Hands Off Our Island

This Saturday a city-wide rally is being held on Belle Isle starting at noon. Many groups in support and topics to discuss, including the lease of Belle Isle to the State of Michigan. Voters can update their registration information, and be sure to let those whom have been to jail or have not voted in a while, that they can get back into the voting pool. 

Click it for the larger print-ready version

Greensboro Declaration Release on Sept 12

The National Council of Elders will be releasing The Greensboro Declaration in five U.S. Cities on September 12. The locations selected represent sites where civil rights struggles have been held and continue to be in focus today: Washington DC;The Bay Area of California; Los Angeles California; Detroit, Michigan; and New York City, New York.

In Detroit a coffee hour and lunch break will be held during the press conference

Who:	National Council Of Elders
What:	Release of the Greensboro Declaration
When:	Wednesday, September 12, 2012 @ 11:00 am
Where:	New Bethel Baptist Church, 8430 Linwood St, Detroit MI 48206

This is the first announcement since foundation of NCOE a month ago. Please read details below or download the document and print.

Watch for the tag #NCOEGD on Twitter, Bambuser, and other social network tools.

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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 Public Act 72, the Emergency Financial Manager Law from 1990, was repealed when Public Act 4 was created.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

SPEAK OUT this week!

Download and print

We look forward to seeing you at these events and more. Watch our calendar for more activities as we find out about them. If you'd like an event added to the calendar please send an email to admin@freedetroit.org. You can find our page on Facebook at http://facebook.com/FreeDetroitNoConsent

City Employment Terms - 6-26-12 draft

City Council will be meeting at 10:00am today with Roy Roberts (DPS-EM) to discuss the plans for Detroit Public Schools 2012-13. Additional topics are on the agenda.

There will also be continued work on the City Employment Terms as initially presented by CFO Jack Martin, and Law Department's Labor Relations. [Click here for a draft copy of CET from June 26, we will provide updated copy when obtained.]

These employment changes were part of the work of the last two meetings of the Financial Advisory Board, which have appeared as semi-secret meetings since they are announced by the State Treasurer's office. All that we have heard have been whispered notice the day of or a day before the meeting with sketchy details on the location and time. Free Detroit has requested to be placed on the distribution list for announcements out of the Michigan Treasurer and have yet to receive a confirmation to that request.

We are also curious to see the billing of contract to Milliman for the work done with the CET. Mentioned during yesterday's long session (1:30pm-4:30pm) was that details of the document were not yet complete and available until the contract terms with Milliman were completed -- they want to be paid. That contract should come before City Counsel as it will likely be higher than $25,000. Additional legal counsel from Butzel Long, Miller Cohen, and Miller Canfield can be expected as well.

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.