Consequences: Ethics Violations, Forfeiture of Office, and Jail?
There are reports that the Detroit City Council is expected to vote on a proposed DRAFT consent agreement on Monday, April 2nd. What is not reported, or discussed is that any vote is premature. A vote will violate the city charter.
The city charter outlines the role of all actions by council. City Council votes primarily on Ordinances and Resolutions. Resolutions do not alter the government. Examples include contracts or purchase requests that city council approves. Ordinances are actions that have consequences. They include changes in how the city government operates and affect elected or appointed duties and responsibilities. This proposed Public Act 4 Consent Agreement changes how city government operates including repercussions and authority given to a non-elected review board.
The consent agreement is being presented as a resolution. The city charter clearly defines that this type of agreement must be an ordinance. When voting on an ordinance the charter stipulates that the proposed ordinance must be published and presented to the community. Afterwards a five day waiting period must expire before the council can hold a public hearing. Only then can the council vote. This has not occurred with this proposal. A final copy of this document has not been created.
There has been a deliberate effort to conceal the workings of government from the people of Detroit during this activity. A city council member must present this document to the whole council for consideration. We the people have not been told which of the council members introduced this proposal. Further which council committee has worked on this proposal or voted to present this to the full council? The charter dictates how the council must operate. The governor, state treasurer (an appointed position) and mayor cannot alter the workings of city government regardless of the reason.
Emergencies do exist. The charter does allow for emergency items passed by the city council. This proposal has not been presented as an emergency. Laws passed through the council as an emergency ordinance expire after 61 days. How can city government, the mayor and council, criticize the people for not participating if they attempt to prevent the people from being included in the process?
These charter provisions are not burdensome. City council must uphold and follow the charter per state law. Failure to follow the charter can include being dismissed from office. The city Corporation Counsel, City Clerk and those who work for the council that perform a role within this process are also liable if the charter is violated. The Corporate Counsel also must follow ethical rules. Failure to meet those rules could affect their ability to practice the law.
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Public Act 4 Consent Agreement, Based on Flaws and Lies
DETROIT, MI — April 2, 2012 — The Detroit City Council has been reviewing a proposed agreement with the state of Michigan over how Detroit Government should be remodeled and how control over the city’s finances should be allocated. There are severe problems with how the process has unfolded and how the state government has proceeded under the law.
Review Team’s Report is Poorly Written and Difficult to Follow
The Public Act 4, review team, produced a report that stated the city of Detroit has a financial emergency. This statement is itself based on provisions in the newly created Public Act 4 law which is being challenged as unconstitutional and is pending suspension from a citizen led petition drive. The report states in several places that problems exist yet does not provide examples nor cite specifics within the city’s budget or financial process. The report contains several tables of dollar amounts. However these tables are not linked to their source. They are meaningless without appropriate context. They cannot be used as fact based on their lack of factual data. It’s questionable if any of the city officials or any media persons has even read this report or reviewed these tables.
Review Team’s Report Compares Apples to Oranges
The Public Act 4, review team’s report is used to characterize debt for the city of Detroit. Their characterizations are not only misleading but not factual. The report includes debt from several places. One of those is Water and Sewage. The report lists these separately. In reality this is a single department. Further all revenue and debt is not covered just by the city of Detroit but by the consumers of the water and sewage system. The system is self sustaining. All revenue and debt is overseen by the water board and for the past thirty years by a federal judge. The debt by this department has never been stated to be problematic or a burden for the city of Detroit.
Review Teams Report Contains Speculation and Forecasted Opinion
The Public Act 4, review team’s report contains financial amounts for the city’s pension’s obligations. These amounts are questionable. Further these amounts are not based on current activity but by future possible activity. The city’s pension systems are up to date and secure, so much that multiple city authorities continue to borrow from these systems to finance building and construction in the downtown Detroit area.
The means that have been presented as a reason for Detroit to give up its control over our finances are false. The review team has merely produced a report to support the preference of the governor to dictate how city government should be run. Don’t allow someone else to trick you out of your money. This is merely a high tech confidence game where the con artist tricks you into handing over your money. Don’t be fooled.
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For more information,
(Hood Research), (313.931.2700), (contact@HoodResearch.Org)
Detroit, A City in Financial Crisis
- Lying Lawyers
- Rhyming Preachers
- Corrupt Voting Process
- Voter Apathy
- Uninformed Voters
- Weak Mayor
- Lack of Accountability and Integrity in Local Government
- Dysfunctional, Incompetent and Inept Elected Officials i.e. Mayor and Council
- Poor Leadership in Government
- Mismanagement in City Government
- Nepotism in Local Government
- Cronyism in Local Government
- Collusion
- Corruption
- Political Corruption
- Judicial Corruption
- Mayor Bing should immediately create a “Crisis Turn Around Committee”. This committee should consist of Retired and Current City Personnel who understand Budgeting and Finance, Best Practices in Municipal Government, 21st Century Budgeting Concepts and Dynamics of City Government (Detroit) and have a Working Knowledge of Detroit Government and City Departments. Ideally, committee members will be Residents of Detroit.
- Forensic Audit of Police, Fire, D-DOT, DPW, Library, Dept of Human Services and Library.
- Performance Audit of Department Heads/Appointees and Departments.
- Immediately Terminate Employment of Certain Department Heads i.e. Police Chief, Fire Commissioner, D-DOT, Dept. of Human Services and Library.
- Obtain services of a Operational Auditor
- Re-Engineer City Government
- Reduce amount of Mayor Appointee’s
- Reduce Council Staff by half
- Flatten City Departments
- Eliminate City Departments
- Consolidate City Departments
- Eliminate Current Fire Department Executive Organization Structure
- Revisit and Amend City Budget (Immediately)
- Institute Program, Performance and Zero Base Budgeting Concept for each City Department (42)
- Focus on Core Services of each City Department
- Allow City Unions to Bid on Contracts
- Allow Competition for Public Employee Medical and Health Care
- Create Department (Internal) Account Receivable Section
- Re-Open and adequately fund Mystersky Power Plant to generate revenue by selling electricity.
- Invest in Employee Training Program
- Invest in Retiree Resource.
- Initiate Legal Action against the State of Michigan for minimum $220,000,000.00 and Legal Fees.
- Initiate Legal Action against DPS for minimum $15,000,000.00 and Legal Fees.
- Initiate Collection of Income Tax and Property Tax from Business Owners (Past and Present)
- Freeze all Tax Abatements
- Create City Car Pool for Nonemergency use.
- Discontinue Automobile Stipend
- Emergency Financial Manager in Detroit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Hood Research
Contact Person Henry Teutsch
313.931.2700, contact@hoodresearch.org
www.HoodResearch.org/pressrelease
http://www.facebook.com/HoodResearch
November 8, 2011
Did Jenice Mitchell Ford, abuse her elected office,
misuse government property and violate the code of ethics?
On Friday, October 28, 2011 Ford sent an email to a Hood Research volunteer. This email directly asks for recipients to vote yes on proposal C on the November 8, 2011 ballot. This is a campaign letter. However the email obtained is one of many apparently supplied at the community meetings organized by the Charter Commission. This volunteer does not know Ford personally and did not work on her political campaign. The email address was not shared in any circumstance other than the community events organized by the elected and sitting charter commissioners.
Did Ford then take the personal contact information gathered at the charter commission meetings, collected at taxpayers’ expense and as part of a government sponsored activity, and use this information for her personal campaign as a proponent of proposal C? If true and it appears likely, this would be a clear ethics violation. Ford was the former vice chair of the ethics board for the city of Detroit under former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. If true, this would be a violation of campaign laws as sitting elected persons are not allowed to use government resources for personal campaigns. Further, government resources are not allowed to be used to campaign for or against political issues. Finally if true this would be a criminal act as this would mean that government property was taken for use for non-government work. This would be theft and if true this is a serious crime.
Citizens of Detroit seeking to participate in our government, having provided personal information for our benefit to be informed of activities related to official government activities should not be subjected to unrelated or otherwise personal political messages by special interests based on our own interest in our government. We should not have to fear participation if our personal contact information will then be used to further a particular point of view. Federal laws exist to protect personal and private information. Political campaigns must abide by those laws and accumulate emails or phone numbers by means outside of and separate from government activities.
This was wrong and if Ford obtained this email as part of her work as a charter commissioner she should have known better. There needs to be an investigation to determine the source of the email list and how the email of a Hood Research volunteer became known to Ford and the proponents of proposal C. If Ford followed her own campaign motto she would be striving to uphold ethics in government and apparently not use her position for personal interests. Money used to fund the charter commission should not also then supplement any political campaign. The effort to collect emails and conduct mailing lists cost money and takes time. This does not appear to be the method used to support this mailing.
See Email HERE: http://www.hoodresearch.org/downloads/Chartcomm_Nov-08-11a.pdf
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DFD Decision Making, Destroys Lifes
Report by Reginald D. Amos, Deputy Chief (ret)
(Last week a fire struck a residential home with the result of a three year old girl losing her life.)
The fire was at 5167 Cooper and the first fire truck on the scene was Tac-2 which replaced Engine 46 which was out of service for two weeks due to mechanical problems. Tac -2 is not designed to fight structural or dwelling fires, it is designed to get into areas where a normal size fire truck will have difficulty manuvering or can’t get to. Tac-2 is equipped with pumps and has its own water supply. This particular truck was purchased with funds from the casinos [taxes] and delivered in 2008 to battle auto fires in the parking structures.
It was initially reported that the firefighters assigned to Tac 2 upon arrival could not fight the fire because the pumps were broken and they had to wait until another fire truck arrived. A second fire truck arrived on scene and according to the family, a third fire truck arrived on scene before fire lines (hose) were pulled to fight the fire. Firefighters utilized a ladder and entered the front upstairs bedroom window where the 3 year old was found and was handed out the window to other firefighters barely breathing but alive. She was transported to the hospital where she made her transition.
The second report was Tac -2 pumps were disconnected. The day after the tragedy Tac 2 was taken to the training academy where Fire Commissioner Donald Austin , Deputy Fire Commissioner Fred Wheeler and other Fire Department Personnel were assembled; the vehicle was inspected and the pumps operated fine.
Commissioner Austin said the pump had been disengaged because anyone expected to use Tac -2 has to be certified. “We did not have to my knowledge a certified driver on that rig”
September 16, 2011 viewing of Let It Rip, News Reporter Charlie Leduff produce a copy of an order instructing Firefighters not to use Tac 2 Pumps.
The following is the troubling concern:
Tac -2 should never have been used to replace Engine 46 or any other fire vehicle.
The fact Engine 46 been out of service for repairs 2 weeks is unacceptable. Why?
No Back -Up or Replacement Vehicle is unacceptable. Why?
No Certified Driver’s for Tac -2 is Unacceptable.
Note: Fire Department Leadership made the decision not to spend over time funds to train and certify personnel to drive and operate this vehicle.
Commissioner Austin statement “I believe to the bottom of my heart everything worked as it should”.
Commissioner Austin statement “It would not have made any difference at all if a regular pumper had been in service”.
Commissioner Austin statement ” Booster Lines are not designed for interior firefighting”.
Commissioner Austin statement ” We made the decision to put the smaller tactical unit in the firehouse that day to be certain firefighters could be carried quickly to any possible rescue attempt which is usually attempted before hoses are used to douse a blaze”.
Commissioner Austin is being ill-advised by Deputy Fire Commissioner Fred Wheeler and 2nd Deputy Fire Commissioner Cheryl Campbell who neither have Fire Command Experience or Fire Service Supervisory Experience. Before Wheeler received his political appointment to 2nd Deputy Fire Commissioner by the urging of Carolyn Kilpatrick to Kwame Kilpatrick, Wheeler was a Fire Engine Operator (Driver). Campbell was a Captain in EMS Training. Both are members of the prior Fire Leadership Team that created major problems for the fire department and is the reason the fire department is in the dysmal condition it is today.
It is interesting Commissioner Austin can find funding to create a New Organization {Chart} with new positions and appoint two new 2nd Deputy Fire Commissioners with staffing but cannot find funds to repair or replace fire equipment in a acceptable time frame. What is the cost? and where did the funding come from? Clearly the Fire Department is “Top Heavy”.
If this is the best Commissioner Austin can come up with after nearly four months as Fire Commissioner, Mayor Bing need to cut his losses and immediately fire Commissioner Austin and the Entire Fire Department Executive Leadership Team along with the Civilian Advisory Fire Commissioners. If Commissioner Austin made the above statements and initiated the above actions in L.A. California, he would be immediately fired.
Reasons:
- Incompetence
- Gross Negligence
- Malfeasance
- Misfeasance
- Nonfeasance
Contributing Factors:
• Commissioner Austin failed to properly assess the Detroit Fire Department.
• Poor Management Decisions, Key Missteps and Dysfunctional Ineffective Leadership.
Commissioner Austin is an outsider who doesn’t know the Detroit Fire Department dynamics.
Austin was brought in from Los Angeles, California to serve as Executive Fire Commissioner to correct Incompetence and Mismanagement in Detroit Fire Department Leadership and address Negative Response Time and Equipment Issues of EMS and Firefighting Division. How can he effectively address those concerns keeping members of the previous incompetent leadership team and appointing individuals with absolutely no Fire Service Knowledge oe Experience.
At this point I question Commissioner Austin ability to effectively lead the Detroit Fire Department.
The Citizens of Detroit cannot wait for Austin to OJT (On the Job Train).
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