I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
By requesting state review of the finances in their cities, the mayor of Jackson and a citizen in Allen Park have initiated a process that could lead to takeover by an Emergency Manager or other changes.
Jackson Mayor Karen Dunigan told the Detroit News that she didn’t consult with Jackson City Council before requesting the review out of concern that they would not approve the move.
Dunigan said the city of Jackson has laid off eight police officers and eight firefighters and unions representing city employees recently rejected a proposal to save the city $1 million by increasing the share of health insurance premiums employees pay to 20 percent.
The mayor said Jackson’s pension plans have an accumulated debt of $36 million and the city has another $47 million in bonded debt.
In Allen Park, citizen Bryan Diebolt said he wrote the state in March requesting a financial review because he was frustrated by the actions of his elected officials, including a threatened layoff of the entire fire department that was later rescinded, a city movie studio deal that fell apart and a recent plan to raise city property taxes through an August vote.
“These people don’t know what they’re doing,” said Diebolt, a 32-year city resident who retired as a project manager for an electrical company. “It’s mind-boggling.”
Allen Park has a low debt rating, which is grounds for review under the new Emergency Manager law.
Financial review is the first step in a process that can lead to appointment of an Emergency Manager with power to cancel contracts and fire local officials. Some of the powers of an Emergency Manager could also be granted to a town’s mayor as part of a consent agreement between the local government and the state.
Treasury spokesman Terry Stanton confirmed that Jackson and Allen Park are the only cities for which requests for financial review have been received.
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