling from Detroit Public Schools. It will be managed by Matchbook Learning. Emergency Manager Roy Roberts worked with Robert Bobb to establish the EAA, implementing it the 2012-13 school year with Detroit Public Schools the first pulled into the statewide district based on being Persistently Low Achieving schools on MEAP test scores.

Mayor's Community Meetings

The above map also shows the declared resident locations of City Council members, seven of which will have to reside in a district to serve as its elected representative.

City Charter, Sec. 5-110. - Community Meetings.

Each calendar year the Mayor shall hold at least one community meeting in each of the non at-large districts. A city-wide community meeting shall be held not later than September 30 of each calendar year at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center auditorium or other location suited to accommodate at least an equal number of citizens. Meetings shall begin between the hours of seven (7) o'clock P.M. and eight (8) o'clock P.M. and shall not conflict with an evening City Council meeting scheduled under section 4-102. 

The meetings shall be published and noticed in the manner set forth in the Michigan Open Meetings Act. Meetings shall be conspicuously posted on the City of Detroit's website or then existing modes of electronic or non-print communication and on other forms of media owned or operated by the City of Detroit, including any television channels.

List of Community Meetings Held by Mayor Bing

• City-wide meeting held in the Erma Henderson Auditorium
• District 1 meeting held July 12 at Rosedale Park Activity Center
• District 2 meeting held July 27 at Northwest Activity Center
• District 3 meeting to be held August 30, 2012 at Brenda Scott Academy
• District 4 meeting (pending)
• District 5 meeting (pending)
• District 6 meeting (pending)
• District 7 meeting (pending)

Updated B-I-N-G-NO Information, print & share

Here's the latest update flyers on action from Free Detroit No Consent. Lets go through the details listed and a few items that aren't.

1. Ethics Complaints remain HIGH PRIORITY! If you would like to provide an update to your already filed complaint, simply write an update including your name, contact information, indicating you previously sent in a complaint and send it in. Free Detroit No Consent is working on an update that will assist. 
2. If you need to update your voter information you have until the beginning of October to get the information filed. Check your information through the State of Michigan website, or our Rock The Vote page.
3. The Repeal of Public Act 4 is HIGH PRIORITY! State and City officials have gone on record with opinions that Public Act 72 is alive, this is LAWLESS behavior derived from an attempt to keep the common person suppressed. Public Act 72, the Emergency Financial Manager Law from 1990, was repealed when Public Act 4 was created. Read further (MCL 8.4) that it is Dead Law, and even shows up that way on the State of Michigan website.
4. Lawlessness continues in the Bing administration - contracts for services still are outstanding for legal counsel. Provisions required by the 2012 City Charter still remain to be completed.
5. Community Delegations are one of our next ACTION PLANS, we need people to sign up from across the city to coordinate the WE-COVERY of DETROIT.
6. August 23-26 Occupy Detroit is the host for Occupy The Midwest.
7. August 25 Crusade for America will hold march in Highland Park.
8. August 25 “Embrace Our Families To Rebuild Our Communities” an event to provide school supplies for Detroit students
9. August 25 Kem is holding clean up day at Mack & Third.
10. August 26 Kem holds benefit concert at Cass Park - Look for FREE Detroit NO Consent at the steps of the building at 2727 Second Ave, where we hold weekly meetings.
11. Labor Day weekend follows and there will be more organizing events to attend.
12. ROCKUPY BELLE ISLE on the following weekend September 7-9, we'll be near the Band Shell with ethics complaint forms and more information.
13. VOICES NOT HEARD is held monthly on the 1st Thursday at 6pm at Metropolitan Elks Lodge. The agenda usually has time for discussion between activists and creating forward momentum.

The presences we have around the internet, and via phone are listed

• Phone line is 313-444-0061
• Email is info@FreeDetroit.org
• Text messaging cell - join by texting @freedetroit to 23559
• Facebook page http://facebook.com/FreeDetroitNoConsent
• Twitter profile http://twitter.com/free_detroit
• YouTube profile http://youtube.com/user/FreeOurDetroit

Requests at Mayor's 2nd Community Meeting

The Mayor and at least 30 people in his administration attended the meeting on Thursday July 12 at Rosedale Park Community Center. About 175 people filled the 160 seats on the first floor of the center, with a few seated in the mezzanine as well. Many of the specific questions asked within the community were handed to specific department heads and liaisons for one on one consultation.

However there were a number of questions and requests that either were not answered or were answered in a way that begs additional clarification.

July 16 Update

The following note is going to be given to City Council members today as they receive information from the Financial Advisory Board and the work they are doing on "City Employment Terms". A draft copy of the CET presentation was obtained during the 'secret' FAB meeting on July 12 at 1:30pm. Please note the concessions in the document.

This special meeting of the Council of the Whole will be held at 1:30pm today, July 16. Click here for a print ready PDF of this update which we encourage being distributed. Pass along a copy to those persons you care about and whom care about Detroit.

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Open letter to: Mayor Dave Bing, Detroit City Council, and citizens

With the move to bring suit against Ms. Krystal Crittendon for her efforts to protect the City from an illegal takeover, the Mayor and the Governor have shown their determination to dismantle the City of Detroit as we have known it and redesign it for the wealthy, the banks and the corporations. The City Council was elected to serve the interests of the majority population of Detroit; however, our rights are being ignored. The Council has the authority and ethical responsibility to hold City departments and all providers of services to the City accountable. Council Members have the power to ensure that the law will be upheld. They can stop the corruption and lawlessness that we have seen from the Mayor and the Governor.

We demand that the City Council take actions to halt the illegal takeover and war against the people of Detroit. This war has escalated and is being carried out on every front:

Suppression and Denial of Voting Rights

The conspiracy of Republicans and the Governor will result in keeping the repeal of Public Act 4 off the ballot for the November election. This act usurps our rights to elect the government officials who will represent us, taking away the rights guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution.

Union Busting and Disregard of Workers' Rights 

Agreements previously made through negotiations with unions are being disregarded, in outright rejection of the principle of collective bargaining. Retirement benefits/pensions, cost of living adjustments, health coverage, sick leave, furlough days and many other provisions that were won by workers over generations of struggle and sacrifice will be cut drastically or eliminated by the plan to be presented to Council on July 16, 2012, as the "City Employment Terms."

Education

This week Roy Roberts will present an action plan for the schools that will decimate DPS and ensure that our children will be undereducated and unable to achieve the fulfilling lives they deserve. It is possible that these ruthless strategies will culminate in closure of all the public schools, passing the school system to private companies, supporting the growth of wealth for the rich on the backs of our children.

Housing and Razing of Neighborhoods

Instead of taking actions to secure the people's homes against foreclosure, the City is involved in placing millions of dollars with companies to carry out massive demolition projects. These contracts are awarded overwhelmingly to individuals and companies outside the City of Detroit. These plans worsen the problems of homelessness, reduce the availability of affordable housing, and weaken the stability of remaining neighborhoods and families.

Department of Human Services Elimination

The Department of Human Services (DHS) is being dismantled, with plans to turn a federally funded program over to a private entity. Citizens are experiencing cutbacks and the end of services essential to their health, safety and wellbeing - especially seniors and single heads-of-household, which struggle to keep up with utilities, food, and other basic needs.

Transportation

Under the direction of a private contractor, the Detroit Transportation System (DDOT) is now in total disarray. Workers earning basic wages have lost their jobs and have no hope for rehire. DDOT is fraught with - cutbacks, schedule reductions, and elimination of major routes. Many bus riders desperate for basic wage jobs have lost their employment due to a lack of reliable and affordable transit options.

Public Lighting and Utilities

The city and state governments intend to pass a bill that will allow proper street lighting for selected sections of the City, while other sections are left in the dark. Though the citizens are required to pay increased taxes for infrastructure needs such as public lighting, these services remain shamefully inadequate. With the high cost of utilities, citizens are unable to keep up payments and suffer shutoffs to their services, sometimes resulting in death.

Land Usage

The city is rezoning residential land parcels to be available for corporate farming so that massive tracts of land can be allocated to agribusinesses, like Hantz Farms. At the same time Detroiters are being pushed out of their homes through predatory lending practices, foreclosures and evictions, while city officials harass community farmers who are trying to establish food security, strong neighborhoods, and Safe Streets.

Public Safety and Security

At a time when crime, victimization, fires, and other emergencies are soaring cuts to fire, law enforcement, and EMS are made. Grants and other special relief funds are not sought, dismissed, or accepted. This means residential and business communities exist under a veil of fear and a lack of public trust.

Militarization, Harassment & Criminalization of Citizens

The City has agreed to a multi-jurisdictional task force of law enforcement agencies that will escalate the harassment, brutalization and criminalization of Detroit citizens. Ultimately this will lead to increased incarceration of young African Americans. Increased criminalization of our youth feeds the prison pipeline and private profit.

We appeal to our fellow citizens to stand up and resist this oppressive takeover! Make your voices heard! Show up at City Council meetings on Tuesdays! Show up at the demonstrations! We are the change makers that we are waiting for!

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Free Detroit - No Consent holds weekly meetings on Thursdays at 6pm. Please call 313-444-0061 to get location information.

We are urging the public to file ethics complaints. We have crafted a version of the Ethics Complaint form with our findings within. We would like to work with you and please assist us in assembling a large number of complaints turned in to the Board of Ethics. The next scheduled meeting is July 27 at 3pm. Details can be found on the Calendar page of the website. Note: You can view the calendar in agenda mode using a button at top right of the display. This may make for an easier to read, and print format.

Miller Canfield vs Crittendon

Mayor Bing filed through Miller Canfield on Thursday July 12 around 5pm with 3rd District Court to fire Krystal Crittendon.

This was openly discussed at the Mayor's town hall meeting in Rosedale Park. Cecily McClellan from Free Detroit queried Mayor Bing as to the legality of this suit, and asked for an explanation, none was offered. The public attending applauded the inquiry by McClellan.

We encourage contact in support of Krystal Crittendon at 313-237-3418.

Call Mayor Bing at 313-224-3400 to indicate your outrage that he would work through Miller Canfield an illegal motion late in the day. Under the 2012 revision of the City Charter attorney Crittendon can only be removed without cause by a majority vote of the City Council.

The Mayor appeared before City Council several weeks ago and walked out before seeking their approval for her removal, for a second time.

Public meeting before Mayor's Meeting

Tonights scheduled Free Detroit No Consent meeting is shifted to be a pre-event gathering at 5:30pm outside Rosedale Park Community Center, 18445 Scarsdale. At 7pm Mayor Dave Bing will be holding his second community meeting with the public inside the center. Doors will likely open 15-30 minutes in advance. Our public meeting is outside on the lawn.

The public will meet and discuss issues facing Detroit and hear local issues in the community. This is the time for the public to organize and clarify our messages. Practice before friends and find support.

Seating inside is limited on main floor to 160, overflow to mezzanine with 100 limited visibility seats.

Questions, call 313-444-0061

Mayor's Community Meeting - District 2

Promoting Citizen Involvement 

Hopefully you know Mayor Dave Bing is holding his first Community Meeting in District 1 on July 12. Two weeks later District 2 will be holding a meeting July 26 at 7pm.

District 2 Community Meeting with Mayor Dave Bing 

When: Thursday, July 26, 2012 starting at 7:00 pm

Where: Northwest Activity Center, 18100 Meyers, Detroit

There will likely be a significant number of administration members in the audience. They might be unnoticed unless called out by the Mayor to assist with an answer. 

Please share this information and bring your neighbors, seniors, and young people to the meeting. Find representatives from Free Detroit No Consent in the audience as we will have information we'd like you to have. If you need translation assistance or special arrangements at the meeting call Eunice Hayes 313-224-3703 or Frazier Kimpson 313-224-4733.

As we obtain notice about the scheduling for Community Meetings in Districts 3-7 we will post them to this website.

Mayor Plans Community Meetings

Planning Is The Key

We got word that Mayor Dave Bing is holding his first Community Meeting in District 1 on July 12. It wasn't like an announcement. The city's website has a broken link to the flyer. That will likely be fixed soon. Outside the entrance to the Mayor's office there is an announcement board and I saw that District 2 will be holding a meeting July 26.

District 1 Community Meeting with Mayor Dave Bing 

When: Thursday, July 12, 2012 starting at 7:00 pm

Where: North Rosedale Park Community House, 18445 Scarsdale, Detroit  - 313-837-3416

There will likely be a significant number of administration members in the audience. They might be unnoticed unless called out by the Mayor to assist with an answer. 

Note: Free Detroit has requested to be placed on the notice list for announcements with the Mayor's Press Secretary and the City Clerk. Hopefully we'll get details sent as they are available and make those available to our listening audience of concerned citizens. The citizens of the city deserve to get notice of these meetings a month in advance, so they can plan better to attend. Hopefully District 3's meeting will follow on August 9, but that remains speculation at this point.

Please share this information and bring your neighbors, seniors, and young people to the meeting. Find representatives from Free Detroit No Consent in the audience as we will have information we'd like you to have. If you need translation assistance or special arrangements at the meeting call Eunice Hayes 313-224-3703 or Frazier Kimpson 313-224-4733.

Charter Requirements Not Met

Today we uncover a hidden gem on the internet -  www.DetCharter.com is dedicated to being a watchdog for the Detroit's City Charter. June 30 is implementation deadline for a number of items from the January 2012 revision to the charter. Perhaps the list of action items are part of Mayor Bing's plan to announce at the City-Wide Community Meeting tonight at 7pm.

Free Detroit No Consent is asking the public to rally in advance 5pm at the Labor Monument in Hart Plaza next to Jefferson. As a united public front we can prepare for the constraints of the meeting and ensure people have an opportunity for their issues to be heard.

City Charter Actions Overdue

• City Insurance - February 29, 2012
• Community Advisory Councils - March 30, 2012
• Green Initiatives and Sustainable Technologies Plan - start by March 30, 2012
• Debarment Ordinance - April 30, 2012
• Residency Requirements - April 30, 2012

City Charter Actions Coming Up

• Contract Approval and Disclosure - June 30, 2012
• Redundancy Report Issued - June 30, 2012
• Appointment of Inspector General

Impact to the City

The Inspector General (sec 7.5.1) and Corporation Counsel (sec 7.5.2) were removed from the Executive branch in the January 2012 revision. This will prove to be a thorn in Mayor Bing's side because both of these sections of government are given autonomy and oversight of the whole city government. We have already seen the Mayor's attorneys influencing State of Michigan Claims Court in the case brought June 13. 

Corporation Counsel brought case in Claims Court to verify the course of law through section 2-113 indicating the State of Michigan with debts due the city would not be able to enter into the Financial Stability Agreement (Consent Agreement).

Jobs

Stalling on Green Initiatives and Sustainable Technologies (GIST) Plan is one way the current administration has denied jobs in addition to eliminating jobs. Changes to bus schedules in March wiped out off-shift work opportunities for Detroiters. 

Lets talk about basics and how they haven't been a priority.

Spirit of Detroit asks for Cooperation

This animated video from Mike Thompson, columnist at the Detroit Free Press was released in April 2012. The sentiment needs to set the tone for today. If the Spirit is willing, how about the Flesh?

Lets openly discuss what is not working and how to address it. Revealed plans are easier to follow than secrets, closed meetings, limited listening. We anticipate the Mayor's meeting today will offer speakers 2 minutes to present, although 90 seconds (1.5 minutes) has become the default with Detroit City Council.