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Author    Post   untanglingwebs El Supremo GECA and flint West Village were both violating the HUD rules. As a Home Rule City Flint could not enter into a contract with an entity owing Flint money. Flint West Village lost over 100 homes in 3 years to tax foreclosure and was on the verge of losing more. Last edited by untanglingwebs on Tue May 05, 2015 8:05 pm; edited 1 time in total Sat Apr 25, 2015 7:44 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: Mr. Croom sign the oath and take the job, we need you!!!!!!! Terrybankert F L I N T O I D Mr. Croom sign the oath and take the job, we need you!!!!!!!! FLINT CITIZEN- By: Terry Bankert 03/12/03 The City of Flints reputation on line after ombudsman circus. [Comments of Terry Bankert are BANKERT- in the cited article. Deleted text is shown by ...-trb] ..begin cited article... Flint debacle Council's reputation on line after ombudsman circus THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION EDITORIAL Friday, March 10, 2006 http://www.mlive.com/columns/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1142002473247200.xml&coll=5#continue After a seven-hour session of political horse trading run wild, the Flint City Council may, or may not, have done something sensible early Thursday morning by choosing activist Tyrone Croom as the next city ombudsman. BANKERT- I was there for the 7 hours. The horse trading was a series of backroom meeting where the open meetings act was clearly violated with the city attorney present. It happened in the old committee of the hole room immediately behind the council seats. Clearly throughout the night during every recess city business was being conducted in this back room. Look closely at channel 17 when the meeting is played, if it is not cut out.-trb But alas, any ability Croom might have for that job will never be tested because the bizarre machinations so engulfed the selection that Croom resigned a few hours after being appointed. Having fought hard for the job, Croom must have been so appalled by the realities of what he was about to undertake that he lost the stomach for serving. BANKERT- Only Mr. Croom knows. I have spoken to Mr. Croom twice in my life. Once I said hello and another I said congratulations both on the night of the council vote. But I watched him for 7 hours. What I saw was an honorable man. When I approached him to give my congratulations he was speaking with Council president Buchanan privately. I think a good man made an honorable decision. An Ombudsman has to control his own office. By his resignation he has shown his integrity and independence. He now has my 110% support. Mr Croom please reconsider.-trb One need not have been privy to all the hallway caucusing at council chambers to perceive why. A standout reason was stubborn support for felon Donna Poplar rendered by 2nd Ward Councilwoman Jackie Poplar, who is her sister-in-law. Family ties aside, Poplar had other promoters in the fray - despite the fact that the former Genesee County official's conviction involved public corruption, which constitutes the very kind of conduct the position of ombudsman is supposedly designed to ferret out. Rumors swirl that Croom was put under pressure to appoint Donna Poplar as his assistant, which would dash whatever credibility remains of a deeply discredited position. True or not, something repulsive must have occurred to discourage him so thoroughly so fast. The episode makes it clearer than ever that the $200,000 budgeted for the ombudsman's office is a wasteful drain on Flint's budget, and would be much better used to put a few additional police officers on the street. But that prospect was defeated by Flint voters last week who came down 53 percent in favor of retaining the ombudsman, which has not functioned at any credible level for years. BANKERT- You say wasteful, the voters of Flint have 3 times said the office is needed.-trb The voters having spoken, the least to be demanded of the City Council is that it choose an ombudsman of flawless reputation with a superior investigative mind who does not flinch from truth no matter where it leads, and has no personal ambitions riding on the office. Without that kind of character, there is no ombudsman, but only a political wannabe paid $70,000 per annum because of connections. Croom apparently decided that serving as such a hack was not what he had in mind. Now the City Council will either correct whatever went awry Wednesday night and act with integrity and respect for city government, or discredit itself completely. BANKERT- The situation can be corrected, if Mr. Croom so chooses, by his simply taking the oath of office. His appointment does not occur until that oath is signed. I will direct City Attorney and others to the Flint City Charter. The Community should ask Mr. Croom to reconsider. The council should say publicly there is no deal. All Mr. Croom has to do is say there is no deal, sign the oath and give it to the city clerk He then is ombudsman for 7 year. The community should demand that the ombudsman not be pressured to hire political friends. I though him a good man on the night of his appointment. I think he is a great man after his rejection of the offer. The offer is still on the table until the next council meeting. The ball is still with Mr. Croom.-trb Flint councils have lived down many mistakes, but malice in the hiring of an ombudsman would be an albatross this council could not shake loose. ...end cited article... The Flint Citizen is a publication of Attorney Terry R. Bankert (Family Law ) of Flint Michigan USA. Weekly blog on issues of interest http://enewsblog.com/terrybankert/ Legal Advice attorneybankert@yahoo.com vita: http://enewsblog.com/terrybankert/post/2005-11-08_04:52:35/ Posts on http://www.flinttalk.com/ Flint Citizen Internet Advocacy http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Flintcitizen/ Terry R. Bankert P.C., 1000 Beach St., Flint MI 48503 810.235.1970 fax 234-508 Post Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:37 am Sat Apr 25, 2015 8:57 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: Jackie Poplar Plays the race card! Steve Myers As Larry and John predicted the race card has been played!! Jackie claims Sandy said the word NIGGER and Gonzales lives in a silver slipper?? I guess she couldn't call Gonzales a racist because he is not white? http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-40/1165938653297990.xml&coll=5&thispage=1 _________________ Steve Myers Post Tue Dec 12, 2006 11:21 am fmrflintteach Guest Which BLACK person in Flint doesn't play the race card? Look at the disarray the FCS are in! Why? Because birds of a feather flock together. Hiring practices and promotions within the district need to be closely looked at! That district is going downhill fast because someone did play the race card! Post Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:28 pm Adam F L I N T O I D At the council meeting Hill made no denial of using the n word. I haven't seen the evidence myself but Poplar has a lot of credibility and I think most everyone believed her. This council meeting had an interesting feel to it. Buchanan seems to be losing control. if Buchanan gets recalled I expect all hell to break loose. Eric Mays Really got the crowd going. He might have delivered his all time best speach, Buchanan threatened to take some people to court but nobody really seems to take him seriously anymore. It's kind of sad because I think he had so much potential. Post Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:29 pm John Wilson F L I N T O I D Was this meeting videotaped? I want to see it. Post Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:07 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote Steve Myers Site Admin I will have it posted as soon as it is played on ch 17. _________________ Steve Myers Post Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:22 pm Sandy Hill Guest Yes, Adam I did deny it. You can read it in the Journal. When Jackie made the acusation I was shocked that she would sink that low to use her race to distract the attention from her to me. As I have stated before I warned Jackie in May that taking money for any reason was illegal. You can defend her to the end but you do no know the facts. The only councilpeople that were verbally attacked at the meeting were the ones that had the guts to take a stand and state that what she did was wrong no matter how you look at it. Post Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:37 am Josh Freeman F L I N T O I D If you were so opposed to it and thought it was wrong, then why did you and Gonzales vote for the license after she had stated that the businesses had given the money for the scholarships? Post Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:21 pm Adam F L I N T O I D I think you should have said something at the meeting. Although it's good you have a great relationship with the Flint Journal not denying things at the council meeting and leaving before the meeting is over I think you took a hit. I would like to know more of the details but that will probably never happen. In addition, I think Jackie does have a point that no one on the council said anything in public when she publicly explained the wrongdoing she committed. Anyways it's good that you are on here. I'd really recommend speaking out strongly next meeting. I think it would make Jackie and the communtiy feel better. Do you know what "evidence" she has against you? Post Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:27 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote Steve Myers Site Admin Why should Ms Hill say anything at the next meeting , she did not make the allegations Ms Poplar did. Instead I challenge Ms Poplar to prove the allegations or make an public apology to Ms Hill. quote: Steve Myers schreef: As Larry and John predicted the race card has been played!! Jackie claims Sandy said the word NIGGER and Gonzales lives in a silver slipper?? I guess she couldn't call Gonzales a racist because he is not white? http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-40/1165938653297990.xml&coll=5&thispage=1 _________________ Steve Myers Post Wed Dec 13, 2006 12:59 pm Sat Apr 25, 2015 9:26 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: HUd-"You got some splaning to do " about Mission of Peace topic untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D I still laugh about Desi using this phrase with Lucy when she screwed up. "Lucy, you got some splaining to do" It was funny then, but not with something so serious as foreclosure consulting. How may times have you seen the ads for Mission of Peace teling people they can help them save their homes. But how bad does it look when the counseling agency has a long history of past due taxes? Enter Mission of Peace or A E V, inc (for Alonzo and Elmira Vincent) Most of their properties are in the name of A E V, inc and owing taxes: 877 Fifth 2009 summer $35,210.03 and winter $2,326.55 2008 total $38,881.90 2007 total $41,628.1 Mission of Peace CDC: 817 N Stevenson (Greenview Manor) 2008 total$32.038.33 2007 forfeiture $37,502.12 Flint Township properties Harwine 2008 $271.36 (CDC) 3480 Barth 2008 $$3,389.53 (housing) Barth 2008 $348.60 (husing) In the past the Journal reported on Mission of Peace and their past due taxes Greater Estside Community Association also has tax problems and was a HUD certified counselor. Emerson once told me GECA had the worst record of all companies using state money. for counseling. I quess HUD also has no problems with counselors being associated with real estate companies when they are doing credit counseling for prospective new home buyers. Post Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:32 pm untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D City of Flint to relocate four residents from 'unsafe' apartment complex By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal October 26, 2009, 10:17PM FLINT, Michigan -- The City Council voted tonight to spend $20,000 in grant funds to relocate four tenants of a troubled low-income apartment complex near Hurley Medical Center. City Administrator Gregory Eason said a recent city inspection deemed Greenview Manor, 817 N. Stevenson St., to be unsafe as the city and the owner redevelop the complex. The problems at the apartment complex were not specified. The city will spend $20,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to find alternative housing for the four residents while the redevelopment project is completed. The project is expected to take up to a year, Eason said. Greenview Manor was purchased by the city in 2001 and later sold to Mission of Peace National Corporation for $200,000 in 2005. At that time, the 84-unit complex was worth an estimated $1.1 million. It needed some $700,000 in renovations, which the group had agreed to make. Under the proposal, Mission of Peace would convert some one-bedroom apartments into two-bedroom units and would join with other organizations to redevelop the surrounding neighborhood. Once again, due to poor reporting by the Flint Journal. the reader is left with more questions than he received in answers. Do these 4 "special and powerful" residents have full time jobs and health insurance? Posted by djfx October 27, 2009, 9:27AM Why aren't the complex owners being made to pay for the cost of these moves? Better yet, why are they being let off the hook for the promise of $700,000 in renovations? Wasn't there something in writing with signatures to the effect, or was this just another under-the-table hand shake made possible by the former mayor Con Don? t Posted by justicesearc October 27, 2009, 9:55AM How do they justify it - they are the government is how. The rules on how you spend money you did not earn is very different from how you spend hard earned fruits of you labor. The Mission of Peace is a FAITH based organization that is Flint based and a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) National Housing Counseling Agency. Could have sworn the word counseling meant you gave advice to people - not homes and moving expenses. If this was a private company that owned the apartments the government would have forced the landlords to evict the people and to fix the violations. Why does this landlord get special treatment of tax money to move tenants out of a bad building? I could have sworn that I read government was not supposed to be endorsing religion. t Posted by joshfreeman October 27, 2009, 10:23AM That place has been a money pit forever..... We've paid and repaid on that complex. Posted by michiganmom3 October 27, 2009, 1:53PM I hear a lot of jealousy on this post. I do not agree that it should take $5000 per person to move them, but I am not aware of how the money was applied. Does anyone know what expenses were covered? I can guarantee that if any one of the persons in this post was offered $5000 to move to a better neighborhood they would jump on the chance. No, I am not one of the four, nor do I know who the four are. I just say, find out what expenses are covered before you voice outrage. Opinions cause violence, facts bring solutions. If the money was spent for unreasonable, silly reasons, that's different. Be a part of the solution, not the problem. As for faith based organizations, at least they are willing to help the needy---government can't do it all on its own. Be glad that faith based organizations are there. How many of the people spouting off, and throwing around angry opinions would be willing to help someone in need--that you didn't know? In regards to counseling, counseling involves more than talking --the YWCA and YMCA are perfect examples. It is time for people to get out of the box called, ungratefulness and selfishness. That will bring about "change you can believe in"! Posted by shanedr October 27, 2009, 4:11PM $20,000 for four residents, that's $5,000 per resident. Even using moving companies, I'd like to know how it will cost so much. I think City Administrator Eason had best publish the actual costs, including who was paid and how much for this relocation. I'm having trouble justifying even $2000 per resident. Naturally privacy requires he omit the residents names, but it doesn't require nor permit withholding where and how the money is spent. If the city condemned a house they would not provide any relocation assistance. Posted by arroyos October 27, 2009, 4:23PM Good questions. So, Kristin Longley, how about some good answers? Especially about the transaction between the “City” (Taxpayers) and M.O.P. in 2005 wherein MOP AGREED (in writing, I hope) to make $700,000 in improvements. Were those improvements made and the place is now unfit? If they DIDN’T make the improvements, let’s find out why. This sounds like the Action Management Mishmash all over again. (Was the Dicks team involved here?) Let’s have one of the Flint Journal’s Hard-Hitting Investigative Reports get to the bottom of this mess! Posted by untanglingwebs November 08, 2009, 10:16PM HUD on December 19,2005 "On August 24,2000 the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development held a foreclosure sale pertaining to the subject property and asthe highest bidder, the property was deeded to the Secretary. Subsequently, Hud renovated 47 of the 84 units at a cost of $456,699.07 and the property was offered to the City of Flint. On March 16,2001 Greenview Manor was formally sold to the City for $10 by a special Warranty Deed that contained mutually agreed upon stipulations and requirements between HUD and the City."....the Detroit Office is referring this issue to the Chicago Departmental Enforcement Center (DEC) of HUD for resolution. The purchase price was $ 384,500 or $10 with the City was to provide tenant services as outlined by HUD. It is my understanding the City did not comply with the purchase agreement and the sale was possibly a violation. The agreement contained deed restrictions for 15 years as to sale of the property. The agreement specifically contained language relating to the relocation of tenants in situations such as those described. In other words the City was obligated under their agreement to relocate these residents. Post Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:49 am untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Communication from HUD to Flint was on Council agenda May 21, 2008 #80553. On page 2 of 2006 CAPER for City of Flint Flint had no 2006 HOME funding from HUD but they reprogrammed past years funding to give Greenview Manor $500,000 for the renovation of apartments. Post Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:54 am Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:14 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: 5th Ward misuse of school property untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Under the Flint School Board policies-9000 General Public and Organizational Relations: 9250- "District facilities and equipment shall not be used or made available for political campaigns" Whoever rented or gave Bernard Lawler the use of Cook School violated School Board policy. Post Thu Oct 22, 2009 3:01 pm LakeWoman50 F L I N T O I D Bernard is a good guy, you are miss guided peoples. Post Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:48 pm Elias12 F L I N T O I D Untanglingwebs, this sort of misuse is too wide spread in this city. Why bother having rules in books if they are just ignored so much? I suspect if some one was not well connected to people in positions of power they would be denied access to school property. What can be done to stop this sort of stuff from happening? What has to be done or who has to be contacted to make sure this doesn't happen ? Who has oversight on these sort of issues? Some people will roll their eyes and groan "who cares" . But this sort of thing matters. We allow too much sloppiness in the system,sloppiness that is costly. I would bet that the school system was not compensated for the use of the property. Perhaps this sort of thing was fine when the school system was flush with money,but when has the been the case? _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:49 pm View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D After posting that last posting I see that Lakewoman is once again telling us where we are in error. She is so wise and so ALL SEEING, I guess we are to sit down and listen to her teachings. Who cares if Bernard is a "good guy"? The point is what happened is against the established procedures and policies and it could open the city up to lawsuits and other legal issues. So please enlighten us Lakewoman why this should be permitted. _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:53 pm untanglingwebs This type of happening gives the apperance of the School administration using resources to support a candidate. I understand David Davenport told some individuals that the property was leased under false pretenses by another group. But because Bernrd Lawler has been remiss in filing his required campaign finance reports, someone may need to file a freeom of information request. Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:23 pm back again F L I N T O I D why are people who don't file required reports even allowed to run in an election? if the dude's doing wrong before the election does'nt that mean he's ineligible to run? _________________ even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance. P.Y. Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:11 pm untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Flint is a home rule city that forbids the approval of a candidate that is in default to the city. According to the Michigan Municipal League that includes individuals who are behind in their taxes. I have not found a city ordinance that specifically deals with this issue although most communities do. Jackie Poplar entered bankruptcy prior to her election and is still in the bankruptcy process. She stated it was because she used her $6,000 in savings to pay for her mothers funeral. After her mothers death Jackies husband even filed bankruptcy. She has made about $22,000 a year for four years. Why couldn't she resolve this issue sooner. Too many hats? There is an ordinance that states a candidate must comply with all campaign finance rules. I don't know what penalty exists. The bigger question is why hasn't Genesee County elections complied with the law? No fines and no remediation as required by law. Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 8:03 am back again F L I N T O I D well, then who in the county building is not doing their job? _________________ even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance. P.Y. Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:11 pm ConcernedCitizen F L I N T O I D LakeWoman50, You say that Bernard Lawler is a "good guy." If he is such a good guy, why does he keep breaking the law? www.bernardlawler.info Here is a post that was a reply to another individual: With a little research, I found out Mr. Lawler lives in University Park. So I called a friend who lives there to find out what they knew about Mr. Lawler. This individual told me that one community problem made up her mind as to who would get her vote. She said that a company behind University Park had been crushing concrete and this thick dust cloud had been drifting into the neighborhood, forcing residents inside and coating everything with dust. She said residents near the back of University Park were even getting the dust inside their homes. She said that for years, their complaints were ignored by present councilwoman and city hall. Residents asked Mr. Lawler for help since he is a resident of University Park. Nothing happened, so some of the residents asked Mrs. Waybright for help. From what I was told, within a few weeks, there was a meeting called where Mrs. Waybright outlined what she had done to correct the problem. Apparently she contacted the State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). I understand this part, since I have dealt with them before. This resulted in DEQ inspectors coming out to the site and resulted in no more crushing. Problem Solved! She said that Mrs. Waybright solved a problem that had gone on for years that City Hall and Mr. Lawler had not been able to solve. But what really interested me was what she said that really made up her mind. At the meeting, she said that Mrs. Lawler and Mr. Lawler tried to discredit Mrs. Waybright. She said Mrs. Waybright remained calm and did not give into petty fighting. She said Mrs. Waybright was very professional about her handling of the situation, even when the person running the meeting (a friend of Mr. Lawler), would not let Mrs. Waybright answer the questions. This woman said that Mrs. Lawler asked Mrs. Waybright why she did not let everyone know about the dangers of the concrete dust as soon as she knew. Mrs. Waybright said that she asked to have the community meeting to do just that, but only after researching the issue first. (See Derrick, research is important) But the best part came after that. She said a little while later Mr. Lawler admitted he had been approached with the problem and that he had given the information to the present councilwoman who he said apparently done nothing. She said that is what made up her mind. She also told me that Mr. Lawler tried to save face by later saying he had contacted the Michigan EPA, and that they were going to do swab test to see the severity of the dust problem. I can handle this one. Mr. Lawler, there is not such thing as the Mich. EPA, it is a federal agency. Lie number one! Secondly, they would not do a swab test for an air quality issue. They would use filter canisters hooked to the end of intake lines to determine the amount of dust in the air . Lie number 2! To me, that just raises more questions. 1. Why didn’t Mr. Lawler notify the community of the dangers? And why wasn’t his wife outraged that he had not notified the community? 2. Why would Mr. Lawler give the problem to the same person that had not solved the problem in the past several years? 3. Why didn’t Mr. Lawler follow up on the problem to make sure it had been resolved? Derrick1965, you say that Mr. Lawler is a nice guy. That may well be true, as I have never met him. I know lots of nice people, but I would never vote for the majority of them. I have heard from many more people that Mrs. Waybright is a nice person. But that is not why I would vote for her. The above story illustrates why I would vote for her; she got the job done when others did not. Apparently she took the initiative to follow through, took the extra time to research the problem, searched out experts to take care of the problem or was just willing enough to be persistent enough to get the job done. It boils down to this, nice guy or not: Do you want a nice councilperson, or one who gets things done ? Post Tue Nov 03, 2009 12:50 am Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D Good Job untanglingwebs. Did this hit the Journal or did you do your own investigation. Post Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:44 pm untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Ted- The only investigator on the Journal staff is Ron Fonger. While he is excellent, he can't do it all. That Kristen Longley couldn't do a simple delinquent tax story. Post Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:54 pm ConcernedCitizen F L I N T O I D quote: untanglingwebs schreef: But because Bernrd Lawler has been remiss in filing his required campaign finance reports, someone may need to file a freeom of information request. Webs. In another thread, you said Lawler had spent $9000 on his campaign. I am going to assume you have a copy of his campaign finace records. What showed up about his event at Cook School? Post Fri Nov 06, 2009 12:01 am untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D He is going to have to make amendments. He has two separate event reports for Cook School. In the first he shows it as a fundraiser and has contributions. In the second he only shows expenses. Nowhere does he show a rental or inkind contribution for the use of Cook School. David Caswell and Metawaneenee Hills supported Lawler. Caswell was the former principal of Cook. Discussions with David Davenport revealed he was aware of the incident. He stated the school board rented the facility not knowing it was for a political purpose. A Freedom of Information request will have to be made. Also a complaint against the school administration can be made. Post Fri Nov 06, 2009 4:41 am ConcernedCitizen F L I N T O I D quote: untanglingwebs schreef: He is going to have to make amendments. He has two separate event reports for Cook School. In the first he shows it as a fundraiser and has contributions. In the second he only shows expenses. Nowhere does he show a rental or inkind contribution for the use of Cook School. David Caswell and Metawaneenee Hills supported Lawler. Caswell was the former principal of Cook. Discussions with David Davenport revealed he was aware of the incident. He stated the school board rented the facility not knowing it was for a political purpose. A Freedom of Information request will have to be made. Also a complaint against the school administration can be made. Webs, Do you know if anything more has transpired from this misuse of Cook School? Post Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:43 pm Ryan Eashoo Here is my question: If illegal activities have occured then why isn't someone being charged? investigated? exposed? _________________ Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com Post Sat Nov 21, 2009 6:22 pm Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:22 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: Flint's new Office Inspector general report untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D http://www.nls.gov/offices/oig/reports/mi.cfm Post Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:35 am View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote Steve Myers Site Admin Wow, why isn't the local news all over this?? The City did not effectively commit and disburse Program funds. The City also inappropriately drew down and disbursed more than $1 million in Program funds. Recommend reduction of the City's line of credit. _________________ Steve Myers Post Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:02 am untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Steve- That is an excellent question. Walling probably does not want this news out. This is a 17 year report that goes back to the Stanley administration. Then Director Joyce Parker did not adequtely respond to HUD monitoring findings. Subsequent administrations did the same. Alex Thomas admitted in court that he knew nothing about the administration of grants an it showed. Chris Davenport was demoted and ultimately fired for trying to properly enforce HUD rules. Williamson made 2 big mistakes. Flo McCormick came highly recommended but she did not follow rules and did not know how to run the office. Tamar Lewis worked in the office as an intern or something and then was made Director. Her boss Peter D was instrumental in putting her in that position. Under Tamar Lewis documents were shredded. The City is unable to answer these monitoring findings because the original documents no longer exist. Williamson blew up when he found out about the shredding after it eas already done, but staff stated the documents were no longer needed. The best thing that happened to the city was bringing Nancy Jurkiewicz-Rich back.Under her leadership many old findings were responded to. HUD respects Nancy. Word on the street is that HUD does not respect Tracy Atkinson, nor do they find her acceptable as the Superintendent of the department. She worked with Brown when he was with United Way in Lansing and he had this superintendent position created for her. Glenda Dunlap and Karen Morris have years of HUD experience, but neither has a Masters Degree. Tracy, whose degrees are in social work does. Thus the requirement of a masters was a qualification for the job. Miller told people objecting to her appointment that he "was traing her". This has fueled speculation about the chamber of Commerce usurping the City of Flint and the Chamber and Tim Herman's group having the fiduciary duty for our federal funds. If the city goes down in a blaze under Atkinson anything can happen. You will notice that the Inspector generals office has been in City Hall from February2009. He left for a brief time but he is back. This is also a criticism of HUD for not cracking down on Flint sooner. The best information I can get about the Flint project is that it may be the stalled Smith Village. In my opinion Erma Cooper, Carolyn Sims and others helped this project stall. Post Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:25 am ConcernedCitizen F L I N T O I D quote: untanglingwebs schreef: Word on the street is that HUD does not respect Tracy Atkinson, nor do they find her acceptable as the Superintendent of the department. She worked with Brown when he was with United Way in Lansing and he had this superintendent position created for her. Glenda Dunlap and Karen Morris have years of HUD experience, but neither has a Masters Degree. Tracy, whose degrees are in social work does. Thus the requirement of a masters was a qualification for the job. Miller told people objecting to her appointment that he "was traing her". This has fueled speculation about the chamber of Commerce usurping the City of Flint and the Chamber and Tim Herman's group having the fiduciary duty for our federal funds. This raises several issues: 1) How many other positions in the City's Administration requires a Masters Degree? Hell, you don't even need a diploma to be Mayor! 2) If you are going to require a Master's Degree, shouldn't it be relevant to the position? 3) Sorry to you people that blindly support everything that Walling does, but his appointment of such an unqualified person to a position that is of such major importance to the city, screams of cronyism! 4) If Miller wants to train somebody, go get an intern! The head of our major grants department needs to be staffed by an extremely knowlegeable person, if not an expert. 5) The position is so important that it they changed the job descriptiion to require a Master's Degree. Then why did Walling appoint somebody that, by her own admission, had never written a grant and knew absolutely nothing about grants? Post Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:52 am Dave Starr F L I N T O I D After reading the report, and comments here, I'm of the opinion that cronyism is far more important than qualifications and/or proper procedures. Heads should roll. The question is, will they? _________________ I used to care, but I take a pill for that now. Pushing buttons sure can be fun. When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way. Paddle faster, I hear banjos. Post Sun Nov 08, 2009 1:30 pm untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Heard about a north side meeting where the audit issue was brought up and Jerome Threkhold and Raynetta Speed said they could not understand the interest in 10 year old issues. Because these issues were never dealt with it could cost Flint repayment monies and the loss of future block grant money. HOME dollars are the money we use for home building and renovation. Smith Village has never been completed and is completely stalled. It has the potential to trigger repayment. Post Thu Nov 12, 2009 11:37 am ConcernedCitizen F L I N T O I D quote: untanglingwebs schreef: Heard about a north side meeting where the audit issue was brought up and Jerome Threkhold and Raynetta Speed said they could not understand the interest in 10 year old issues. Raynetta and Jerome, The reason is so people who are doing the wrong things, that cost the city and taxpayers what is due them, need to be exposed and REMOVED from positions where they have access or control of these monies. Could it be that the two of you do not want these improprieties exposed due to the fact that it might expose one or both of you as the guilty parties? Those in the know, are aware of the games that Ms. Speed plays. I hear there is a formal complaint coming against her due to an improper activity she orchestrated. Post Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:48 pm Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:28 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: Is Johnnie Coleman Flint's Charles Pugh? untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Both the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press have withdrawn their endorsements of Charles Pugh, a former tv reporter and consultant, for the Detroit City Council.Both cited reasons about his lack of candor and misstatement of his financial situation. Pugh quit his reporting job and lost his consulting job which put in default on his condo and other financial obligations. However, he told both editorial boards that he was financially stable. One of the primary roles of a councilperson is fiduciary and how a candidate manages their own finances is a reflection of how they will handle the financesof the city. Flint Journal reporter Kristin Longley on June 21, 2009 reported on candidates who owed tax obligations. She had this to say about Coleman: Former City Councilman and current 3rd Ward candidate Johnnie Coleman, who owed the least at $23.73, said the overdue payment was an oversight on his part and that he paid it last week. "I'm not making an excuse for it -- it was my mistake," Coleman said, adding that he believes Flint elected officials should own property in the city and take responsibility for it. "I think (council members) should be held to a higher standard," he said. "We should pay our taxes on time." Obviously the Flint Journal needs to train their reporters on how to research. The Register of Deeds records show a "certificate of forfeiture" of $24.24 on 6105 Oxley , owned by Colemanbeing recorded on 3/2/09. This may be the property he said he moved into in the first ward when he wanted the appointment to the seat vacated by Buchann. On August 3, 2009 Coleman paid back taxes totalling $286.93. Currently that property shows delinquent taxes of $1,027.57 from 2008 and no payment on 2009 taxes of $869.78. The City of Flint placed tax liens on those former councilpersons who had received back pay improperly. On 11/26/08 Coleman's tax lien of $16,096.45 was recorded by the Register of Deeds. Coleman is not delinquent on his third ward property but he has not made his first payment. coleman has not been very candid about his finances! Fkint is a home rule city. Since Coleman is in "default to the city", does the Home Rule Act bar him from office? Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:39 pm Dave Starr F L I N T O I D Is not filing campaign finance reports on time also in "default to the city"? _________________ I used to care, but I take a pill for that now. Pushing buttons sure can be fun. When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way. Paddle faster, I hear banjos. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 4:42 pm untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Yes. It is my understanding that Lawler (fifth ward) has not filed his corrected pre-primary report nor his post-primary and pre-general. The campaign finance rules state he must file an affidavit that he has filed all reports and paid all fines. Noncompliance has consequences. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 4:50 pm untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Dave Michigan Campaign Act 388 of 1976 (MCL 169.235) This section should apply to Lawler5) If a candidate, treasurer, or other individual designated as responsible for the record keeping, report preparation, or report filing fails to file 2 statements required by this section or section 33 and both of the statements remain unfiled for more than 30 days, that candidate, treasurer, or other designated individual is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:02 pm back again F L I N T O I D who is responsible for making the lawbreaker held accountable? Shocked Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:25 pm untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D The Genesee County elecions office must file with the attorney general. Also a campaign finance act complaint can be filed. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:28 am View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote Josh Freeman F L I N T O I D quote: untanglingwebs schreef: The Genesee County elecions office must file with the attorney general. Also a campaign finance act complaint can be filed. Which will go no where. Campaign Finance laws have no teeth. The problem is that the folks making the laws are the ones that are going to be affected by them... so of course there are no real penalties. The Secretary of State can't even subpoena information when doing an investigation. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:01 pm untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D It is scary that you and I agree on anything. But you are right about the campaign finance laws having no teeth and public officials that are afraid or unwilling to ensure transparency in our elections. Stealth groups can come in and almost steal elections with no accountability. When Rob Coffman ran the elections division he actually told some of his Burton friends how to get around the campaign laws. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:09 pm View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote back again F L I N T O I D damn. so they can lie, cheat, connive and alter and not even fear any retribution???? no wonder theres not much interest by people who really care about flint and her citizens! Crying or Very sad _________________ Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:56 pm Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:48 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: Why Flint Council needs an ethics policy Goto page 1, 2, 3 Next untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Here is another reason why Flint Council needs an enforceable ethics policy. Section 1-602 of the Flint City Charter requires (1) the disclosure of financial interests and sources of income by all candidates for elective office, and (2) for the annual disclosure by elective officers of financial interestsm sources of income and gifts. And yet Ed (Monty) Taylor was a Vice-President of AA Capital Partners while he was a Second Ward Councilperson and a Trustee in the Flint Pension Board.He never disclosed this position with AA Capital Partners, althoughhe talked about having clients during council meetings. He lost his council seat in 2005 but remained with AA Capital until 2006 when the Securities and Exchange Commission shut them down because AA Capital Partners principal, John Orecchio, misspent over $10.7 million, which came from Detroit area pension funds. The September 8, 2006 SEC complait alleged $5.7 millionwent to a Michigan horse farm and a company owned by Orecchio and a company that managed the Crazy Horse, a Detroit strip club. During a Flint Pension Board meeting, Taylor disclosed his position with AA Capital and requested the board allow company representatives make a presentation on potential investment with the company. Then Pension Board President and Hurley Trustee, Dan Hall, and others declined this offer. This information was given to the Flint FBI. In today's Detroit News the headline story, 'Man says $10K won Kilpatrick's help', details how Orecchio used payoffs to gain access to power and influence in Detroit politics. Orecchhios FBI reports from 2005 also reveal his dealings with two union officials; Ralph Mabry, the former head of the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters, and John Hamilton, a former top executive with the Operating Engineers Local 324. Orecchio mispent money from both unions as well as four others. Last year Detroit Federal officials filed evidence of a kickback scheme that involved using Michigan pension funds to finance the Hard rock Hotel and Casino in Mississippi. AA Capital Partners invested in other casino projects. And who can forget those tv spots of Taylor and Eric Mays trying to bring a casino to Flint. Also, Taylor received a gift of property, namely a house on E Carpenter from Kumar Vemulappalli. Taylor wrote affidavits in support of Kumar in Kumar's lawsuit aginst the city over Genesee Towers. Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 9:42 pm View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote back again F L I N T O I D my my such palace intrigue! Shocked _________________ Post Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:40 pm Josh Freeman F L I N T O I D Strengthen the Standards Of Conduct Board, which deals with elected and appointed officials, and make their decisions binding unless overturned by the City Council. Even the Ombudsman can only give an opinion. They have no authority to enforce it. You can have all the ethics ordinances that you want. But who is going to enforce them? As evidenced by the example that you gave. Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:36 am View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail AIM Address Reply with quote untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Josh- Excellent point except that the Standards of Conduct Board normally acts in secret. Their decisions are couched to hide the identity of the individual involved. This is great if a person is requesting an opinion of a potential conflict. But a blatant misuse of position requires coming out in the open. Also the ordinances need teeth, a penalty phase. Without a defined ethics policy, there is little for the Standards of Conduct Board to work with. Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:08 am Josh Freeman F L I N T O I D The ordinances are there.... from conflict of interest to nepotism. There is no 'body' that has the teeth or the will to enforce them..... There is a Forfeiture Provision in the Charter that allows ordinances that are in the public interest to be made punishable by forfeiture. No one does anything about it though. As for the Standards of Conduct Board... I think the last time they met was about Trachelle Young hiring her sister to run the Victims Advocacy..... It's a public body... and the decisions should be public. Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:55 am Dave Starr F L I N T O I D Will the council elected next week have the guts to do something about this? _________________ . Post Mon Oct 26, 2009 12:24 pm Elias12 F L I N T O I D Untanglingwebs , looks as though you keep track of all the crap that the officals have gotten away with. Damn impressive post here! Impressive in it's detail, disgusting overall Not for you Untanglingwebs, I mean for the the officals engaging in all these shennaigans. I think you have been a very good source of information for people Untanglingwebs( we have to think of a shorter nick name for you though) , very balanced and damn through. All this reminds me of why I disengaged in dealing with local politics years ago. Wish I could jump ahead 20 years to see if anything changes. On second thought, maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. . Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:33 am untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Josh- Dave is right. The council lacks the backbone to police themselves. Look at Jackie Poplar who sprayed David Davenport with Raid right next to Scott Kincaid. And then she sprayed him a second time. Look at her attempt to extort money for liquor licenses. The Liquor Control board came in because the council automatically supports another councilperson's request and legitimate requests were being denied. Johnnie Coleman fought Hinky Dinky and was punishing them for some reason. And yet a dance place with violations got no opposition for renewal. Thank God Sims is gone. Her argumentive disposition and possible bias against Arab Americans made council impossible to watch. Yes Elias- I study this stuff. But Flint is not the only crazy place. Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 7:47 am View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote Josh Freeman F L I N T O I D You heard no argument from me that the Council has lacked the will to police themselves. But until folks elect people that are willing to do what is right and show in their actions that they are there for the right reasons... we'll continue to go down this same tired road. We've got a lot of lip service but very little action over the last number of years. And that's exactly why we are where we are. But that does not negate the fact that the ordinances are in place to deal with the issues that are being discussed. It all goes back to the folks that we elect. Bottom line. Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:58 pm 00SL2 F L I N T O I D When qualified candidates don't run, you can't elect them. Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 6:53 pm back again F L I N T O I D well, most of this stuff regarding council shenanigans, i'm hearing for the first time. surely someone on the inside knew what was going on. who is the watchdog of city elections? if the county is the watchdog, who is that person? this all boils down to some person, for whatever reason not doing their job. Post Tue Oct 27, 2009 8:27 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D 00SL2, who in their right mind would want to run for any office in this city ( no offense to Lynn , she seems to have her heart in the right place) ? A city with a diminishing tax base, a city with more problems than anyone would care to list, a city with a national reputation (thanks especially to a certain filmaker) of being a city in it's death throes? Profiteers and shucksters always circle people in desperate states. We , the people of Flint , seem to have this tendency as writer Albert Jay Nock once wrote of to " accept the Barabasses over the Christ". Perhaps we are so willing to accept the worst people in office(s) because we really don't feel all that good about ourselves . But the we have to break this cycle , we got to demand more from those we place in positions of authority. We have many things developing in this city which we can harness for our growth. Please don't squander these opprotunities. _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:32 am Dave Starr F L I N T O I D quote: back again schreef: well, most of this stuff regarding council shenanigans, i'm hearing for the first time. surely someone on the inside knew what was going on. who is the watchdog of city elections? if the county is the watchdog, who is that person? this all boils down to some person, for whatever reason not doing their job. City & County clerk's offices. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:36 am Josh Freeman F L I N T O I D quote: 00SL2 schreef: When qualified candidates don't run, you can't elect them. Very true. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:24 am Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D I really get tired of people calling what Jackie Poplar did Extortion. If it would have been She would have been charged and convicted. She wasnt asking for money for herself. She was asking for Money for students in her ward. Had she done what she did the way 99.9 percent of politicitions do it. It would have worked just as it did for ATT. Adam Ford posted before how much Brenda Clack, Lee Gonzales, Deb Cherry, John Gleason, etc received in order to pass a bill that is dismantling public access and public accountability for video franchising. But I don't hear anyone out there jumping up and down. The difference here. Jackie asked them to donate to a scholarship fund for graduates. NOT FOR HER CAMPAIGN. Had she asked them for money for her campaign then given them a nod. That would have been perfectly legal. As is done over and over and over again in politics. How people forget the whole story and only remember what they want to remember. You guys need to spend some time downtown during lunch and watch AND LISTEN to the deals being brokered for support of Candidates and politicians that are going on every day in restaurants downtown. Now saying this. I'll probably never get to hear anything again. (If they see me in the room.) Those discussions will take place much quieter now. Anyone up for a charter revision? I’m all for it I’ve got two goals for the new council that I want to push for. Charter revision and removal of Comcast and Charter brought in. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:24 pm Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:59 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Dave Starr F L I N T O I D If there was nothing wrong with what Jackie did, why did she return the money? Revise the charter, how? I dumped comcrap years ago & went to Directv. _________________ I used to care, but I take a pill for that now. Pushing buttons sure can be fun. When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way. Paddle faster, I hear banjos. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:54 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website Reply with quote untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Ted- Iam tired of listening to your bull about Jackies motives. The bottom line is she is a public official who was refusing to approve liquor licenses unless the party store owners paid her $500 a year. The owners had a right to the licences and all of their legal requirements were met. The crime is called "Under Color of Position" or sometimes "Under Color of Law". IT IS A CRIME! A public official cannot deny services or require payment of services for which an individual is legally entitled to. She did not qualify for the special treatment she got fom US Attorney Haviland. Jackie would have had a tremendous benefit in public relations. Her ward would have been beholden to her for the money she handed out. She never set up a legal entity to funnel these so-called charitable contributions. Dave is right. In her required statement she had to tell the public that the federal officials told her she was violating the law and she had to make restitution. I sincerely hope that you are not one of those individuals that believes her actions were justified because her victims were of middle eastern descent. Look at how many party store owners are in her ward and calculate her take if each had to pay $500 a year to stay in business. You are a fool! This is nothing but extortion. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 2:42 pm View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote back again F L I N T O I D whoa!!!!!! the plot thickens!! Shocked _________________ even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance. P.Y. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:36 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D quote: untanglingwebs schreef: Ted- Iam tired of listening to your bull about Jackie’s motives. The bottom line is she is a public official who was refusing to approve liquor licenses unless the party store owners paid her $500 a year. The owners had a right to the licenses and all of their legal requirements were met. Again you misrepresent what happened, how and why. Intent and motive have a lot to do with whether there was a crime or not. quote: A public official cannot deny services or require payment of services for which an individual is legally entitled to. Please explain how she did that???? That's another reason it wasn't seen as a crime! 1st, Before she did anything She checked with Legal (Trachelle Young) to make sure what she proposed was KOSHER! She got approval. 2nd. She did not TAKE OR REQUIRE that those business owners give her money! No money went to her! Not a dime went to her campaign or her pockets. you said it! She had to require it. She didn't require they give money before she would approve their license. She had already been on record pre election and after she was elected that she wasn't going to approve or vote for liquor licenses because she felt there were too many problems with all the liquor stores we have. Mainly we have too many. After she was elected She soon discovered BEFORE any of this ever happened that should had to have a good reason not to approve licenses. The State told her that. Thus there needs to be significant complaints or police issues with that business. She demanded, required, held hostage, NOTHING that she wasn't going to have to do anyway. She asked that they support the community that they are doing business in. Amazing, but all of a sudden that became a crime. Oh and your right, she didn't have a 501C3 to funnel those funds. But, she never proclaimed they were tax deductable or even charitable donations (to my recollection) either. Nor did she keep any part of what they gave. Nor did she take credit for the money that was given to the students. The students Sent Letters thanking the business owners and if memory serves me correctly. They received Thank yous from Jackie also. So what your saying is it is illegal to give someone 500 bucks call it a scholarship unless you are a charitable organization. Oops alot of people giving money at graduation time in big trouble. What is the asinine comment about the owners?? Why do you bring that up? Not even an issue. You’re just looking for ways to spread more misinformation??? Why bother to discuss facts when you can skew them with false accusations. I must be a fool. To think that it was a good idea to ask that liquor stores be asked to give back to the community. Good idea I think. Although it was blown out of proportion. But, having dealt with our legal system here in Flint and the county. It’s amazing how many laws you can break and not know it is illegal what you are doing. But, I’m waiting to see if they decide to do something. Post Wed Oct 28, 2009 8:30 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Ted- Go back and read the original story and read Poplar's apology. If I rob a bank to save my child's life, I am still a criminal. You are saying you were in her head and you know her intent. The federal government had tapes and her demand for $500 a year was linked to the renewal of the party store owners liquor license. In her apology, Poplar admitted to breaking the law.She was given a special diversion program that was for first time offrnders and was not entered into the system. However if you researched it you would see that she did not meet the criteria, I have spoken to several long time attorneys and the common remark is: "Who did she snitch out?". And this is from attorneys who work in the system, Your defense is not based on the facts. She asked about donations for a scholarship. Trachelle would never have approved had she known thee donations were linked to services these individuals had a legitimate right to. You always claim to research so let your fingers search the keyboards and find the answer. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:26 am View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D Untanglingwebs,, you may do your research and prove this Poplar woman did crooked things but that doesn't matter. Here in Flint ,it seems, the people like crooks running their city. She is a crook, plain and simple. But with a wave of magic wand, POOF, now as pure as driven snow. I got soundly thrashed when I said the people of Flint deserve better . Walling has a city of unemployed people who may also have degrees in the same area as she has, but is a general search for a qualified candidate made? NO! got to chose this unrepenant and angry woman because of her politcal connections and having to pay her back for her getting her cronies to vote for Walling. Still bothers me, and yes, I know it is "done deal' but I am still disgusted with her being in the position, Nothing will change in this town until we see totally different (and hopefully,unindcited) faces at city hall. _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:31 am View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D She had to write an apology admitting what she did was wrong. I did some more checking. Because she didn't have a 501C3 she couldn't solicit funds. Illegal. you can give your own money but not ask others for theirs. And see again, You misrepresent the Facts. A Memo was sent to the City Attorney and she did give her blessing. I reconfirmed that just the other day. And do I know her intent. All's ya had to do was listen to her before and after her election to that office. She isn't complicated enough do like professional politicians do and set up their own PAC's and their Own 501C3's and their own Campaign committees so they play around with "CONTRIBUTIOINS" For someone who was being so much criminal intent. She sure spent a lot of time talking about what she was doing ON THE RECORD in front of Council and the city attorney. Not one person (including myself) saw anything wrong. That would be like a bank robber waling into a bank, First handing the teller their ID Filling out a withdrawal slip , pulling out a gun and then demanding the money. Actual Criminals just don't do that. It just don't happen that way. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:07 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Ted-Her apology said she was informed by the federal officials that she had committed a crime! She linked the so-called contributions to the renewal of their licenses which is illegal! She entered a diversion program which if she successfully completed after on year she would not be prosecuted. Diversion programs are not for people who do not commit crimes. She can tell you all she wants about her intent, but someone's alleged intent does not matter when it comes to a blatant violation of the law. The party store owners filed complaints against her because they were being extorted. that is not a voluntary contribution. How do you think the feds got the tapes? They got them because the party store owners cooperated. The only one's misrepresenting the facts are you and Poplar. I spoke to Trachelle and as an officer of the court she stated she would never have told Jackie it was o.k. if she had known the contributions were linked to the licenses. And you notice the federal officials never came after Trachelle. Trachelle never had to make a public apology. Look at Jackies response when two or her fellow council wanted to take action against her. She dragge up the DUI's of Gonzales in the past and tried to paint Hill as a racist. Hill's work associates at Mott college came to her defense and refuted Jackie's baseless allegations. Allegations that came originally from the same source that tried to state Peggy Cook asked for a bribe. And can you remember how that turned out! The Sheriff Departments investigation said the two individuals behind the allegations were dishonest and cleared Cook. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:40 pm View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D Ted-my point exactly. She did state on the record something about what she was doing. Council leadership did not act on it and several council members tried to squelch any movement against her. (see my previous comment about her race-baiting) Council members build voting blocks and try to keep them intact. The group that controls their five votes will not jeopardize their position of control. They needed Jackie's vote to support what they wanted passed. Haven't you watch council repeatedly pass on resolutions because the councilperson in the affected ward requested it. No questions asked. There needs to be a strong outside watchdog to monitor both the administration and the council. The Ombudsman is under attack because she took complaints on some council members. they only wanted to investigate the administration. Once again Ted, the crime was requiring legitimate business people to pay for services that they had a legal right to without payment. Where the money went does not apply to the law. Research the web and look up federal prosecutions for "under color of position" and you will see similar cases. Take your blinders off! Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:56 pm View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D What Poplar did was wrong, illegal, plain and simple and if the then city attorney gave her " blessing" then that lawyer should be disbarred. Officals can not attach conditions to things like liceneing renewal like she did. Plain and simple, Why the hell is Ted defending this is beyond me. It isn't a past issue, it would be if she was no longer serving in any capacity for the city, but she is. Fire the woman and get a better person in that position, she should have never been hired in the first place . I wonder if Mr Jankowski would be so willing to forgive and forget if a police dispatcher told him " we would send car out to your address , but you have been critical of the police in the past so we don't want to send a car unless you NOW give us an over the phone contribution the Police Athlectic League (PAL) " , same principle there Ted, as a citizen of Flint you are supposed to have services offered to you , and people going thorugh the legal and demanded license process so they can continue to operate their business should not have to do what I see as "payola" to make officals do the job they are already being paid to do. The licenesing process is , sorry to say, something the owners of businesses like that are required to go through because of laws and regualtions. There are hoops to jump through,fine, that is part of the price of doing business. But adding anything they want to because of some whim should not be left to the officals who are supposed to do certain prescribed functions. _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:18 pm View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D No blinders whatsoever. She could not REQUIRE them to give. She did not require them to give. So what is your definition of a PAC? What do they do? Explain to me what the difference is when the same thing is accomplished, and yet one is considered legal and another isn't? And your right, The city attorney should have been disbarred. But, Those that police refuse to police their own. Look at all the Campaign Violations The Don was involved in, and the illegal overspending he did. What ever became of that? He finally resigned. But we never got our 14.5 million back he blew. Keep watching the alternative papers. The flint journal refuses to cover other stories I've dug up on Just that premise. We will be tackling that once there is a new city council. Dealing with the 68th district court. Failure to follow the law. Let's see if you find Obvious and intentional violations of the law as fascinating as your vendetta against Ms. Poplar. She at least got a slap on the wrist because of the lack of criminal intent. Oh and who was it that tried to say something about what Ms. Poplar was doing??? Now I’m sure your fantasizing, No One stepped up and said a thing. I would be interested to know which person you are sitting at city council meetings every week that you would be so well informed as to what is happening down there. I have only missed three meetings in 4 years. Because my Grandmother was in the hospital. How many you been at? The whole thing is complicated. But to become obsessed as you are isn’t conducive to progress. The mistake was made and the State didn’t find it as big a deal as you do. I guess the voters of her ward will decide. Oh and I’m sure that with our new Mayor and New City attorney that when she requests guidance on an issue she won’t be set up as she was in the past. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:39 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D You keep repeating the same thing over and over. They had a right to their licenses. No one disputes that. She had to vote for them anyway... Yeah or nay but couldn't vote Nay without good reason. WHATS YOUR POINT. They didn't PAY HER!! They didn't have to pay her! They never did pay her! THey gave money to Kids. They didn't have to give money to the kids. Why didn't they say something sooner? Go back and come before council publically and say We want our License and Ms. Poplar won't give it to us unless we give her money??? It was a set up! That's why! You know as well as I (well maybe you don't) that people come down to council meetings all the time to complain about their council person. I have a few times with ms Hill But I don't believe its ever been anythig to this magintude. Tell me what would have happened had they done that? Only one of the business owners was upset. Because the state screwed up with his license. The other didn't want the money back. But when Big brother tells you have to do something you do it. People in the city in our justice system plead guilty to stuff they didn't do all the time. Mostly because of our poor legal system. Had someone spoke out before all this went down. Had the City Attorney said something. Had they said something. None of it would have happened. You’re too stuck on looking at an incident. And not looking at the big picture. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:51 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D You keep repeating the same thing over and over. They had a right to their licenses. No one disputes that. She had to vote for them anyway... Yeah or nay but couldn't vote Nay without good reason. WHATS YOUR POINT. They didn't PAY HER!! THey gave money to Kids. Only one of the business owners was upset. Because the state screwed up with his license. The other didn't want the money back. But when Big brother tells you have to do something you do it. People in the city in our justice system plead guilty to stuff they didn't do all the time. Mostly because of our poor legal system. They take raps for others. Had someone spoke out before all this went down. Had the City Attorney said something. None of it would have happened. You’re too stuck on looking at an incident. And not looking at the big picture. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:45 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote untanglingwebs F L I N T O I D December 2, 2006 Flint Journal, The (MI) Section: LOCAL NEWS Edition: THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION Page: A02 Section: LOCAL NEWS Councilwoman writes letter of apology By Jackie Poplar CONTRIBUTING WRITER Here is the text of the letter written by 2nd Ward Flint Councilwoman Jackie Poplar, apologizing for coercing money for a scholarship fund from two businesses seeking a transfer of liquor licenses. It was sent to The Flint Journal as a letter to the editor. Dear Sir or Madam: This letter is written as a public apology to two business owners who asked me to approve transfers of liquor licenses in the 2nd Ward, where I am the city councilperson. I initially disapproved these transfers. However, after two meetings, I expressed my concerns against approving the transfer of liquor licenses in my ward and agreed that if they would agree to contribute $500 (each), annually, towards a scholarship fund that I initiated for the top 10 high school graduates in my ward, then I would approve their transfer of a liquor license request. The business owners contributed to the scholarship fund. At the next scheduled City Council meeting, I stated my reason for retracting my earlier position of not approving the transfer of liquor licenses in my ward relative to my Give Back to the Community initiative and they voted unanimously for approval. I presented the top 10 graduates with $100 (each) during a high school honor graduation ceremony in my ward. However, I was advised by the United States attorney's office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that my actions violated federal law, because I had used the power of my public office to coerce contributions to the scholarship fund. I have consulted with my attorney, and now understand that my actions, although well intended for a good cause, did indeed violate the federal law. I have assured the United States attorney's office that now that I have a clear understanding of the law governing my power of public office that I will no longer use my governmental authority to coerce contributions of any person or entity (no matter how deserving), other than payments owed to the city of Flint. Moreover, I have entered into an agreement with the United States attorney to make this public apology and to repay to the two business owners the $1,000. scholarship contribution that I coerced them to contribute that violated federal law. I also agreed not to retaliate against the two business owners for having reported my wrongful actions. If I abide by all terms of this agreement, I will not be charged with violating the federal law. I sincerely apologize to the business owners, and pledge to all persons that I will hereafter consider their requests appropriately and within the allotted time set by the charter. Sincerely, Jacqueline Poplar, councilwoman Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 5:47 pm View user's profile Send private message Edit/Delete this post Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D Ted, What point am I missing? She, as an elected offical ,wasn't aware that making her vote or approval for renewing licenses for these business owners want improper? If that she is imcompetent, certainly not an attribute we want in elected officaldom. She , I think, had to know what she was doing was questionable at best. IF she didn't she is stupid (sorry for those really sensitive people out there,but some people are stupid, it is fact of life) . AND if the attorney for the city didn't raise this, the pairing of the two events,(renewing of a license request AND her asking for money for her cause AT THE SAME TIME may be make the renewal contingent upon their making this "contribution" ) as having the apperance of being inproper then this attorney should have never been in the role they were hired to be in. I don't care if they gave the money to the kids", the fact is she ( Ms Poplar) had to know she had a precived sense of leverage over these business owners and it is unlikely she would have asked them for some sort of "contribution" had she not been in the position she was in. So her cllaim of her not knowing it was unethical to do this seems to be simply not true. The process to gain a license or renew one is spelled out, and any variance of this process by an indvidual by requiring more from other business owners would , to me , be a flashing warning sign ( figuratively speaking) that I was being singled out. Sorry Mr Ted, this is clear case of corruption or stupidity and neither should be allowable for a person in a position of authority. I guess you are happy with having stupid and/or corrupt people running the city. But from past posts you seem to be saying quite the opposite. So when people do decry a serious breach in ethics you seem to be saying that you are fine with it because they were "doing it for the kids" , right? And you point about it being a "set up" , ahh, what is your point? Are you saying that the whole city council and the city attorney were in on this? All around ,IF all these people INCLUDING THE CITY ATTORNEY were aware of her plans and none objected or saw anything wrong with themm we go back to point about incompetence. But that is a topic for posts in the future. Two things that be counted on coming from the people of this city, corruption and incompetency. And ,Mr. Jankowski, what is the "big picture"? We have a failing city,run by either incompetent people or corrupt people ,the people of the city claim to want change so their can be a chance for the city to simply exist in the future. What it the "big picture" that you are looking at? And what color glasses are you wearing while looking at this? You keep repeating the same thing over and over. They had a right to their licenses. No one disputes that. She had to vote for them anyway... Yeah or nay but couldn't vote Nay without good reason. WHATS YOUR POINT. They didn't PAY HER!! They didn't have to pay her! They never did pay her! THey gave money to Kids. They didn't have to give money to the kids. Why didn't they say something sooner? Go back and come before council publically and say We want our License and Ms. Poplar won't give it to us unless we give her money??? It was a set up! That's why! You know as well as I (well maybe you don't) that people come down to council meetings all the time to complain about their council person. I have a few times with ms Hill But I don't believe its ever been anythig to this magintude. Tell me what would have happened had they done that? Only one of the business owners was upset. Because the state screwed up with his license. The other didn't want the money back. But when Big brother tells you have to do something you do it. People in the city in our justice system plead guilty to stuff they didn't do all the time. Mostly because of our poor legal system. Had someone spoke out before all this went down. Had the City Attorney said something. Had they said something. None of it would have happened. You’re too stuck on looking at an incident. And not looking at the big picture.[/quote] _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:01 pm Sat Apr 25, 2015 11:03 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D Ok Untanglingwebs... So what's your point. Isn't it the point of the justice system to make sure people don't break the law. Obviously She did. Punishment was determined... And she has paid for it. Do you think she will do that again? Just because she hasn't met your level of retribution. Which seems to be more of a vendetta than a desire for justice. She was open about it before during and after. Not much intent to be a criminal! Thought she had the green light from the Williamson administration... How much does she have to pay before you'll be happy? Does she need to come to your house and personally apoligise? Come over and give you a hundred bucks? What do you want? Seems to me justice was served, and it will never happen again. Were you there when she announced what she was doing? Did you say anything? Did you get up and say, Hey Ms Poplar. That could be seen as XYZ. You keep trying to point what she did was wrong. That there is no arguement... You keep repeating it and repeating it. But you keep missing the point. SHE HAD APPROVAL to do it. and noone including yourself, Myself, anyone on Council, Or even Mr. Knows everything about the Law Elias12 stood up and said THis is what you are doing and shouldn't be doing that. I know what Glasses I'm Wearing. They sure are the ones that you seem to own.. The ones that give you the hindsite of 20/20. Maybe we need someone like you that knows everything and how to do it AFTER THE FACT! But I did notice you didn't respond to my comments. That I find it interesting that they never once made a stink about it publically. Only one did and that's because someone else stuck it to him. The State. Short term memory on the reasons why she wouldn't approve the licenses. THat was a campaign promise that the state informed her she wouldn't be able to keep. HOW DO YOU MISS THIS STUFF? It was pretty public. Elias12 <>< Incompetent isn't the right word. Naive would probably be better, Esp since she had the Blessing of the Administration that it was ok. I believe she did think it might be questionable.. Thus the reason she went to the City attorney for advise. you are probably right She probably wouldn't have asked it had she not been in the position that she HAD to approve liquor Licenses Whether she liked it or not. She thought she could NOW since she couldn't make good on her campaign promise of not approving them,,, That she could help save face by asking that liquor store owners give back to the community. Damn What a terrible person she is! (sarcasm if you can't figure that out. You seem to have a problem following issues in context of what was going on at the time. And Hey, I freely admit stupidity in the deal too. I didn't see anything wrong and neither did anyone else until someone complained and Williamson set up the sting. And I do mean SET UP! have your people ok it then burn them for doing it. That's a set up. You keep repeating the same things over and over and over again. And no matter how many times I put it in context for you.. You miss it. Where were you? When this was going on? Did you speak out or just ride the band wagon of GOTTCHA after it was determined it was illegal. You strike me as an opportunist for negativity. The justice system determined their penalty and it isn’t good enough for you. Then run against her. Then you sit there and wait until someone finds something you did that you shouldn’t have. But please let me know. SO I can hop on that bandwagon. We have much more important things to worry about than whether what happened has met with your complete satisfaction. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:46 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D Ted, you didn't really think attaching a "contribution' on to a licensing prodedure, a process which should ( I say should because in this city nothing is known by anyone it seems) be written out and set, was wrong? I thought you were a reasonably intelligent person, always seemed like it to me. I don't have "hindsight" I just do have common sense. As far as being "negative" , I am not the "negative' person here, I was being optimistic that the people running the place ( the city of Flint) had some basic understanding of what people in positions of authority could or could not do, I can see I was wrong.I guess we are all supposed to attend every meeting to make sure that those elected to do the job know what the job entails. Sorry Mr Ted, your buddy Ms Poplar is an scammer.I don't give a rat's ass if the money was for some education fund, it is wrong to solicit funds in the manner Ms Poplar did it in. Not in the context, not in that setting, not being in her position. As far as why I didn't object to this is because when this was going on I was employed, worked 60 hours a week, had a job that I had to keep on top of morning and night. And would my objections have been listened to if I had made them? Never have they been in the past, so why think anyone would start now. As for being an expert in law, I am not a practicing attorney but I had several classes in law while in college, that and I was raised in a family of business people who actually paid real experts to give them advice in areas where they had little experience in and guess what, the folks listened to those they hired to advise them And they actually learned something my folks passed on to me. We should require all people seeking an office to take classes before running for office then, they should have some basic understanding of what is expected of them prior to them possibly getting in office. And if they don't win the office, so what, the classes will make them better informed citizens. We can offer classes pretty cheaply, we can record just one set of classes and then put them up on the city's website , accessible to everyone. We can burn copies of these classes and make them available at the libraries and high schools. So how is that Mr Ted, I gave criticism and then offered a possible solution for preventing this sort of thing from happening again? Really "negative " of me huh? _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:15 pm View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote 1pissedoffguy F L I N T O I D I have been lurking here for a few weeks, reading stuff. Today I got fired up and had to say something. We seem to have two sets of standards going on here in flinttown, one set of standards for white leaders and another for black ones. Let me show what I am talking about 1) if the poplars were white they would be expected to know how to act in office, but since they are black everyone makes all excuses for them. 2.) Ted, did you really hear what Jackie wanted to do and think it was fine? 3,) I know people in Flint watch TV alot. I seen shows on TV where the people in shows where this sort of improper things are being done and the script writers make it a point to say it is bad, and most people in Flint watch the same shows I do and if I saw them shows, I'll bet that so have the other people. So no reason to have this debate about who knew what or what is right and wrong, the TV shows can be good things to watch on this stuff. 4) I think I should start writing scripts on this sort of thing , this story would make a great sit com for TV . Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:55 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote back again F L I N T O I D hmmmmm, i'd love to read that elias as it pertains to a councilperson. Cool heyyyyyy, welcome 1pissed off dude!!! Laughing Laughing _________________ even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance. P.Y. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:54 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D 1pissedoffguy Yes I did hear what she said I was there. So was the city attorney, so was the city council it was even on TV,,, I failed and so did they. It has nothing to do with race. I would have been happier had it been Sandy hill that had done that. But, I sure wouldn't be carrying on about it like a bunch of fools after the State came in did an investigation and handed out a judgement. It's nothing but insult to injury. But there are many people in Flint that this is all they live off of. Elias12<>< If you've got so much commonsense WHERE WERE YOU when this was all happening? > ? Hmmm? Here it is what almost 4 years later and you've got all the answers! You've got the common sense to have seen it. And again.. You keep forgetting and never once answering. What is a PAC? What is the difference? The only difference is that when a PAC puts money in your campaign expecting to be rewarded it is a given. Oh You've been positive? Really? Wow I don't don't kow how I lost that in this conversation? I must have missed it somewhere between the accusations and continuous beating up of someone once they're down. Sorry I missed the positive solution. As to how to prevent it from happening again. I think you're a bit late on that. because after what happened to Ms. Poplar I'm sure any suggestion you have now won't even compare to the example and continous degrading people like those here argueing this 3-4 years after the fact has had on making sure it never happens again.. Not withstanding the fact the State Already made judgement on the matter. I enjoy a little sarcasim myslef. I even enjoy healthy debate. But I lost the positive of your comments inthere smoewhere. I guess You'll have to point them out. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:15 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D Covered where I was there Ted, right in the post. I was working a job with far more accountablity than the city council people seem to have to work under. Had scads of paperwork and things to carry out DAILY. I am smarter than most of the yutzes in city council I guess , that or really stupid because I found out what was required me when I took the job and then committed myself to getting all of that stuff was done. Oh,I also knew about what I had to do when it came to ethics. The advantages of having a working family with things to do other than attending some lame city council meetings all the time. We figure that people should know what and how to act and do things when they are hired before they are hired,silly us. _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:35 pm View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D And Ted, if that question about PAC's was directed to me how is it germaine to my saying what Poplar did was unethical? Have you now or ever heard or some me make a defense of PACs? I would say though that the difference would be ( and I disagree with PACs) is simply matter of timing for the Poplar case. Why are you defending her actions? And sorry Ted, if you thought there was nothing wrong with what she did you and the rest of the cast of characters are ignorant of the basic facts of how businesses have to be operated. And here is a basic hint, whatever is expected of a private business, ramp up the expectations for what is required of those in the public sector. Here are some more suggestions,,get a Black's Law Dictionary, go unline and type in "business ethics" ,,then type in "ethics ' on Google. And please,for god's sake, if the lawyer for the city is that stupid, NOBODY SEEK HER OUT FOR ANY LEGAL ADVICE!! _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:49 pm View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote 1pissedoffguy F L I N T O I D Do people who break the law get a break all the time if they didn't know was wrong? I heard so many times when I was in junior high that "ignorance of the law is no excuse" . if a person speeds, like this is an example, would they allowed to if the speed limit was set at one speed and they may have gone faster? Post Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:56 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D Elias12 <>< We are in more agreement than you seem to think... I see no difference between PAC and special interests buying politicians and what she did. Yes for god's sake. Don't go to her for advice, The point of that was she was only following direction of Don Williamson. That is his modis oberendi. (sp) And are you looking for some type of special recongisition? I see where you are getting your information. but What the LAW and Ethics says is rarely held up to that standard in Government. you obviously don't konw how many Public officials get their tickets tossed and never go to court. If you have MOney or are a politician in FLint you can almost get away with Murder. But be the average joe and do the same thing. They will make up anything and everything to get money out of ya. I never said what She did was right. Everyone involved figured there wasn't a problem since the City Attorney didn't find it to be a problem. It was a setup. I'm sure Ms. Poplar will never do anything like that again. Isn't that the purpose of our justice system. To stop people from breakin the Law? What more justice do you want? That you must keep beating down someone who has paid the price. How much more do they have to give before your content they won't do it again nd have learned their lesson? Got some ideas Post them under the Thread I started. I'd love to hear them. BUt I can't go for beating up on people that have not only admitted they were wrong but paid Fair and equitable retrobution. Something that RARELY EVER happens in our justice system. Post Fri Oct 30, 2009 3:16 am View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D Ted, Sure I am looking for a big dinnner and a plaque and hell, throw in a $25,000.00 per year retaining fee and I will teach the ethics classes for the city officaldom. Hell, that price is cheap when you look at how fast legal bills rack up. Maybe I could teach the city attorney of that time some basic objections to raise. Ok, Poplar 'paid her debt" let's all hug and make nice. I do agree with you on PAC's and all that the fact people with money can get away with nearly everything here in Flint, money or the race card. I have heard " we got the best government money can buy" alot in the circles I hung out in. Seems it is not only government but the criminal justice system is up the highest bidder as well. Having said this though Ted, don't expect me not to be still in awe of the stupidity and arrogance of the elected officals of this town. IF we all get that jaded then we won't see any change at all. Apathy is terrible disease you know. And that is one thing I do respect about you and others on this posting forum, you all seemed to still be able to get riled up. And when a city has people like this, it is never totally hopeless. _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:07 am View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D quote: Having said this though Ted, don't expect me not to be still in awe of the stupidity and arrogance of the elected officals of this town. IF we all get that jaded then we won't see any change at all. Apathy is terrible disease you know. And that is one thing I do respect about you and others on this posting forum, you all seemed to still be able to get riled up. And when a city has people like this, it is never totally hopeless Exactly, I am just looking at the level of knowledge. What happened is definately something a Seasoned Politician would never get caught doing, They would have their own attorney to advise them. Not the City Attorney. So my point is. Has it changed. I would say yes it changed. It's not going on. And a lot of people learned a lesson on that one. I just think when average people are elected to office. They are going to make mistakes. Since they know this stuff is going on. I mean Pay offs for votes is common practice. It's just done in a beaucratic manner so that it's covered up and becomes leagal. By bringin it into the open doesn't make right. Now had Ms. Poplar been an Senior elected official with years of experience. Then this came up with or without the city attorney's help. There would be no forgiveness and I'd probably be on the bandwagon. When you look at the percentage of people that even vote or know who their elected officials are. When one of the few that are concerned Run for office and actually win. You've got to expect some mistakes. I'm by far not appathic. but I can be understanding. (Contrary to popular belief). I quite of bit of railing on my TV show from now and then. I'm usually at the events being reported in the Journal. But always seem to have a completely different perspective on what they report and what actually happened. One of the biggest problems with elected officials is as you said Arrogance. You upset them or point out what they are doing is wrong. They take it out by voting or enacting laws against you. There is no resitution or compromise. You hurt their feelings. So matter how wrong they are or how right you are, if you didn't smooch up to them they aren't going to act. There is not an attitude of Let's do what right and best. It's a What makes me richer or makes me look good. And that even pops into the City council from time to time. Thus I'm low key in any group I work with because as a representative of the group I'd be Hard Charging for what is rght! I am more able to do that on my own or behind the scenes. Those are stories I love to talk about but not write about. but please, POst your ideas on the thread I started. When I get a bunch I'll present them to council with Copies of all of them.. I've done that before off this site. Post Fri Oct 30, 2009 3:26 pm View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Reply with quote Elias12 F L I N T O I D Ted, I would post my ideas and suggestions, what is the name of the thread ? I couldn't find it , I am sorry I couldn't find it, in this I claim ignorance on how to navigate on this site. _________________ You fool all the people all the time,if you control the press. By pass the "offical channels" and see what is really going. Post Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:59 pm Sat Apr 25, 2015 11:05 am  untanglingwebs El Supremo This has been a long term complaint of the Land Bank. Topic: The land bank, demolitions Good or Bad Cory M Lorincz F L I N T O I D My grandmother several years ago tried to purchase an abandoned house fromthe land bank. This house was next door to hers. My grandmother had offered to purchase the house so she could remodel the house and increase her standard of living. Today this house is falling apart. The siding is falling off and the doors and windows are boarded up. When trying to revitalize this city and the surrounding communities should we really be demolishing houses that could have been revitalized. Currently I reside in a home that was abandoned. I remodeled this home, and it is one of the nicest in my neighborhood. If revitalization of Flint is one of the goals of the Land Bank why did this happen. Recently my grandmother's story was in the Flint journal: FLINT -- Great-grandmother Shirley Bradley lives a few blocks from one of the city's busiest streets, but like thousands of people in Flint, she's right next door to no one. And "no one" is turning out to be a lousy neighbor. Even though city crews have demolished hundreds of vacant houses in recent years -- possibly more than at any time since the clearing of land for the construction of I-475 more than 30 years ago -- thousands of dilapidated homes remain. For Bradley, 82, the two-story house next door -- stripped of half of its white siding -- is a daily annoyance that never leaves Fielding Street, an otherwise healthy residential area just north of Corunna Road. "My little (great-grandchildren) want to play. I can't even let them outside," she said. The day the house with the plywood-covered doors comes down will be "the happiest day of my life." "I'll stand here and watch it come down and not cry a tear," she said a few days before Halloween. "If we could get rid of that, we'd get rid of most of our problems." There are stories such as Bradley's all over Flint: Residents who are discouraged by run-down, abandoned buildings in their neighborhoods even though they see some progress citywide. They see their property values going down while their homeowners' insurance goes up. A Flint Journal analysis of city demolition records shows that for everything that has been done -- nearly 800 homes and garages demolished since the state takeover of Flint ended in 2004 -- years of around-the-clock work remain to be done. The Journal review also shows: Austin Avenue might be the most unrecognizable street in the city by the time all planned demolition is completed. More houses -- 22 -- have been torn down on the east-west street on the extreme north side of the city than anywhere else since the end of the state takeover. Another 21 houses on the same mile-long stretch of street are still targeted for demolition. Of more than 800 houses on the city's demolition list, the vast majority are located north of the Flint River in some of the poorest areas of Genesee County. The to-do list includes 627 properties north of the river and just 196 south of the river. Fourteen separate streets have 10 or more houses on the city demolition list -- the heaviest concentrations of eyesores and neighborhood blight. The streets are: Alma, Austin, Broadway, Flint Park Boulevard, Foss Avenue, Grand Traverse, Holbrook, Lorado, Marengo, Pasadena, Russell, Ruth, Saginaw, and Wolcott. More than 64 percent of the 823 structures scheduled for demolition are located west of Saginaw Street. Since Jan. 1, 2006, four streets have had 10 demolitions or more with at least 10 more still scheduled for demolition: Austin, Russell, Wolcott, and Holbrook. "There's certain streets (where) you think, sooner or later, there isn't going to be anything left," said John Gazall, chairman of Flint's Building Board of Appeals. The board hears the pleas of property owners -- some of whom beg, others who cry, and some of who just don't show up -- as their houses are ordered for demolition with costs added to tax bills. Many will end up in foreclosure, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for city crews to tear them down, fill in the foundation holes and dispose of the waste. "I've been on the board since fall of 1999," Gazall said. "When you deal with 60 to 80 houses a month, you would think that at some point it would slow down, but I don't see that happening" yet. Top officials for Flint and Genesee County don't either, but county Land Bank Chairman Dan Kildee and Bill Ayre, Flint's transportation director, both believe the trend will reverse if funding stays in place or can be increased. Ayre hopes for as much as $2 million from the state's Cities of Promise program next year. "There's been a lot of starts and stops over the years because of funding problems," Ayre said, "but when we turn that corner" of more houses being torn down than being abandoned "those properties that are sitting there, all of a sudden, they'll be more value to them. "All the houses in the city will end up with bigger value. When it's going to turn, I don't have a feel for it yet (but) I think we're more than holding our own." Both Ayre and Kildee believe there are thousands of vacant homes still in the city, far more than the 800 which are on track to being torn down at taxpayer expense. Flint's home abandonment rate jumped sharply as the city's population and wealth went into free fall with the loss of General Motors jobs in the 1980s. Property values dropped so low that lots were being sold for as little $50 at county tax sales in the 1990s. "The rate of abandonment is still probably greater than the rate of demolition," Kildee said. "Over time the rate of demolition will catch up. There will be a settling ... and then we get ahead of this thing." Borrowing by the Land Bank this year is helping fund the renovation of two former Flint hotels: the Berridge and Durant, and also leaving as much as $1 million for additional neighborhood demolition in 2008. Over the last five years, the Land Bank has contributed to Flint's geared-up pace of demolitions, paying for about 800 tax-foreclosed properties that the Land Bank took out of circulation rather than reselling to potential landlords or speculators. Only a few demolitions have been on Asylum Street near downtown, but it's made things better, said Gary Howard, 39, whose brother lives in the same block. "The landlords will rent to anybody that has money ... and people steal left and right" from a vacant house, said Howard, who lives near Court Street. There's more at stake than the quality of life for neighbors when houses are left to rot -- home owners who remain are losing the value of their homes when too many nearby go vacant. The price of homeowners' insurance is also high -- if you can buy it at all -- when there's a concentration of vacant properties. "The neighbors all want those houses gone. We're concerned about property values. When we take the houses down, property values go up," said Ayre, who said some residents have trouble buying homeowners insurance. Property owners such as Bradley, who lives on Fielding Street just north of Corunna Road, said thieves become comfortable when a house is abandoned. It gives them a hiding place and a base of operation. "I stood in my bedroom window and watched them take the aluminum siding off that house," Bradley said, pointing next door. "My car has been stolen three times, and they set a fire on the back porch." Pearl Ward, 66, of Foss Avenue moved into her parents' house here 30 years ago. The neighborhood becomes harder to live in with each passing day -- fewer people who own the homes they live in, more open drug use, vacant houses, dog fighting, and crime. Ward was happy to see a demolition crew recently knocking down two houses on Foss but said there are others falling quickly into disrepair at the same time on the same block. From her enclosed front porch, Ward looked across the street at a string of remaining houses -- some vacant and some of which have become high-turnover rentals. "They don't care about the property. It's not theirs so they don't care," she said of some neighbors. "They come and they stay one month and then they be gone. "My mother and father owned this house. This neighborhood was really nice when they first moved here -- very nice -- but drugs took over everything. Now you're even scared to walk out your door," she said. Dawan McClendon, 30, has lived near the corner of Foss and Summit avenues for the last two years with his 7-year-old son and his son's mother. It's a hard place to stay because the abandoned homes attract thieves and drug addicts. The house across the street from McClendon was torn down a few weeks ago and another immediately to his east also was demolished. There are several empty lots a block in each direction where other houses have been torn down as well. "The neighborhood is pretty good. It's close-knit. We watch each other's houses -- make sure nothing goes wrong," McClendon said. "(But) it's hard living (here), driving around when that's all you see. Nobody's waving 'bye -- just boarded-up houses." Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:37 am View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote brianstarr F L I N T O I D i just wanted to say that i totally agree with what the guy said about the land bank and demolition and i also would like to say that the demo helps not getting to the areas that really need it i feel they need to do a better job of concentrating on the neighborhoods that need the demo help that includes mine where out of 23 houses on the block 12 are boarded up and rotting .i guess thats what happens when you have people in the building inspection department that have the attitude that its easier for the city to do nothing and just let these places rot and fall down on their own Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:08 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote last time here Guest damn brian, that many buildings on your block? are they land bank or city properties? i think your idea of concentrating on streets that have multiple "junkers" is a good idea! i wonder if it would be interesting for the city and the school systems to work something out that would allow some of these lots to be used as an agriculture class learning tool. at harvest time, allow each school to use a stand at the farmers market to sell their goods and/or donate the crops to seniors. Super Super _________________ Guest post Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:19 pm Reply with quote Cory M Lorincz F L I N T O I D If the land bank would have sold the property to Mrs. Bradley ( my Grandmother), my family and I would have remodeled it for her. The tax rolls would have benifited, and the neighborhood would have had a drop in crime. Maybe the Land Bank should be trying to get these homes, together with redevelopment grants, and sell to prospective homeowners (not landlords).Sure some homes need torn down, but this particular home was a viable house and could have been repaired. They let the home sit there for 4 or 5 years till it looked bad enough to tear down, and crime had taken hold. If this home would have been lived in maybe my grandmother's car would not have been stolen several times, resulting in her losing a vehicle permanantly. Now Mrs. bradley has to borrow a truck, she can't afford the full coverage required to cover theft. ( fixed income) Is this really our city and government looking out for us? The LandBank was Rep. Gonzales's (Dem 49th district) pride and joy. I hope we can expect more now that he is in our legislature. Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:34 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote last time here Guest i'm curious cory, what was their reasoning for not selling it to your granny? i thought thats what they did? reclaim and resell with the intent of making it a contributing property taxpayer? Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked _________________ Guest post Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:37 pm Reply with quote Cory M Lorincz F L I N T O I D My grandmother had a lien on the property from suing the previous owner. Lien rights are lost when taken over by the land bank. The house was rough estimated value about 10k which is what she offered. The land bank told her they would sell it to her for 35k. I used to run a building company and have worked with alot of real estate. The house would have apraised at that time for 10k or under. Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:12 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote Cory M Lorincz F L I N T O I D It is impossible to resell to the community if you are asking 2 to 3 times market value of a property. They have told my grandmother as of recently, that the land bank recieves more in insurance money from having to demolish the home than they would have for selling it. That sounds more like legal fraud to me. Financially on the short term more money is what you go after, thats business, in the long term the tax rolls would have benifited more from home ownership, as well as the city economy, crime rates, etc. Since the home was abandonned she has had to make numerous calls to police, and the land bank, in regards to homeless people living at the house and breaking into her property at night. This house by sitting vacant became a magnet of activity that caused many of the neighbors to live in fear.My grandmother has lived next to this house for about 8 years. For the three years it was occupied prior to landbank ownership there were relatively no problems. Now several people have sold homes and moved from the neighborhood and we are currently looking for A home in a different neighborhood for my grandmaother. When you have contributed to your community for over 80 years there should be no reason to live in fear. Especially if the choices of your government create the problem that creates the fear. Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:23 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote last time here Guest wow, thats a shame...have you talked to dan kildee personally? i certainly would. this smacks of being just another moneymaking scheme. i sincerely hope i'm wrong!! Shocked Confused Shocked Confused Shocked your granny is being treated unfairly from what i've read. Cool Cool if i was you, i'd make a cold call to dan's office. tell him the story and offer to take him to the site, i can't believe dan is the kind of guy that would intentionally do something like this. it is said, the squeaky wheel gets the grease!! Partyman Partyman _________________ Guest post Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:29 pm Reply with quote Cory M Lorincz F L I N T O I D Have you tried talking to our politicians lately. I once sat down with Mayor Stanley in regards to an incident in my grandmothers neighborhood. After I was sent in circles for about A month I realized that when a politician does not want to solve your problem, they have ways of passing the blame into infinity. But that will be another post. I was curious to find out other peoples experiences with the Land Bank and opinions of course. It would not matter if I went to Dan Kildee now, the house is in shambles and my grandmother would not want it, nor would anyone else. It is just A shame that these are the choices we have made, by electing politicians instead of people. Why is that anyways? We elect career politicians who only serve up platitudes and promises but never solve our problems. I often wonder what we have been thinking, as we exercise our right to vote. Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:38 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote last time here Guest well cory, i'm sorry for your grandmother's predicament. i never assume all politicians are useless feeders from the public trough. some of them actually do care. again, sorry to hear your granny's story. Embarassed _________________ Guest post Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:00 pm Reply with quote Cory M Lorincz F L I N T O I D I agree, not all politicians are bad but unfortunatly most the ones I have met are far from what I expected. I have not personally met Mr. Kildee and was basing my opinion on the majority, more than any particular individual. You are correct we do have some really good ones. I was refrencing what may be considered A career politician and we have plenty of those as well. Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:09 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote Tegan F L I N T O I D Its shame that the land bank didn't sell the house to your grandmother. I know that comment doesn't lend much to the conversation. I think that the city and the land bank should shift most of their focus away from demolition and towards getting more properties back on the tax rolls. While demo might initially solve a drug house problem, demolition RARELY does ANYTHING to revitalize a neighborhood. Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 5:29 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote Cory M Lorincz F L I N T O I D I think they are trying to slowly phase out neighborhoods till all houses are gone. Then maybe they will rebuild. Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:37 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote Ryan Eashoo F L I N T O I D Sometimes I think the demolitions are warranted, but others times its not. _________________ Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com Post Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:59 pm View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website Reply with quote Dave Starr F L I N T O I D There are 4 houses on the street I grew up on that have been empty for over 12 years. They're boarded, but the back doors have been kicked open. Inside, they're a mess.; plumbing gone, plaster falling, roofs rotting, totally beyond salvaging. Our son lives in the house I grew up in, right across from 3 of the houses and next to the other one. He calls and calls and calls; inspectors come out & look, nothing happens. He's at the point where he doesn't think anything will be done until they either get burned or totally collapse. _________________ Post Thu Dec 13, 2007 9:26 am Sun Apr 26, 2015 2:57 pm  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: career alliance last time here Guest i see ms.loving is sueing career alliance for $150,000.00 in back wages. i also saw where she accepted a quote of $145,000.00 for a phone system that didn't work (from her son). ouch!!! i'd offer her $5,000.00 cash and a ticket out of town. every time some self important boob decides to stash cash, it's only those who really need it that end up being hurt. Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad Crying or Very sad on second thought. if she's paid 150 g to do a job and she doesn't do that job, by the description of her duties, she does not qualify to receive the 150...AND, she and her son owe career alliance 145 gs. yeah, thats it!!!!!!!!! Mad Mad Evil or Very Mad Evil or Very Mad _________________ Guest post Post Mon Dec 03, 2007 11:12 pm Reply with quote Dave Starr F L I N T O I D Hopefully, she'll be offered a warrant. Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:02 pm  untanglingwebs El Supremo FlintTalk.com Forum Index > Political Talk Topic: Accusations of absentee ballot fraud arise Steve Myers Site Admin Problems arise in Flint's First Ward By Taryn Asher FLINT (WJRT) - (02/15/07)--With less than two weeks until Election Day, there are accusations of absentee ballot fraud in Flint's First Ward. There is now an investigation into the recall election against Flint City Council President Darryl Buchanan. Authorities won't comment on the specific allegations, but we've learned a number of people have complained about someone soliciting at a senior center in Flint's First Ward. The suspect is accused of asking seniors to sign their envelope and hand over the unmarked ballot. "The type of people who work for me have a clean slate," Buchanan said. It's been learned the city clerk's office has also received several other complaints of solicitation; those complaints are now in the hands of local and state authorities. Someone is allegedly trying to convince seniors to authorize and hand over their absentee ballots so they can vote for them. "No one in the Buchanan camp is taking people's ballots," Buchanan said. Buchanan says he feels the group Enough is Enough -- led by political activist Eric Mayes, which spearheaded the recall effort against him -- is crossing the line. "A lady called me and said a member of the Enough is Enough committee is calling her and asking her what she's doing with her ballot," Buchanan said. "She says, 'Ma'am, my ballot is private. Don't call me.'" After that phone call and a letter written and circulated by the recall group, Buchanan filed a complaint with the Genesee County Elections Office. "We don't want anyone trying to intimidate individuals who are trying to vote absentee," Buchanan said. Mayes, who is part of the recall effort, didn't return phone calls. It's important to note that ballot solicitation is considered a felony. The recall election for Buchanan is set for Feb. 27. http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=5038701 _________________ Steve Myers Post Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:16 am Ryan Eashoo F L I N T O I D Lets hope this proves to be wrong _________________ Flint Michigan Resident, Tax Payer, Flint Nutt - Local REALTOR - Activist. www.FlintTown.com Post Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:16 am Guest This is not the first time Mays has defrauded absentee ballots. Sooner or later he will be caught! Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:06 pm  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: Flint Mayor accused of campaign finance violations Do over!? Steve Myers Site Admin Mayor accused of campaign finance violations Posted by mraymer June 28, 2007 17:19PM Categories: Breaking News, Flint, Politics FLINT -- Armed with more photos and documentation, mayoral critics are again asking the Secretary of State to investigate Mayor Don Williamson for alleged campaign finance violations. The main complaint is about what they consider corporate contributions to Williamson's re-election campaign because at least one of the trucks bears a dealership license plate. Similar complaints previously have been registered in connection with political campaigns by Williamson and his wife, Patsy Lou. Joe Conroy, a mayoral aide, unilaterally dismissed the accusations. "He knows the rules and he follows him. It's just not true," Conroy said. "The mayor is following the rules on election law." Conroy said Williamson hires a private attorney to ensure he follows the law to a T. Three candidates opposing Williamson -- Norm Bryant, Dayne Walling and Dale Weighill -- also jointly attended a press conference Thursday at City Hall on the issue, an unusual collaboration for candidates just weeks from the August primary. The demand for action by the Secretary of State comes just one week after the office announced the dismissal of most accusations of campaign finance violations. However, the investigation into previously alleged corporate contributions is ongoing. Frequent mayoral critic Kate Fields provided the media with documentation showing that at least one truck that was the source of complaints during Patsy Lou Williamson's Senate campaign last year is being used now by Don Williamson's campaign. "The same things are being continued in this campaign," Fields said. The mayor's opponents said it is important for the integrity of the Democratic process for the accusations to be properly investigated. All three also signed a letter being sent to the Secretary of State demanding action. http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2007/06/mayor_accused_of_campaign_fina.html _________________ Steve Myers Post Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:23 pm Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:18 pm  untanglingwebs El Supremo Topic: Ananich wants community outrage 00SL2 F L I N T O I D Ananich wants community outrage. ABC-12 11 o'clock news. Ananich wants community outrage for the mayor "spending over 5 million dollars in emergency funds." Well, part of the outrage is that he is among the city council members that suggested the mayor should just do that while they're arguing about whether they have a budget. Ananich is a puppet of Scott Kincaid, and the greatest outrage is that citizens of this city have to suffer for the childish behavior of city council which is refusing to take care of any business until they get what they want from the mayor. As Bob Leonard put it, that's extortion! Also childish and immature. Whatever happened to the independent legal opinion city council was to have sought several times in an effort to prove they were right and the mayor's wrong about whether they have a budget or not. They have a budget, and they need to start acting responsibly--it's too bad this primary election doesn't include recall petitions for most of the city council members who are not serving the best interests of this community! They go to meetings and sit and argue and do nothing positive. We stand to lose very important grants for their ignorance and incompetence. I say to city council, get a grip, act responsibly and take care of business. We have a budget, I don't care if you like the mayor or not. If you don't believe you have a budget stop wasting time and produce the "opinion" you said you were going to get months ago. You're procrastinating so you can erroneously blame the mayor for problems that are compounding by your failure to act. Sounds to me like we have enough on city council to file recall petitions on every one of them who refuses to take care of city business. If they were employed by private business and behaved this way they'd be fired. Yes, I'm outraged! There you have it, Mr.Ananich. Post Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:32 pm View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D WOW, Are you for real? Jim a Puppet of Scott? I shouldn't even respond this. But the blindness of your words demands someone to make some sense! Council in effect is doing exactly what the Judge ordered! That they settle their differences politically! Well DUH!!! This is how things are settled politically. Thus the reason it sucks that the judge lacks any back bone to make a ruling for or against! Then he does his best imitation of Elmer Fudd and tells Don numerous times that he needs to comply with the findings of the civil service commission because the judge "Rweelly rweelly means it!" You sit there and say that they have a budget and they should follow it. With no mention about the FACT that Don is overspending in the very areas he "VETEOD" in the budget! Talk about childish. I'm glad I run into more people you think logically. And can see through what the don has simple minded people believing. You might try starting with adding 2+2 and go from there. Hint. It equals 4. Post Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:30 pm 00SL2 F L I N T O I D QUESTIONS: What lawyer has been requested to provide an independent legal opinion on whether Williamson can veto part of the budget and when was the request made? Did council already receive and disagree with such an opinion, therefore, have submitted budget information to the state hoping for a different response? Who in the "state" was the info sent to, and when? Citizens of this city deserve answers now, before Tuesday! * * * And if the ultimate goal of City Council is for another State takeover, that would be more productive than what is occurring now. Certain members of city council are deliberately withholding resolutions and approval of expenditures because they feel they don't have a budget, holding it over the mayor's head so he has no choice but to use emergency funds to pay the bills, and then they accuse him of wrongdoing because he is forced to do so. This is political manipulation, not responsible financial management. Back in January, even Councilman Ehren Gonzales said, "I don't think you can justify taking a salary (if the council refuses take action)," Gonzales said. "Putting politics before people is wrong." Why does Ananich believe a budget must be in place in order to pass a resolution to apply for a grant for road improvement funds? * * * From the Flint Journal: Tuesday, June 05, 2007: Flint Council dips into savings to set budget, by Marjory Raymer. In a 5-4 vote, the Flint City Council passed a budget Monday for next year with $2 million more in general fund expenditures than proposed by Mayor Don Williamson. The mayor has one week to review and veto the budget, if he so chooses. It would take two-thirds of the City Council - six votes - to override his veto. June 13, 2007: Flint council fails to override mayor's budget veto, posted by Marjory Raymer. Flint City Council failed to override Mayor Don Williamson's veto...on a 5-2 vote. It needed a two-thirds majority of the Council, or six votes, to pass. * * * In a similar 5-2 vote, Council members approved a resolution calling for an independent legal opinion on whether Williamson could veto part of the budget. * * * Saying there is no budget in place, a majority of the City Council members refused to pass any expenditures from next year's budget in their last meeting. Saturday, June 30, 2007: City services will remain; Despite budget fight, all sides agree, by Marjory Raymer. "It is important for us to work together to get this resolved by July 1," said Councilman Jim Ananich, chairman of the Finance Committee. "I just want to make sure we're in compliance with state law." Based on state law, the city's 2007-08 fiscal year starts Sunday. * * * City Attorney Trachelle Young cited a section of the City Charter which states, in part, that "the mayor may veto any amendment to the budget" to support their argument. The charter does not say the mayor must veto the entire budget, Young said. * * * Williamson vetoed some, but not all, of the expenses added to his proposed budget by the council, as well as the form of the budget, which council made into a specific line-item budget instead of a more general departmental document. * * * Some City Council members, including Ananich and Council Vice President Sheldon Neeley, said a partial veto is not possible, so no budget exists. * * * City Council unanimously voted earlier this week to request an outside attorney for an independent opinion on the issue. * * * Without a new budget agreement, Neeley said, "we'll all become outlaws" and said he was worried that the lack of a budget could lead to another state takeover. Both sides agreed, though, that city services would continue despite the dispute. "It's a constitutional crisis, not a service crisis," Ananich said. Tuesday, July 10, 2007, Flint City Council balks on '08 budget items, by Lindsey Poisson. Flint City Council's latest position in the budget standoff with Mayor Don Williamson stands at this: "Two weeks." That's how long 2008 budget items will be postponed before council addresses them. The Finance Committee unanimously held nearly all budget items late Monday afternoon. The earliest those items could be approved is at the July 23 council meeting. * * * That resistance is meant to send a message through government officials who have "the ear to the mayor," said Councilman Scott Kincaid. "The bottom line is this: We believe there's no budget for the city of Flint, and the mayor wants to go on spending, spending and spending," he said. "If you (the mayor) don't want to work with the council, then that's fine. Go out and do what you want to do on your own, but if it takes our support, you're not going to get it.' * * * But council's decision is wasting "precious dollars" - including a nearly $7-million grant for road improvements, mayoral aide Joe Conroy said. "That's inappropriate, and it's a bad way to run the city," he said. "They have to approve it in order for us to get it." * * * Approving a request to apply for the grant Monday was "not critical," Flint Transportation Director Bill Ayre said. He was able to confirm for the council that the deadline for grant applications is after the July 23 meeting. "In the not-too-distant future, they will have to approve that or we'll lose that money," he said. * * * They sent the city's budget information to the state and are waiting to hear if the city currently is operating lawfully, Councilman Sheldon Neeley said. "Our single most important responsibility as a council is to oversee the treasury of this city," Neeley said. "Until that time, we are holding true to our responsibility and not spending any of the city of Flint's money." * * * "Their response was to sort of taunt us by saying, 'We have a budget, we don't care what you say,'" said Jim Ananich, chairman of the Finance Committee. "If we believe we don't have a budget, then we shouldn't pass any resolutions. "We can't operate without one, and I'm prepared to postpone until we have one." * * * Post Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:07 pm Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:27 pm    Display posts from previous:   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First

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