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terrybankert
F L I N T O I D
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Ombudsman office’s up to voters [the council picks a low turnout special election to kill the office]
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITIONTuesday, November 29, 2005
By Kristin Longleyklongley@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6249 http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1133279586308770.xml&coll=5
FLINT CITIZEN- By: Terry Bankert a conversation with Kristin
[Comments of Terry Bankert are in brackets-trb ]
FLINT - Voters will determine whether the city ombudsman's office will stay or go come February.
[ The Flint City Council has picked a low turnout election to place the anti Ombudsman proposal on the February 2006 ballot to guarantee the demise of the office. Some will say that by picking a millage election, in the middle of winter with the community having little time to listen to supporters of the office, the Ombudsman will soon be a footnote in Flint history.-trb]
The unanimous theme at Monday's City Council meeting was "let the voters decide" if the troubled office, an outlet for residents' complaints on city services, is needed.
[These political professionals have organized a sure failure election without subjecting themselves to real public debate on the office. -trb]
Council members voted to put a proposal on the February ballot.
Ombudsman Jessie Binion's contract, which can't be renewed, expires in January.
Some council members and residents said the office, which costs about $200,000 a year, is no longer effective after budget cuts and Binion took an extended sick leave that lasted four years. Her absence led to the office's closure for more than a year at one point.
[These points cannot be denied.-trb]
Ernest Coleman, president of the Evergreen Estates Neighborhood Association, said it has been more than a month since he wrote a letter to the ombudsman's office with complaints about city maintenance.
"I never got any response to telephone calls or the letter sent to Binion," he said. "Not a post card - nothing."
Resident Adam Ford said he never knew there is an ombudsman's office and questioned why such an office would exist.
"Why not call the mayor's office or my councilman?" he said.
[The point is to have an Ombudsman when the Mayor and council faile to respond to citizen needs.-trb]
But resident Chris Del Morone said the office was set up for failure, so it shouldn't be eliminated before strategic changes can be made to make it more effective.
"There's a lot of ways to save money without completely eliminating something," he said.
Even though council members were at odds over whether the office is needed, all agreed that the issue should be decided by the voters.
Council President Darryl E. Buchanan, a former ombudsman, favored the ballot proposal, even though he recently said he would oppose such a move. He said it has been too long since the issue has been put to the public for consideration.
[Sorry to see the council president switch. That must have been a hard decision.-trb]
***
The Flint Citizen is a publication of Attorney Terry R. Bankert of Flint Michigan USA. http://enewsblog.com/terrybankert/
attorneybankert@yahoo.com
Terry R. Bankert P.C., 1000 Beach St., Flint MI 48503 810.235.1970 fax 234-5080 |
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Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:22 am |
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rapunzel
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What the heck is an Ombudsman?
The current charge by the Flint powers that be is…Let the Voters Decide! I am all for informed voters deciding. Who will inform the voters? Most voters have no idea what the Ombudsman was supposed to have done. If this office had not been functioning for 2 or 4 years should not have changes been made? Should the current or the former City Council Persons have suggested these changes or suggested throwing the baby out with the bathwater?
Sec-3-503 Vacancy. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Ombudsman, the City Council shall, within sixty (60) days, fill the office for a seven (7) year term.
(This office was not actually vacant but might have well have been as the appointed officer was on extended sick leave). The office was actually closed for a period of time.
Sec. 3-504 JURISDICTION.
A. The Ombudsman may investigate official acts of any agency which aggrieve any person. The authority of the Ombudsman extends equally to all agencies.
B. The Ombudsman shall have no power to investigate any matter under the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission.
C. The Ombudsman, in accordance with Section 1-801 of this Charter, shall establish rules for receiving and processing complaints, conducting investigations and hearings, and reporting findings. No fee shall be levied for the filing or investigation of complaints.
Sec. 3-510 DUTY TO REPORT ILLEGAL ACTS.
If the Ombudsman has probable cause to believe that any elective officer, appointee, employee, or member of an agency, or any person doing or seeking to do business with an agency has committed or is committing any illegal act, the Ombudsman shall promptly refer the matter to the appropriate authorities,
From Sec 3-501 through 3- 517 shows the powers of Investigation and the Jurisdiction by the Ombudsman that you can view in the whole of the Charter on the City of Flint Website. Do we or do we not need a citizens watchdog in a functioning office?
Let the Informed Voters Decide! |
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Sat Jan 28, 2006 3:31 am |
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Ted Jankowski
F L I N T O I D
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| Well my grandmother sent in her absentee ballot for this proposal. She said she voted NO one both issues. Well I know of one vote for the Ombudsman so far. |
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Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:54 pm |
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Ted Jankowski
F L I N T O I D
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| Oh and yes the ballot was confusing. She wanted to vote NO on both. Meaning she didn't really want to actually vote for the Ombudsman. LOL Talk about backfiring on the anti Ombudsman people. LOL LOL |
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Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:56 pm |
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rapunzel
Guest
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Jerry, the language is confusing. It would almost be beneficial to the Office of the Ombudsman to not inform the voters that yes means no and No means yes. To late, we are already on a mission to properly inform voters.
It is better that they be rightly informed than law suits claiming misinformed voters.
There is a petition going round for raise in minimum wage that is not accurately stated on the top of the petition. Debbie Stabenow petition. |
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Thu Feb 02, 2006 5:10 am |
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