Free Detroit Shared Library

We have been accumulating a number of documents of significant reference and we are sharing those that are available to the public through our library online. The library has a number of folders grouping documents of similar topic / nature together.

• Detroit 2012 Charter
• Detroit Public Schools
• DWSD & EMA
• Financial Stability Agreement / Consent Agreement
• Land Grab / Development Projects / Zoning
• Transportation

Additional subject folders will be added as the library contents grow.

Note: We believe that all documents in the library are in the public domain. If you wish to contest one of the documents loaded to our library, please contact admin@freedetroit.org with a note referencing the document name.

ScribD Library Shelf

We also have a few collections of documents available through ScribD. A link to these can be found in the sidebar of the website, or through this link to our ScribD Library. Our collections can accept additions of additional documents from ScribD participants, with approval.

NO Consent News Links 05/14/2012

The following items are clips from news articles that are being observed at this time.

NO Consent News Links 05/01/2012

News links that we're following...

NO Consent News Links 04/30/2012

News links that we're following...

NO Consent News Links 04/29/2012

News links that we're following...

NO Consent News Links 04/24/2012

• CSBG INFORMATION MEMORANDA
  Community Services Block Grant Program 
  Tags: CSBGA, DHS, Maura Corrigan, noconsent
  • - By Stephen Boyle
  • A key statutory requirement for funding termination or reductions, as outlined in Section 678C(a)(5) of the CSBG Act is that States must provide adequate notice and opportunity for a hearing prior to terminating organizational eligibility for CSBG funding or otherwise reducing the proportional share of funding to an entity for cause.  The CSBG Act does not include any State or Federal authority to waive the requirement of an opportunity for a hearing. Hearing procedures should be consistent with any applicable State policies, rules or statutory requirements. 
  • Potential for Direct Federal Assistance to an Eligible Entity
    
    Section 678C(c) of the CSBG Act specifies that whenever a State terminates or reduces the funding of an eligible entity prior to the completion of a required State hearing and other statutorily-required considerations and procedures as outlined in this document, the Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to provide financial assistance directly to the eligible entity until the State violation of the CSBG Act requirements is corrected. In such instances, the State’s CSBG allocation under the block grant would be reduced by the amount provided to the eligible entity. 
  • State Award of Funds to a New Eligible Entity
    
    In the event that the State terminates the designation of an organization as an eligible entity, or otherwise reduces funds, any resulting funding may be awarded only to an organization that is an eligible entity for CSBG funds.  Section 676A of the CSBG Act outlines procedures for designation and re-designation of eligible entities in un-served areas.  In accordance with the CSBG Act, a State may solicit applications and designate as an eligible entity either:
    
    
    • A private nonprofit organization that is geographically located in the un-served area that is capable of providing a broad range of services designed to eliminate poverty and foster self-sufficiency and meets the requirements of the CSBG Act; or
    • A private nonprofit eligible entity that is geographically located in an area contiguous to or within reasonable proximity of the un-served area and is already providing related services in the un-served area.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Occupy Detroit Knol group favorite links are here.

NO Consent News Links 04/22/2012

The following are excerpted notes from bookmarking of articles pertaining to the Financial Stability Agreement signed by Detroit elected officials on April 4, 2012.

• 3 executives named to Detroit's new financial advisory board | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
  3 of the nine member board have been APPOINTED: Robert Bowman, Darrell Burks, Ken Whipple
  Tags: advisory, board, Detroit, noconsent
  • - By Stephen Boyle
  • Snyder selects three members of the board; Bing and the City Council get to select two each; state Treasurer Andy Dillon appoints one, and Bing and Snyder jointly appoint one.
    The city and state will split costs for the board, including $25,000 in annual pay for each member. Bowman was the joint appointee, Burks was Snyder's choice and Whipple was Dillon's designee.
  • $1.2-billion budget was presented to the council, but many details of the spending plan were vague or not available. Administration officials said the document was put together in a rush to meet a city charter-mandated deadline for a budget presentation after chaotic weeks of negotiating the consent agreement.
  • Lewis said he expects administration members to go before the council Monday to discuss details of the budget, which should offer more of a glimpse into how officials plan to climb out of debt. The budget proposal calls for $160 million less in spending than the current fiscal year's, a savings that officials have said could be achieved through department consolidations, eliminations and work-force reductions.
  • Financial analysts are eyeing whether the city's first attempt at a post-consent deal budget calls for enough cuts and consolidation or privatization of departments, including water and sewer and public lighting, to truly make a difference.
• Detroit City Council members balk at pay for leaders of turnaround effort | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
  CFO and Program Management Director salaries to exceed 3x what city council members earn.
  Tags: noconsent, detroit, City Council, pay, Financial Stability Agreement, FSA, michigan
  • - By Stephen Boyle
  • Jenkins and other council members asked Bing's chief operating officer, Chris Brown, to send the proposal back to the state with a request to cap the yearly salaries at $220,000. Snyder's staff proposed pay of $190,000-$280,000 for the CFO and $160,000-$250,000 for the program manager. Both positions, which would get tens of thousands more in health care and other benefits, would report to the mayor.
  • Council members weren't buying the argument for bigger salaries. They questioned why the pay ranges were at the high end compared with similar positions in other big-city and county governments that the Bing administration surveyed.
  • The city will pay for the two positions, but the city and state will split the costs of a nine-member financial advisory board appointed by the state, the mayor and the council that will have final say on financial matters. The advisory board members are to be paid $25,000 a year.
  • The Detroit City Council questioned on Tuesday the proposed pay for the new positions of chief financial officer and program management director. Here are base salaries for various elected and appointed officials in Detroit and Lansing; the figures do not include the costs of health care and retiree benefits:
• Snyder, Bing name 3 appointees to Detroit financial advisory board | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
  Tags: FAB, Financial Stability Agreement, noconsent, appointees
  • Snyder and Bing said they named former state Treasurer Robert Bowman, currently president and CEO of Major League Baseball Advanced Media LP, as the joint mayoral-gubernatorial appointee to the board.
    Snyder said Darrell Burks, a senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, will be one of three people he will appoint to the board. Meanwhile, Ken Whipple, board chairman at Korn/Ferry International, is Dillon’s appointee.
• Who's behind the group Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility? | Michigan Radio
  One of the people in line to decide the fate of the referendum to challenge Michigan’s emergency manager law has a business interest in the outcome. Jeffrey Timmer is a partner at The Sterling Corporation and is a board member on the State Board of Canvassers. That’s the bipartisan panel that will make the initial ruling on the challenge.
  Tags: Board of Canvassers, The Stirling Corporation, noconsent
  • - By Stephen Boyle
• Michigan's high court says "no" to review of Detroit consent deal | Michigan Radio
  Earlier this month, some opposed to the state's efforts to enter into a consent agreement with Detroit tried to stop the process from going forward - arguing in front of an Ingham County judge that the state did not comply with Michigan's Open Meetings Act.
  
  The judge agreed and ordered a halt to the process, but in an appeal by the state the Michigan Court of Appeals put a stay on the judge's decision.
  
  Union activist and Highland Park school board member Robert Davis appealed all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court.
  
  Today, the Michigan Supreme Court said it won't take up Davis' appeal.
  Tags: noconsent, michigan, court
  • - By Stephen Boyle
• 3 People Join Board to Look at Detroit Finances
  Tags: Financial Stability Agreement, noconsent, appointees, FAB
  • Robert Bowman, Darrell Burks and Ken Whipple are the first of nine appointees called for under an agreement between Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Gov. Rick Snyder.
  • The advisory board will monitor how the city manages its limited resources and report back to the state. It also will make recommendations to the mayor and help the city in preparing its 3-year budget.
  • Board members are required to have at least 10 years of experience and have their qualifications confirmed by the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants or the Michigan Government Finance Officers Association. They will receive $25,000 in annual compensation.
  • Bowman was jointly appointed by Bing and Snyder. Burks is a Snyder appointee, while Whipple was appointed by Dillon.
  • Snyder, Bing and the Detroit City Council each will pick two additional board members.
• The Michigan Citizen
  Tags: NAACP, forum, noconsent
  • The mayor plans to cut $160 million from the general fund and about $600 million more from the overall budget. Tough measures for a mayor who refused, just last year, to make enough cuts to avoid emergency management.
  • The five council members who voted in favor of the CA tried to assure citizens it would make things better. The mayor’s proposed budget, which has to be approved by the state, has already shown it to be a farce.
  • Bring back the unions’ plan or let the new nine-member board, CFO and program management director reveal the budget process is for show and the state is Detroit’ s new boss.
• Get off your knees!
  Tags: noconsent
  • Over 260,000 Michigan citizens signed a petition demanding the question of emergency manager be put before the voters on the November ballot. It is expected then the Secretary of State will announce within a week that there are enough valid signatures. The minute the signatures are validated, PA 4 is suspended. No more EMs; democracy is restored to Benton Harbor, Detroit Public Schools and anyone else under the state-imposed dictatorial rule of PA4.
  • There is no need for the agreement. What may be needed are technical advisers helping Bing run the city — a job he has demonstrated is beyond his abilities. What the state could also do is pay the $220 million revenue-sharing owed this city since a 1990s-era agreement; restore the $400 million lost in city tax revenue when the city kept its side of that bargain.
  • Why isn’t council listening to lawyers who can advise them of the feasibility of suing the state for the money owed? Why don’t they realize Snyder has double-crossed the unions, and they are now as vulnerable?

Posted from Diigo. The rest of Occupy Detroit Knol group favorite links are here.