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Steve Myers
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Two weeks after former Flint Mayor Woodrow Stanley returned to political office as a member of the county Board of Commissioners, he has ignited a war of words with Mayor Don Williamson.
Without mentioning Williamson by name, Stanley told fellow county commissioners Wednesday he was frustrated and outraged by the time it's taking the city to pay for programs the county runs for the poor in Flint.
"If it's head-knocking time, then it's head-knocking time," Stanley said.
Williamson said Stanley needs to look in the mirror if he wants to see who is responsible for a financial mess in City Hall, including a bureaucracy that paid bills without knowing whether the work had been done properly.
Williamson called Stanley an idiot, the second time since taking control of the city in July that he used that word for a county commissioner.
"This is a Stanley mess ... we're trying to straighten out," Williamson said. "I hope Stanley realizes how bad he treated the people of this city."
He called Commissioner Rose Bogardus, D-Davison, a "stumbling, bumbling idiot" when she criticized him over the same funding issue last summer.
Stanley, sworn in as a Democratic county commissioner from Flint on Jan. 4, told the county board that he's already worried and frustrated waiting for the city to write checks for housing rehabilitation and for several programs for the poor. The latter includes a program to provide free summer lunches for children.
"I can't just sit by and say, 'I hope this gets worked out,' '' Stanley said. "I'm getting something out of my system. I'll feel much better once this thing is resolved."
The Flint Journal could not immediately reach Stanley after Wednesday's committee meeting, where he said the slow payments would harm "poor folks, most of whom have little political clout."
Williamson made his remarks about Stanley in a telephone interview with The Journal after being told of the ex-mayor's comments.
The two men have a colorful history of verbal clashes, but Stanley has said, as a county commissioner, he could work with Williamson to help advance Flint. Stanley twice defeated Williamson in sometimes-rough mayoral elections.
The newest battle comes weeks after Williamson announced he would pay invoices for rehabilitation work done in Flint. About $475,000 remains unpaid, however, and county officials said they also are still waiting for $175,000 Williamson committed to give the county to run food and other programs for the poor.
County officials have said the money is crucial because it can be leveraged with state and federal money to pay for $2.7 million in services.
Steve Walker, executive director of the county Community Action Resource Department, said city employees are cooperating with his office to free up money for home rehabilitation, but it's taking time.
Walker said he hopes city inspectors can certify all work by Jan. 31 because Flint officials are holding up payment of the $175,000 until the housing rehabilitation issues have been resolved.
Flint Governmental Operations Director Joe Conroy said he met with Walker and others last week, devising a plan to have city inspectors and county employees visit each house that received a rehab to be certain work was done.
"We just can't pay if the improvement hasn't been made," Conroy said. "I agreed we were going to pay, but not until the work gets done."
Walker said the county, which has borrowed from emergency funds to keep up services, is within weeks of running into financial problems with some programs.
Full Story:
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-26/1106238117131630.xml |
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Fri Jan 21, 2005 9:14 am |
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