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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The October edition of the East Village News has an excellent article written by Nic Custer regarding the Flint Police millage.
The College Cultural Neighborhood Association had a meeting on September 20th which included a discussion of the proposed millage.
Key Points:
Brown included a 55.5 % of the general fund budget to be designated for public safety. Kurtz just made that an ordinance, however some arue this is merely Brown pretending to be Kurtz. The ads for the millage focus on this ordinance.
There will be a decline in police officers regardless of the millage passage or failure.
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Walling stated the C. S. Mott grant, which pays for 11 officers, will expire on Jan 1 and those officers will be laid off.
The millage will pay for 10 officers for 2 years only. The current level of staffing for both officers and their civilian staff is 233 employees. In years three through five of the millage, that number would decrease to 218.
Walling projected a 67 employee cut without the millage. |
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Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:50 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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If I read this article correctly, or if Walling dscribed it accurately, there will be a net loss of one officer for the first two years, followed by another loss of at least 15 employees.
So the question in my mind is whether the millage is supplementing other spending? How wil the income generated by the millage going to be be counted in reaching the 55.5 % of the general fund. (I understand from some sources the 55.5% general fund expenditure was already reduced from previous years. |
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Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:59 am |
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Bossman
F L I N T O I D
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| Kurtz's ordinance is crap. If he wanted to ensure a yes vote on the millage he could create a minimum staffing level that would be adhered to if it passed. For example, currently the department is at around 120 members(chief or two on down). If the millage passed he could create a minimum staffing level of say 140 or 150. Then the people could see that there would be a bonafide increase in police presence as a result of the passage. More shell games from the city "leaders". |
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Tue Oct 30, 2012 7:52 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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WHY DID STOKES MOVE HIS MINISTRY OUT OF FLINT IF HE IS SO PRO-FLINT?
Flint City Council members believe residents were misled on public safety millage
By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
on November 13, 2012 at 5:00 PM, updated November 13, 2012 at 5:05 PM
FLINT, MI -- Some Flint City Council members said they believe residents were misled about the public safety millage passed by voters this month.
"There is a misconception that our city is getting ready to be flooded with officers," Councilwoman Jackie Poplar said. "There will not be a flood of police officers this year or next year."
Officials with emergency financial manager Ed Kurtz's office say the five-year, 6-mill property tax increase will generate $5.3 million in its first year for police and fire services in Flint.
The millage is intended to stabilize public safety funding, which currently includes several grants that are set to expire over the next few years without any guarantee they'll be renewed, Kurtz said.
The plan circulated by the administration before the election anticipated that 10 officers would be added with the millage over the next two years, but a projected decrease in property values would eventually lead to staff cuts without additional funding.
"The community is expecting one thing but the reality is totally different," Councilman Delrico Loyd said.
Kurtz said some of the millage money will be put in escrow to help pay for 39 firefighters who are currently funded with a federal grant that will expire in 2014. A total of about 55 public safety positions are currently grant funded.
"Our plan from the beginning was to sustain and maintain the public safety force," said Kurtz, saying the city can't "spend it all now and worry about tomorrow later."
"That's the kind of behavior that got the city in the financial situation that it's in now," Kurtz said.
But Flint Council President Scott Kincaid said he doesn't believe the state will allow Flint to set aside any of the millage money for future years if the city has a deficit. Officials have said they expect the fiscal year 2012 deficit to be about $16 million.
"The state will not allow this community to have a rainy day fund if its in a deficit," Kincaid said.
There are currently about 120 police officers in the department. There have been some retirements within the department in recent months. Those positions would be refilled, and the additional 10 officers will be hired on top of that, a city spokesman said Tuesday, Nov. 13.
The Rev. Timothy Stokes, who was the chair of the Yes to to Police and Fire Protection committee, said supporters were always up front with the millage.
"It was very clear. They were presented a plan," said Stokes. "It's also on the city's website. It's been there for months."
Stokes said the city could hire 50 officers, but would lay them off in six months because declining property values and the potential for grants not being renewed.
Council members are just using the millage as a platform to voice their displeasures over the emergency manager, Stokes said.
"They are trying to make something out of nothing," he said. "I think we've been very forward."
Flint resident Milton Tucker asked council members to make sure the money is well spent.
"We might get maybe 10 police in the next two years and the rest put in a rainy day fund," he said. "It's raining in Flint and we need all the help we can get."
Flint Police Officers Union President Kevin Smith said the lack of clarity with the millage is why his union stayed neutral.
"I'd say that with the millage passing, we should be getting more than 10 officers," said Smith.
Staff writer David Harris contributed to this report. |
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Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:54 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint Emergency Financial Manager Ed Kurtz reiterates that city's public safety plan is 'most responsible'
By David Harris | dharris5@mlive.com
on November 14, 2012 at 5:00 PM, updated November 14, 2012 at 6:05 PM
FLINT, MI – Emergency Financial Manager Ed Kurtz on Wednesday, Nov. 14, scoffed at the notion that 30 to 50 police officers should be immediately hired in the wake of the passage of the public safety millage, calling it "short-sighted and irresponsible."
Kurtz made the comments two days after some Flint city council members said residents had told them they had felt misled because they thought numerous police officers would be hired.
Kevin Smith, Flint police officers union, said he'd like to see 50 officers hired, while City Council President Scott Kincaid said he'd like to see 30 more officers on the streets.
"Our plan has been the same since the beginning," said Kurtz, saying that the millage was intended to stabilize the police and fire departments and hire an additional 10 police officers. "To me (hiring 30 to 50 officers) is very short-sighted and irresponsible."
City leaders handed out a chart with four public safety staffing possibilities. With the new millage, staffing will be about 240 police officers and firefighters in the fiscal year ending in 2013.
One, which Kurtz dubbed the "Kincaid plan," showed there would be an immediate increase in staffing to about 280 public safety personnel for 2013. But city officials say that number would take a nosedive to fall below 200 in five years after a drop in property values and loss of grants.
Kurtz said the Kincaid plan was the kind of thinking that got the city in trouble in the first place.
"If I had to win an election that's what I would want, but that's not the responsible plan," Kurtz said of the Kincaid plan.
Kincaid said on Wednesday that there is "no such thing as the Kincaid plan" and said the city's plan is based on "a lot of ifs."
The city currently receives about $5 million in public safety grants, the biggest of which is the fire department's SAFER grant that funds 39 firefighters and expires in the summer of 2014. Kurtz said he believes the grant will not be renewed to its full capacity so it is saving about $2 million to offset those costs when it will expire.
Kincaid said he'd rather see the money be spent up front as it comes in.
"That's two years away," Kincaid said. "I want to know what their plan is. What are you guys doing to stop property values from declining, what are you going to do to fight crime? I think residents expected something this year and not in 2014."
After the grant runs out, the city is expected to lose about 25 people. City officials couldn't say for sure from which department the cuts would come from.
The city also is pushing for a 50 percent income tax increase. For that to happen, the state legislature would need to approve it along with a vote of the people. If that would occur, public safety staffing would stay above 250, the city said.
Chief Alvern Lock said he is on board with the Kurtz plan.
"I would like to see 50 officers too, but that's not realistic," he said. "We can't spend all the money on the police department and ignore the fire department. That's not only unfair to the residents, but it's also not fair to the officers we hire."
Kincaid said he doesn't understand why there are "two police chiefs," referring to Lock and Public Safety Director Barnett Jones and what the plan is to do to combat crime.
"Scott Kincaid has never been asked to put a public safety plan together," Kincaid said.
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Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:58 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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| How many of those grants required Flint to maintain the same level of personnel for "x" number of years beyond the period of the grant? That's where part of the new millage will go--just to maintain staffing levels. |
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Thu Nov 15, 2012 7:11 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Individuals who were lobbied by the Yes group state they were told they would get more officers. This millage cuts staff after 2 years/ I was told the millage was on line, but I never found it. |
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Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:16 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
untanglingwebs schreef:
Individuals who were lobbied by the Yes group state they were told they would get more officers. This millage cuts staff after 2 years/ I was told the millage was on line, but I never found it.
References to the proposed millage are made in the EFM documents on this link:
http://www.cityofflint.com/FinancialMgr/EM_reports.asp
Millage Proposal Language
http://www.gc4me.com/departments/county_clerks1/docs/2012NovProposals.pdf
From the CITY OF FLINT PROPOSALS:
Shall the Charter of the City of Flint be amended to authorize the City to levy an additional tax on real and personal property in an amount not to exceed six (6.0) mills for five (5) years, for fiscal years beginning on July 1, 2012 through July 1, 2016, for the sole purpose of providing police and fire protection? It is estimated that six (6.00) mills would raise approximately $5,383,924 in the first year.
___________________
The proposal language doesn't provide for the number of police or fire staffing to be covered. Nor does it mention the expiring grants. Some of the previous grants (I don't have them handy for reference) required the city to maintain the staffing levels the grant provided, beyond the expiration period of the grant for a specified number of years. I believe one of the reports on the EFM page states the city only has enough (not counting grants) to fund 59 officers (not taking into account the new millage). Take it from there.
Millage proposals rarely provide enough information for anyone to make an intelligent decision at the polls, and frequently are so ambiguous as to make one vote in the opposite direction one would have intended. |
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Fri Nov 16, 2012 8:50 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The critics of the proposal were chastized for not knowing the specifics which were said to be on line.
No where on line did it tell the public that 10 officers would be hired/rehired for 2 years only and then the number of officer/civilians reduced to 218.
The East Village News published more details than I saw anywhere else. Some central city groups received the details, while many north end groups did not. I have been told that supporters of the millage gave their signs back to the YES support group and called them liars as they state the YES group mis informed them.
People want to know what they are voting for and not feel betrayed-by the politicians and the media. |
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Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:23 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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I listened to Sheldon Neeley on 1420 am this morning. It seems the public safety millage is retroactive to July 1 and will be on our winter taxes. We get 10 officers for the expected $5.3 million return. And then for only 2 years.
Sheldon told those who felt they were misled to confront the millage support group. Several of my friends in the north end told the door-to-door millage supported to take their lies out of the neighborhood and stop promising 30 to 40 officers.
Neeley also reminded residents to demand these officers patrol the heavy crime areas and not the downtown areas. |
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Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:01 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| Retroactive to July 1, just a minor detail they forgot to tell us. I get the feeling the millage is to pay for officers downtown so Mott doesn't have to fund them. Possibly Kettering as well. Hopefully enough will be put aside to pay the fire fighters currently paid by the SAFER grant, since they must be retained for 2 years after the grant expires or we have to repay the grant. |
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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. |
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Sat Nov 17, 2012 2:21 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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quote:
Dave Starr schreef:
Retroactive to July 1, just a minor detail they forgot to tell us.
All they had to do was read before voting: "Shall the Charter of the City of Flint be amended to authorize the City to levy an additional tax on real and personal property in an amount not to exceed six (6.0) mills for five (5) years, for fiscal years
beginning on July 1, 2012 through July 1, 2016,
for the sole purpose of providing police and fire protection? It is estimated that six (6.00) mills would raise approximately $5,383,924 in the first year."
quote:
Dave Starr schreef:
I get the feeling the millage is to pay for officers downtown so Mott doesn't have to fund them. Possibly Kettering as well. Hopefully enough will be put aside to pay the fire fighters currently paid by the SAFER grant, since they must be retained for 2 years after the grant expires or we have to repay the grant.
I agree it has to do with covering expiring grants. |
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Sun Nov 18, 2012 1:52 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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2012 EM477
adopted 8/7/12
BY THE EMERGENCY MANAGER:
RESOLUTION APPROVING ENTERING INTO A GRANT AGREEMENT
WITH THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY AND
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
The City of Flint Grant Writing Team of Carrie Edwards, Raymond Barton, Patrick Brady and
Elizabeth Murphy made application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the
Department of Human Services (DHS) on behalf of the City of Flint, to obtain grant funds to be used to fund the reinstate 39 firefighter positions; and,
The City of Flint Fire Department has been notified that its SAFER grant application has been awarded funding through FEMA and DHS for a two (2) year period beginning June 10, 2012, and concluding June 9, 2014, inclusive, in the amount of $6,900,270.00; and
Under the parameters of the Federal SAFER grant, the Grantee (City of Flint) is required to maintain staffing levels held at the time of application; that being, 85 fire suppression personnel; and
The City of Flint Fire Department has been notified by FEMA and DHS that it will receive
$6,900,270.00 in federal funding. These funds shall be expended as follows:
Salary and Wages for the two year period = $3,983,538.00
Fringe Benefits for the two year period = $2,916,732.00
Further, this grant shall be recognized as revenue in line item 297-338.710-530.000.
IT IS RESOLVED that the Emergency Manager, on behalf of the City of Flint, authorizes entry into a grant agreement with FEMA and DIN for a two (2) year period beginning June 10, 2012, and concluding June 9, 2014, inclusive, in the amount of $6,900,270.00 and is authorized to set up
appropriate revenue and expense accounts to be used for the purposes stated above. The grant funds shall be recognized as revenue in line item 297-338.710-530.000.
:
RESOLUTION STAFF REVIEW
DATE:
August 1, 2012
Agenda Item Title:
Resolution approving entering into a grant agreement with the Federal Emergency
Management Agency and the Department of Human Services.
prepared By:
Lt. Carrie Edwards, EMS—S
BackgroundiSummary of Proposed Action:
The City of Flint is being awarded a SAFER Grant in the amount of $6,900,270.00
for the purpose of reinstating 39 fire fighter positions.
Financial Implications: |
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Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:34 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The grant allegedly began in June but was not approved by Kurtz until August.
Under this grant, Flint receives about $3 million 450 thousand for 2 years. Citizens get 10 officers for those 2 years and then they lose them and have lay offs in the police department.
Police need to get busy and write their own grants! The millage is expected to raise over $5 million per year. So how is the money being spent in the first 2 years? |
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Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:38 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Letter: Flint voters approved the extra millage for the protection, not to put the money away for later
Published: Thursday, December 06, 2012, 5:45 PM Updated: Thursday, December 06, 2012, 5:46 PM
By Community Voice | Flint Journal Letters
Seriously Mr. Kurtz, you think Flint only needs ten more policemen and you need to put the remaining money "away" for an emergency for later?
Will we even know where the money is a year from now?
That is not why the good people of Flint voted to pay the extra millage. It was for the protection. If you think it's so safe in Flint, I challenge you to walk around the city side streets at night, unarmed, alone.
GAYLE FISK/Flushing
Check out more Flint Journal Opinion pieces and letters at www.mlive.com/opinion/flint |
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Fri Dec 07, 2012 2:10 pm |
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