Schmidt: Commissioner ‘perks’ made EM bill necessary

Legislators had to expand the powers of appointed Emergency Managers because city commissioners in Benton Harbor were receiving cars and other perks, state Rep. Wayne Schmidt claimed at a Republican fundraiser Saturday.

In March Republicans in the legislature approved Public Act 4, a measure that allows the governor to appoint people to take over local governments and break contracts, depose elected officials, sell off community assets and even dissolve whole towns.

The Benton Harbor City Commission was the first elected body to lose power as a result of the law.

Schmidt said that the leadership of this poor town of about 11,000 residents moved lawmakers to expand the powers available to Emergency Managers.

“When you use a Benton Harbor example, where up until a year or two ago the commissioners still had cars and these kind of perks, this is what unfortunately caused us to strengthen it a bit more,“ Schmidt said. “It’s tough to say in a four square mile city for city commissioners in a tough time to still be getting … city cars.”

Benton Harbor City Commissioners denied that they were ever given the use of city cars.

“That is a totally erroneous, fallacious statement,“ said Commissioner Marcus Muhammad. “I would hope that a state representative would be more diligent in factual research as apposed to flaunting ignorance.”

In the most recent year compensation for Benton Harbor’s city commissioners consisted of a stipend of 50 dollars per meeting, and the commission met twice a month, Muhammad said.

The only other resource provided to commissioners was internet equipped city cell phones that were used for city business, to communicate with residents, and to spare the city the cost of hand delivering information to the commissioners, Commissioner Juanita Henry said.

Cell phone access was eliminated by Emergency Manager Joe Harris.