FLINT CITY COUNCIL 7/25/11
Yesterday 07/25/11 Droid thumb live blogged the Flint City Council meeting typos and all.. There Mayor Dayne Walling announced his full cooperation with an ongoing and rare FBI Investigation of City of Flint Activities. One Mayoral Opponent Daryl Buchanan had scheduled an “emergency press conference” last Friday on that issue.
From the Mayors announcement to council one corruption target of the FBI is an organization called Advanced Solutions rune by Kate Fields, she also instructs at University of Michigan Flint or at least did last year.
Flint Mayor Walling strongly stated to the council and community that corruption will not be tolerated in his administration. He pledged to be transparent to the voters and regularly report on this issue. He seemed to blame the controversy on past administration but was rebuked by Flint City Council member Sheldon Neely that essentially the implementation of the federal program that the aledged miss appropriations came from was done during the Walling watch.
My corrected face book notes follow. They are numbered in the order they were posted, but here modified. in the order they were origonally presented with contemporaneous thought and commentary.
The Mayor was given special privlage to address the Flint City Council.
1.Mayor Walling talked about the FBI investigations. He is co-operationg. Some candidates [ Darryl Buchanan] are taking cheap shots. No Flint City employee is going before a grand jury on these public corruptions charges the FBI is investigation. The FBI is suboening information from before his administration. If so that would be during the Buchanan /Williamson administration. Buchanan was city administrator Daryl Buchanan was City Administration and is fully responsible for anything that ocured the Williamson Mayoral terms that he held that position.
2. The Mayor welcomes the Federal oversight. Federal Funds allocated to Flint are being frozen by the Federal government. Flint cannot spend its federal money allocated to it.
3. Mayor Walling is notifying vendors that the source of payment for there efforts has dried up and they will not be paid until and if the funds are released by the Federal Government.What hard ship is being placed on these businessmen. You wonder why any firm would risk doing business with the City of Flint.
4.The Mayor is doing an external legal review. This topic degenerated into Councilperson Neeley proclaiming the Mayor was going to hire an outside attorney to investigate him and his administration. This review effort would be hird by hime and report to him.
5. There have been $450,000 in draw down of federal money that are being investigate amid allegations of public corruptions.
6. Flint Mayor Dayne Walling announced he welcomes early review by the FBI to stop corruption.
7.Walling pledged that he will not sweep problems under the rug in Flint its a big rug. Walling said we have a responsibility to be transparent. He will take questions from the council.
8. Flint Council person Josh Freeman asked how the external review will be paid for. Walling said out of the City Attorney Cost Center.
9.David Davenport was making noise and appeared ti be trying to disrupt the meeting.
10.Councilperson Neeley to Mayor Walling. A federal review of Flint is a serious matter and nnot to be brushed over.Walling responded ,there will be a whole series of issues. The Feds are suspending the funds until an investigation is completed.
11.Neeley to Mayor. What is the scope of review that you will assign to an attorney that you hire to investigate you?
12. Neeley to Mayor. The dollars in question were spent during your administration.
13. Neeley to Mayor. Ypu said prior administration but some time you Mr. Mayor will have to step up to the plate and take responsibility.
14. Walling said he has been proactive with his co-operation.
15.Neeley chastised the Mayor for blaming the council for weakening the city of flint purchasing guidelines when appropriating the federal money in question. There appears to be some council complicity in this issue. Ms. Fields was a darling of the Flint City Council and vilified by the Buchanan/Williamson Administration.
16.The Mayor of Flint Dayne Walling was strong in his presentation. He announced that he is freezing more of the money than the feds required. One thought is that he is punishing Fields and pulling all her funding. Pay backs can be hell. Council person Freeman asked if named Flint City employees were being suspended. I think he was talking about Steve Montel and Tracy Atkins. The Mayor said no, and appeared to dream up some sort of positive spin on that.
17.Kudos to the Mayor of Flint for going into the lions den to make this announcement and take questions directly from the council. That’s the toughness I expect from my Mayor of Flint.
18. Neeley chastised Flint City Council President Jackie Poplar for her rebunking of David Davenport. I think she went a little over the top but Davenport was fully co-operationg as this drew attention to him.Neeley said her relative and city department head Donna Polar was also talking loudly. Donna Poplar was talking to Barbara Griffiths Wilson said Ms Wilson later. My tjhought was that Jerry Springer has nothing on the turmoil of a Flint City Council meeting.
19.Flint City Council President than loudly announced the rules for the public to address the Flint City Council.
20. Alex Harris stopped by my seat to tell me some tidbits. The Federal Corruption charges are all on Wallings watch [ I doubt this] .
21. The public began to address the Flint City Council. The first speaker was the mother of a murdered child, heart rendering.
22. Looking at the council agenda another Attorney Dean Yeotis sewer lawsuit notice has been given concerning events of May 19 and 25. Have we not fixed this multi million dollar deficiency in out sewer system?
23.The mother of a murdered child is criticizing the recently announced cease fire a cowardly act by the city essentialy codeling criminal. My observatoin that we have had diversion programs for first ffendersfor decades this is just another variation.
24. David Davenport began has address toi the council talking about his alledged disruption of during Mayor Wallings presentation. He said he was laughing at the lies.
25.Davenport said that Walling is trying to blame the corruption charges on past city administrator Michael Brown.
26. David Davenport called anyone who supports Mayor Walling a criminal.
27. I continued my review of the city council agenda.
Item 110988 Settlement / Speer vs City of Flint. Violation of first amendment rights amount of $30,000 to Keith Speer and his attorney Leonard Kruse. The events surrounding this cause arose during and by the Buchanan/Williamson adminstration. Possible Buchanan should pay the money back to the city.
28. Other settlements, $12,500 to Charles Young, $30,000 to Kar;l Petrich, $75,000 to Christina Conely a whistleblower issue, $30,000 to Joseph Anderson.
29. Next public speaker Chris Delmoroney talked to signs on city property between the sidewalk and the road.
30. Council person Lawler refered the sign issue to the Flint City Attorney. I have a financial interest in this issue.
31. Mayor Walling was compared to Obama by one speaker.
32. Another speaker, Barbara Griffiths Wilson talked of the investigation of Buchanan when he was ombudsman for sexual harrassment, this eventually cost him his job and destroyed the reputation of that office by the removal and the protracted litigation. This speaker also was critical of Smiths residency.
33. Neeley then chastised Poplar for letting the previous speaker talk politics at the mike.
34. Flint City Council President interjected that it was the Flint Emergency Financial Manage that gave the Flint Journal a sweet heart tax abatement. He actualy blamed the state intervention on this issue. When the council would not approve the abatement because of its conditions were not met the Flint Journal used its then great power to go to the state , destroy the mayor office, cripple the council oversight power cause the appointment of an emergency financial manager that gave them what the wants and now took. I think that is what he ment..
35.Flint City Council President Jackie Poplar then turned to Neeley in response to his criticizing her and said. Mr. Neeley when Mr. Davenport called me a whore you did not defend me . Why are you defending others now. Neeley and Davenport erupted, probably the desired result that ended with Poplar ordering the Flint police officers present to escort Davenport from the chambers which they did.He went loud.
36. At the public mike Eric Mays joined the fray. He said the Feds are coming after City Administrator Greg Eason. There will be indictments before the November election. The FBI is investigating a sitting Mayor of Flint Michigan that has never happend before.
37. Mays said that the police are investigation absentee ballot abuse. Eric is know as the king of absentee ballot campaigns. With prior allegations of abuse that resulted in changes of the state law.
38. Mays [ I assume talking about his absentee ballot advocacy] declares he will affect the rsult of the August election. He says he has done it three times before. Thanks for the heads up Eric that will justify any amount of increased scrutiny of any absentee ballot you touched or caused to be sent to a voter.
39. Alex Harris sai what the Mayor is selling is a fraud.
40 Harris said, do not fall into the shame that the feds are not looking at Walling. There was a meeting of a Federal Grand Jury on this issue July 6th. The mayor announced tonite that he is hiring an attorney to investigate him. [ Could this be an attorney to defend him?].Alex Harris said that he has documentation that mayoral appointee Tracy Atkins is double dipping like former police chief Dicks was and he was charged.
41. Alex Harris asks why his close friend and very public political ally Kate Field of Advanced Solutions is being thrown under the political bus and having these federal charges directed at her.
42. Harris pointed out Walling lost the funding for Montel and Dawn but kept them employed by paying them from other cost centers. He said the Mayor Broke the Law and not there is a full cover up in progress.
44. End- I think the Mayor did the right thing tonite and showed his integrity and strength, just what we need in a Flint Mayor.-Terry Bankert 7/26 2011 on Flint City Council meeting of 7/25/11
This post is by Flint Divorce and Bankruptcy Attorney Terry Bankert. Divorce lawyer Terry Bankert often is involved in child custody, child support, parenting time and grandparents rights.
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