Benton Harbor Emergency Manager Strips Power from All Elected Officials
First Test of Michigan’s Controversial Public Act 4
This article documents the events of April 2011 when Benton Harbor became the first Michigan city where an emergency manager used the sweeping new powers granted by Public Act 4 to strip all authority from elected officials. This event foreshadowed similar actions in Detroit and Flint.
On April 14, 2011, state-appointed Emergency Manager Joseph Harris issued an unprecedented order: the elected city commission of Benton Harbor could no longer take any official action without his written permission. It was the first time in modern American history that an unelected official had effectively abolished a democratically elected city government.
The Order That Silenced Democracy
Harris’s order was sweeping in its scope. Under the directive, the Benton Harbor City Commission was prohibited from:
What Elected Officials Could NOT Do
- Passing any ordinances or resolutions
- Approving contracts or expenditures
- Making appointments to any boards or commissions
- Taking any official action of any kind
The Only Powers Left
Under Harris’s order, the city commission was permitted to do exactly three things:
- Call a meeting to order
- Approve meeting minutes
- Adjourn the meeting
Background: Public Act 4
Just one month earlier, Governor Rick Snyder had signed Public Act 4 — the Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act — into law. The legislation granted emergency managers unprecedented powers that went far beyond previous state intervention laws.
Who Was Joseph Harris?
Joseph Harris, 67 at the time, had been appointed as Benton Harbor’s emergency financial manager by former Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm more than a year earlier. He brought significant experience:
- Former Auditor General for the City of Detroit
- Former Chief Financial Officer of Detroit
- Decades of experience in municipal finance
- Salary: $132,000 annually
While Harris had operated under the previous, more limited emergency manager law, the passage of PA 4 suddenly gave him far greater authority — which he immediately used.
“The New Selma”
The response from Benton Harbor residents and civil rights advocates was swift and furious. On April 27, hundreds gathered in the city to protest.
The comparison to Selma — the Alabama city central to the 1960s civil rights movement — was pointed. Benton Harbor is approximately 90% African-American, one of the poorest cities in Michigan, and had a long history of tension with state government.
A City in Crisis
Why was Benton Harbor under emergency management in the first place? The city faced severe financial distress:
The city had lost half its population since the 1960s as manufacturing jobs disappeared. The remaining residents faced high unemployment, declining property values, and a shrinking tax base.
The Harbor Shores Controversy
Adding to local resentment was the ongoing development of Harbor Shores — an upscale golf resort and residential community being built on Benton Harbor’s lakefront. Critics argued that:
- Public parkland was being transferred to private developers
- The project benefited wealthy outsiders, not local residents
- The emergency manager was facilitating the transfer over local objections
- Benton Harbor’s Black residents were being displaced from their own lakefront
Supporters countered that the development would bring jobs and investment to the struggling city.
Legal Challenges and the 2012 Referendum
Citizens across Michigan organized to fight back against the emergency manager law:
November 2012: Voters Reject PA 4
Michigan voters repealed Public Act 4 with 53% voting NO on Proposition 1. It was the first successful citizen veto of a Michigan law since 1973.
However, the legislature quickly passed a replacement law — Public Act 436 — which included an appropriation, making it immune to future referendums under Michigan law. Benton Harbor remained under emergency management.
Legacy: What Benton Harbor Taught Us
The events in Benton Harbor in 2011 set the template for what would follow in other Michigan cities:
- Detroit (2013-2014): The nation’s largest-ever municipal bankruptcy, managed by emergency manager Kevyn Orr
- Flint (2011-2015): Water crisis decisions made under emergency management led to widespread lead poisoning
- Racial disparities: At its peak, 50% of Michigan’s Black residents lived under emergency management, compared to 2% of white residents
Benton Harbor was the canary in the coal mine — the first demonstration of how far the state would go in overriding local democracy in the name of fiscal responsibility.
Benton Harbor Today
Benton Harbor exited emergency management in 2014 after more than four years under state control. The city continues to face significant economic challenges, but its elected officials have regained their authority. The debate over whether emergency management helped or harmed the city continues.
Learn More
For current information about Benton Harbor and municipal governance in Michigan, visit the Michigan Department of Treasury.