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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Why didn't Brown and his hand picked staff not know they could not assess these fees on governmental entities?
Proposed street light fee changed to $74 per parcel
Published: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 2:39 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 2:39 PM
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
Ryan Garza | MLive.comFlint resident Chris Del Morone gets up after making comments at a public hearing on the proposed street light assessment at Flint City Hall last month.
FLINT, MI -- Flint residents could be charged $74 this year for street light services, an increase from the $62 fee that residents were initially told they would have to pay.
Emergency manager Michael Brown's office announced the change today, saying the first estimated assessment was based on an incorrect number of parcels.
Parcels owned by governmental entities, such as the Genesee County Land Bank, are exempt from taxes under state law. After adjusting the number of taxed parcels to remove those governmental entities, the per-parcel fee was increased, officials said in a news release
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A public hearing on the street light fee will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the city council chambers on the third floor of Flint City Hall, 1101 S. Saginaw St.
After the hearing, Brown would have to order the special assessment onto the tax rolls for the fee to take effect.
The new street light fee is part of Brown's 2013 budget, which goes into effect July 1 and seeks to eliminate a projected $25 million deficit.
The budget also includes personnel reductions, employee wage and benefit concessions and a 25 percent water and sewer rate increase.
Kristin Longley can be reached at 810-429-5333. You can also follow her on Twitter @KristinLongley or subscribe on Facebook.
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Walling and Eason changed companies after Brown left the frst time. The Department of Energy (DOE) terminated the grant and a second onewhile demanding some repayment. Brown alleged hed had resolved the issue but the rumor is the DOE sent a rather nasty letter denying to renew the grant.
Flint officials outline tentative plans for $1.1 million energy grant
Published: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 1:20 PM Updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 5:00 PM
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
Editor's note: This story has been updated from an earlier version to include a correction.
FLINT, Michigan — The Flint City Council has approved tentative plans for how to spend a $1.1-million stimulus grant on energy efficiency improvements.
During a five-day energy summit last week, city officials and community leaders heard presentations from green experts on topics ranging from job creation to brownfield use to alternative fuels.
Now, city officials say they will take the best recommendations from the summit and turn them around to benefit Flint and its residents.
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling has said it's the city's first steps in embracing the green movement and becoming more modern. The city spends more than $2 million a year on electricity, and needs to save money in the face of looming budget cuts, he said/
The energy upgrades will be made possible through a $1,147,900 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The first $250,000 will go to Flint-based energy specialists Advanced Solutions Group, which organized the summit and will develop the final plan for the energy efficiencies.
Advanced Solutions is run by Kate Fields, formerly of the Greater Eastside Community Association. The nonprofit community development group led the way in building and rehabilitating energy-efficient homes in the city, Fields said.
Fields will also help implement a new energy Web site for the city.
The balance of the funds are tentatively planned in the following way, as provided in a spreadsheet at Monday's council meeting:
• $75,000 for the plan's administration, which is to be determined, officials said.
• $120,000 for revolving loan funds for homeowners to retrofit their homes for energy efficiency. The funds would provide 12 grants at $10,000 each
• $130,000 for revolving loan funds for recycling entrepreneurs.
• $50,000 to perform energy audits of 100 homes. The funds can also be leveraged with federal Community Development Block Grant funds.
• $125,000 to build automation program for IT and efficient lighting in City Hall.
• $15,000 for services and software to track greenhouse emissions by the city of Flint.
• $232,913 for professional services for city of Flint "All Waste Facility."
•
$150,000 toward project management and facilitation for four main projects: traffic and street light LED retrofit; city of Flint all waste facility; green purchasing policies; and Flint-Genesee energy coalition.
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Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:11 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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2011 EM 010
PRESENTED: 12/13/11
ADOPTED: 12/14/11
BY THE EMERGENCY MANAGER:
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING ENTERING INTO A RETAINER AGREEMENT
WITH RESOURCE RECYCLING SYSTEMS
On August 10, 2009, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded a three-year block grant
(SC-0001367) to the City of Flint for $1,147,900, as part of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009. With this grant award, the City of Flint was to prepare and submit a
strategy for the implementation of energy efficient programs and projects, delineating how these
flinds would be used. An implementation plan was prepared and accepted by the Department of
Energy (DOE); and
By letter dated July 29, 2011, DOE suspended the grant for 90 days under 10 CFR §~
600.25 and 600.243(a). By letter dated October 27, 2011, DOE issued a Notice of Termination
terminating the grant for cause effective October 28, 2011, subject to the City of Flint’s rights of
appeal; and
On December 2,2011, the DOE agreed to rescind the Notice of Termination and reinstate
the grant suspension until January 13, 2012. The DOE has afforded the City of Flint until
December 23, 2011, to submit a proposal (“Proposal”) for continuation of the grant. The
Proposal shall address the issues raised in the Notice of Termination, provide a viable plan and
it can terminate the grant subject to the City of Flint’s rights of appeal; and
Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), 416 Longshore Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48105, is
prepared to assist the City of Flint in all activities required to submit the Proposal to the DOE by
December 23, 2011; and
Funding for the retainer fee of $5,000.00, due upon execution of the EECBG — Grant
Compliance and Planning Retainer Agreement, shall be drawn from budget line item 677-
266.200-801.000, Professional Services.
IT IS RESOLVED, that the Emergency Manager shall, on behalf of the City of Flint,
enter into the attached EECBG — Grant Compliance and Planning Retainer Agreement with RRS,
justification for proceeding with the grant, explain the procedures the City of Flint has in place in
order to comply with the terms of the grant and submit a complete amendment package; and
The DOE has ffirther agreed to review and act on the Proposal by January 13, 2012. If
DOE accepts the Proposal, the grant shall be reinstated. If DOE declines to accept the Proposal,
with funding for the one time project start-up retainer fee of $5,000.00 being drawn from budget
line item 677-266.200-801.000, Professional Services. |
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Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:21 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Six months has passed since this resolution and a new contract for the DOE grant has not been issued. To me that is a good indicator that the appeal was not accepted.
Brown needs to be up front and tell us if the repayment is still being demanded. |
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Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:22 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint's $1.1-million energy grant terminated; City appealing energy department's decision
Published: Monday, November 14, 2011, 4:29 PM Updated: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 12:00 PM
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
FLINT, Michigan — The U.S. Department of Energy has terminated the city's $1.1 million energy efficiency grant for "serious mismanagement and misuse" of the funds, according to a letter from federal officials to Flint Mayor Dayne Walling.
The grant, currently under federal investigation, had been suspended, but has now been yanked and federal officials are demanding some of it be repaid, according to the Oct. 27 letter signed by contracting officer Judith Wilson.
The department concluded that of the $327,617 spent to date, that $214,991 has been questioned or unsupported, officials said.
"These funds must be refunded to the government within 30 days of the date of this letter," it says.
The city also failed to follow procurement standards for grant work, the letter says, including multiple conflicts of interest, lack of justification for choosing a contractor that wasn't the lowest bidder and "serious lack of attention to grant requirements and subcontractor management," the letter states.
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said the city is appealing the decision, and said he expects the final federal determination to change following the appeal.
He said the letter is being "treated as a legal matter," and declined to comment further.
City Attorney Peter Bade also declined to comment on the details of the letter, and issued a written statement.
"This is a pending legal matter that is being reviewed with the assistance of outside counsel," he said. "We are and have been fully cooperating with officials from the Department of Energy in an effort to resolve this matter." |
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Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:29 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Highlights of testimony from Flint City Council investigative hearing on grant spending
Published: Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 11:06 AM Updated: Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 11:32 AM
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
Follow
FLINT, Michigan -- The Flint City Council questioned five witnesses at Tuesday's investigative hearing on a $1.1 million energy grant that was terminated for "mismanagement" alleged by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Many of the questions were directed at Kate Fields, CEO of Advanced Solutions Group, which had a $250,000 consulting contract with the city for the $1.1 million energy grant.
The city is appealing the termination, and the demand that $214,000 of the grant be repaid. The termination of the grant led city council members to call the hearing.
The majority of the funds questioned by the department of energy are related to Advanced Solutions Group. Nearly $164,000 of the costs by Advanced Solutions Group and about $51,000 in costs by the city of Flint were identified by the department of energy to be unallowable, unsupported or unresolved, according to the letter
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In her testimony, Fields said the city of Flint did "next to nothing" to follow and implement the plan she wrote, which was approved by the department of energy. She also said she believed the city was spending grant funds on activities that had not been pre-approved by the feds.
As for the money she was paid, Fields said she has supporting documentation for all of her expenditures and doesn't know what costs the department is referring to in the letter because she hasn't spoken with the department of energy.
"I don't really know why in the termination letter they're making those allegations or statements," she said. "I would like to."
Council members asked Fields to submit her documentation for a later hearing.
Fields was paid nearly $250,000 to prepare an energy efficiency and conservation strategy, which was submitted to the department of energy in December 2009 and resulted in the city being awarded the balance of the $1.1 million grant in March 2010.
Fields was not the lowest bidder to submit a proposal to prepare the strategy, but said she believes she was the "lowest responsible bidder," which is the language used in federal regulations, she said. The Flint City Council approved her contract in September 2009, she said.
Council members questioned the funds Fields was paid in light of the allegations in the letter from the department of energy.
"If you were the most responsible bidder, it doesn't look that way," Councilman Bryant Nolden said.
Fields said the letter has inaccuracies.
"I don't think the city would have had any problems with this grant, if they'd simply implemented the projects," she said.
Council members also took testimony from the city's Green Coordinator Steve Montle, who said he was responsible for doing some administrative work on implementing the grant.
Montle and the city's grants manager, Tracy Atkinson, were among several employees paid for in part with funds from the grant, they testified.
Montle said none of the city's grant projects had been completed by the time the grant was suspended by federal investigators, but at least one was on its way to being done and several others were in the process.
Montle said he brought a recycling proposal that would have been grant funded to the council during the last year, but the council voted it down. Councilman Joshua Freeman said it was a deviation from the energy grant plan.
Atkinson, who oversaw implementation of the grant for the city, said she was surprised when the grant was suspended. She said her work on the grant had been "frustrating" because she wasn't able to get information she needed from city officials to submit reports on time to the department of energy.
Karen Morris, a former employee of the city, testified that she filed a complaint about potential grant violations in May 2010 with the city, which was later forwarded to the city's legal department. She said she also voiced her concerns to the department of energy.
Morris filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the city after she was fired Nov. 11.
Lastly, council members questioned City Attorney Peter Bade about the termination letter from the department of energy. Bade denied the existence of the Oct. 27 letter to Councilman Sheldon Neeley in a phone call last week.
Bade said the letter was confidential under attorney-client privilege because the city was appealing the energy department's findings. He said he released the letter soon after the conversation after reviewing the matter
.
Neeley, however, disagreed that the letter was confidential. Freeman said the letter should have been divulged.
"In my opinion, you lied to Councilman Neeley," Freeman said. "By doing that, you denied him his ability or us as a body our ability to perform our functions."
As the city attorney, Bade said he had an obligation to protect the city's legal position.
"I have certain legal duties," he said. "I have no problem as a lawyer protecting the confidences of my clients. |
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Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:39 pm |
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