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patclawson
F L I N T O I D
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Thanks to Channel 5 News for its report.....
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City Hall Shake-Up: Flint mayor announces personnel changes
Posted: Nov 11, 2011 4:41 PM EST
Updated: Nov 11, 2011 7:01 PM EST
By Tom Plahutnik, Web Editor/Producer - email
Flint Mayor Dayne Walling
FLINT, MI (WNEM) -
WNEM TV5 has learned Flint Mayor Dayne Walling has fired three people -- and accepted the resignation of another.
"I have come to the decision it is time for the city to pursue a new direction with respect to the operations of the Finance Department and the Department of Community and Economic Development," said Walling. "Effective at 5:00 p.m. today, the city's Finance Director and two DCED employees are relieved of their duties. Additionally, I have accepted the resignation of the Director of the Department of Community and Economic Development. There may be additional changes as part of the normal transition into a new term."
The moves come just days after Walling was re-elected as mayor, and the state announced the city was in a financial emergency.
Stay with WNEM.com and TV5 as we learn more details into this shake-up at Flint City Hall. |
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Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:16 pm |
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Dave Starr
F L I N T O I D
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| CYA time??? |
_________________
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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Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:28 pm |
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00SL2
F L I N T O I D
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The link for the original story is http://www.wnem.com/story/16020054/shake-up-flint-city-hall-announces-personnel-changes
My initial comment is that those personnel are simply a small token, scapegoats, and a way for Walling to get his name in print before the EFM arrives. He needs to fire the ones in charge of the fiascos perpetrated during his administration. And if Walling doesn't follow through first, you can bet the EFM will. |
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Fri Nov 11, 2011 8:21 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The day of the election I began hearing that Michael Townsend, Finance Director, had demanded orders in writing before he would sign the falsified financial reports. He allegedly had copies of all orders. That does not let him off the hook in my mind. He should have contacted the authorities. At least then he would have been protected as a whistleblower.
Karen Morris and Glenda Dunlap had hearings and were terminated this afternoon. Suzanne Wilcox was said to be ill so she did not have her hearing. Harassment led to Carol Freeman taking an early retirement.
Wendy Johnson may have been given the choice of resigning or being fired. She had told people she could not handle the job.
What I cannot believe is that the City would fire Morris in the middle of a Whistleblower lawsuit. Morris notified federal officials regarding the Department of Energy grant and the resultant Office of Inspector General and DOE investigation should make it apparent the federal government took it seriously.
GENESEE COUNTY JDF
P 001 MORRIS,KAREN, VS D 001 FLINT,CITY OF,
1101 S SAGINAW STREET
FLINT MI 48502
ATY:MAHONEY,MARY A. ATY:BADE,PETER M.,
P-41568 248-553-9400 P-47546 810-766-7146
SERVICE/ANS 01/04/11 ANS
D 002 EASON,GREGORY,,
C/O-FLINT,CITY OF,
1101 S SAGINAW STREET
FLINT MI 48502
ATY:BADE,PETER M.,
P-47546 810-766-7146
SERVICE/ANS 01/04/11 ANS
Also Morris, Dunlap and Wilcox filed Civil Service complaints against the City. Information coming out from the investigative hearings must have alarmed the City as the day of the last scheduled hearing, the City sought a court action to stay the proceedings.
The draw for Judge went to Judge Hayman, who recused himself, and then went to Judge Yuille. Yuille was on vacation and his altenates were Neithercutt and Hayman. Neithercutt refused to sign the order to stay the proceedings. Judge Farah then signed the stay and the Civil Service hearing was postponed pending the show cause hearing.
P 001 FLINT,CITY OF, VS D 001 FLINT CIVIL SERVICE,,
C/O-PARKER,EDWARD,L
1101 S SAGINAW ST
FLINT MI 48502
ATY:KENT,THOMAS L., ATY:ROBB,M. ALLEN,
P-55863 810-766-7146 P-33219 810-230-1415
DISPOSITION 11/07/11 DIS SCH
SERVICE/ANS 10/27/11 ANS
1 10/05/11 HAYMAN SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT FILED CLK SMD
RECEIPT# 00352993 AMT $150.00 COMPLAINT FOR SUPERINTENDING CLK FDA
CONTROL WITH REQUEST FOR CLK
IMMEDIATE ACTION PURSUANT TO CLK
MCR 3.301(E)(3)(b) FILED CLK
3 MISCELLANEOUS ORDER CLK FDA
REASSIGNING CASE (NEW LOA CLK
ORDER REASSIGNING JUDGE HAYMAN CLK
CIVIL TO JUDGE YUILLE) FILED CLK
4 YUILLE CASE REASSIGNMENT CLK FDA
FROM: HAYMAN,ARCHIE L., CLK
TO: YUILLE,RICHARD B., CLK
5 10/06/11 SET NEXT DATE FOR: 10/17/11 1:30 PM CLK DMR
SHOW CAUSE HEARING
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FILED CLK
6 D 001 RETURN OF SERVICE CLK FDA
FILED 10-7-11 (ACKNOWLEDGMENTOF SERVICE) CLK
7 10/17/11 SET NEXT DATE FOR: 11/07/11 1:30 PM CLK JLW
SHOW CAUSE HEARING
ADJ'D FROM 10/17/11 BY KENT. CLK
8 REMOVE NEXT EVENT: 10/17/11 1:30 PM CLK JLW
SHOW CAUSE HEARING
9 10/18/11 RESCHEDULED NOTICE OF HEARING CLK FDA
ON ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FILED CLK
10 PROOF OF SERVICE FILED CLK FDA
OF RESCHEDULED NOTICE OF CLK
HEARING ON SHOW CAUSE UPON CLK
ALL PARTIES ON 10-18-11 FILED CLK
11 10/20/11 CORRECTED PROOF OF SERVICE CLK MML
10/20/11 COPY OF RESCHEDULED CLK
NOTICE OF HEARING ON SHOW CLK
CAUSE ORDER TO ALLEN ROBB
10/27/11 D 001 ANSWER FILED CLK MML
ATTORNEY: P-33219 ROBB CLK
13 AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES FILED CLK MML
14 11/07/11 D 001 SHOW CAUSE HEARING CRT FDA
PROCEEDING DIGITALLY RECORDED CRT
DISMISSED CRT
PRESENT: ATTYS THOMAS KENT, CRT
MARY MAHONEY, AND M ALLEN CRT
ROBB. CRT
PLAINTIFFS REQUEST FOR CRT
SUPERINTENDING CONTROL. CRT
COURT DENIED REQUEST AND CRT
STAY DISMISSED. CASE CRT
DISMISSED.
CRT
15 ANSWER TO COMPLAINT FOR CLK FDA
SUPERINTENDING CONTROL FILED
Judge Yuille asked City Attorney Thomas Kent how Judge Farah was approached to sign the stay and kent responded that he "was told to find a Judge". He then told the Judge he would rather not go into details. Judge Yuille repeatedly stated on the record that he was bothered the City would go to another Judge after Neithercutt had denied the City request for a stay .
The City lost and the case was dismissed.
Now it appears the City is retaliating against the three women.
The next round of firings should be interesting!
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:45 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:02 pm |
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Adam
F L I N T O I D
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Pat I think you should change the title of this post. This could be a feeler to see if Walling could have the support to take some insane drastic measured to try and save our city.
suggestion: Dayne takes initial steps to potentially save Flint?
Webs do you support the takeover and elimination of our city government and voting rights? |
_________________
Adam
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Mysearchisover.com
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Jobs
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Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:17 pm |
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whiteknight
F L I N T O I D
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| You fire the employees in DCED who filed a lawsuit against Eason and only make their case stronger for a retaliation lawsuit? For all the talk about what Williamson did wrong, I sure do feel a case of Deja Vue. Some times I want to look behind the curtain and see who is pulling the strings. These are employees who were trained by HUD and know the rules and guidelines to PROTECT the city and follow the rules. So how much more is this going to cost us in attorney fees. The only ones making money in this town are the lawyers who are contracted to do the work of the city attorney. Am I the only one who thinks this is just Eason retaliating against employees who have the strength and integrity to do their job and try to protect the citizens from this ( insert your own choice words here)? |
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Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:54 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Former employee, Carol Freeman, was the victim of a constructive discharge. Greg Eason, Tracy Atkinson and Wendy Johnson harassed her to the extent that she waas told by her physician that she could not return to work. Tracy and Wendy denied her the right to have her union representantive during one particularly confrontive meeting. She took an expedited retirement .
Tracy Atkinson now has her job. . |
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Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:21 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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White Knight- Pete alleges he over heard Poplar bragging about her influence. Often it is Eason's signature where the mayor's should be on documents. This is from an M-live story on the takeover/
So who is the real power behind the Throne.
pete November 11, 2011 at 5:05PM
Don't worry about whose running things around Flint I over heard Donna Poplar bragging about how she has that man (Walling) downtown in her pocket. she said shes running things downtown and that she controls him like a puppet. Well, her whole family just about is working down there so she might be right.
Donna you asked for another chance and we gave you one, how could you help this man decieve us again? If we knew when we voted like we know now we would have voted for Buchanan. He at least told us the truth. You are a deceitful liar with no integrirty. En-light of what we know now I think we need a RECALL. I think I will puit it out there.
vagaholic November 11, 2011 at 6:57PM
Flint is long overdue for a charter revision that would replace our strong mayor form of government with a city manager. Then their would be performance evaluations and the city manager would need to do a good job or be fired. The expensive and politically motivated appointees would cease to exist. Speaking of appointees, why has Walling kept Steve, Greg, Dawn, and others when he must have known that the state was going to see the waste and nail him for it? |
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Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:29 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Channel 12 eliminated their best investigator, Cathy Shafran. She is a Professor teaching Journalism and has her own news Blog. When she tried to sell this story of the harassment claims at City Hall, they declined. Well they are on her blog, Shafran News Bureau.
Shafran discusses how Eason wields a great deal of decision making power in City Hall and that most department heads report to him.
A past employee interviewed by Shafran spoke of her fear of Eason and how she went to the Director of the Department. The threatening behavior allegedly escalated at staff meetings. Sje sid she was bullied, insulted screamed at and was forbidden to speak to her colleagues.
The Civil Service allegations filed by employees in the Department of Commiunity and Economic Development involves misuse of the merit System. They allege that seasoned employees were stripped of their supervisory positions and they were replaced by individuals who had no experience in HUD grants.
"I will hunt you down ! I will fire you!" was a common threat used by Eason said the interviewee in the investigative piece.
A "Violence in the workplace " complaint filed by the four empoyees to the City Attorney went unanswered.
Eason denies the abuse and states he was "only trying to root out problems" in DCED.
On May 5, 2010, a year before the FBI raided City Hall and before the Whistleblower lawsuit, staff wrote a letter to the administration detailing their concerns on the Department of Energy grant. After speaking to the Department of Energy about the grant, Karen Morris was given a 28 day unpaid suspension. Eason denied the allegation.
I don't believe that Channel 12 is interested in truth.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:42 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:31 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Hearing these stories reminds me of the story of Eason threatening Marcus Randolph in the Mayor's conference room. Credit Patrick Gerace for stopping what could have been a violent encounter. Allegedly Eason asked Randolph to do something that was a violation and Randolph offered an alternative action. I am told Eason became so angry that he became physically violent and abusive. The story rocked City hall and was everywhere.
At Career Alliance, Eason had sexual harassment and abuse charges against him. |
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Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:39 am |
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Adam
F L I N T O I D
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Sat Nov 12, 2011 12:48 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Finally- The Flint Journal got around to reporting the story. Is this what we have to look forward to with the proposed Journal changes?
City Hall shake-up: Flint Mayor Dayne Walling fires finance director, economic development staff
Published: Saturday, November 12, 2011, 2:57 PM Updated: Saturday, November 12, 2011, 3:01 PM
By Kristin Longley | Flint Journal
FLINT, Michigan -- Days after a state review panel declared Flint in a financial emergency, Flint Mayor Dayne Walling announced the firing of the city's finance director and two employees of the Department of Community and Economic Development.
Walling has also accepted the resignation of Wendy Johnson, director of the community and economic development department, he said Friday in a news release.
Finance Director Michael Townsend and the two DCED staff members, who were not named in the release, were "relieved of their duties" Friday, the mayor said.
He attributed the personnel changes to his decision to "pursue a new direction" for the city.
Flint is on the verge of a state takeover after a review panel said Flint is in a "local government financial emergency." The announcement came Tuesday, the same day Walling was re-elected.
Gov. Rick Snyder, in a Q&A with The Flint Journal, said Friday that he's currently in the process of looking at candidates for Flint's emergency manager.
"I have come to the decision it is time for the city to pursue a new direction with respect to the operations of the Finance Department and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)," Walling said in a statement. "There may be additional changes as part of the normal transition into a new term."
nolibspin November 12, 2011 at 3:12PM
get rid of Donna Poplar.......before the state honcho does. How is Dayne going to live on $25,000 when the state guy cuts his salary along with the salaries of the City council members down to $5,000?
shanedr November 12, 2011 at 3:34PM
If the EFM allows Walling or any member of the city council more than a dollar a year I'll be writing a snail mail to Snyder asking why when we begged him for help he gives us more of the same.
I expect and will accept nothing less than a complete house cleaning from the EFM.
fnt45 November 12, 2011 at 3:26PM
Memebers of City Hall have been writing letters to Lansing and sending them documents for 7 months now. We need to flush out the corruption at city hall once and for all. Walling is trying to make himself look good now by firing people but it's a little too late now.
shanedr November 12, 2011 at 3:30PM
Yeah, like that's going to save his political career. He's only two years and millions of dollars late.
patclawson November 12, 2011 at 3:46PM
It's great that the Flint Journal finally got around to reporting a major story that's now about 24 hours old.
The editors at the Journal should be embarrased for missing this story. But wait, I forgot - there are no editors on duty there anymore.
Flint needs a real watchdog newspaper staffed by real journalists who know how to get a story.
Pat Clawson
Swartz Creek, MI
patrickclawson@comcast.net
Missy November 12, 2011 at 4:03PM
I thought it stated in other articles of this subject that if an Emergency Financial Manager is brought in, they will have a broad spectrum of jobs to do including the Mayors and the City Council. They also have the ability to take away the Salaries.
Missy November 12, 2011 at 4:08PM
Some thing really does not set well with me. Why all of a sudden is Walling making the decisions to get rid of these people now? Is there a possibility that he is panicking about the money that could be taken away from him? Could he possibly be cutting these positions now so that he can pocket the money before an EFM comes in and makes changes to Walling's money, knowing full well that he might not have an income? I know they are probably silly questions but it is food for thought.
gladiator12 November 12, 2011 at 4:33PM
I think the FJ needs to do a little more investigative reporting - it was three employees of DCED, two Local 1600 and one Local 1799 members that were fired and all three are part of a whistleblowers lawsuit filed last year. How stupid is the city in firing employees with pending whistleblower lawsuits... They are the only three original employees left in that department and the only three that had the necessary HUD training. All the rest of the employees are clueless, all are Greg Eason hires that had no experience with HUD funding. Good riddance to the DCED department head that resigned, Wendy Johnson was someone who lacked basic knowledge on how to run a department.
I've heard that Greg Eason will stay no matter who the EM is - because his wife has ties to the govenors office. That's really, really sad for the city of Flint. Hey Greg, we really needed those 400 new computers and flat screen monitors that were delivered last week. Great of you to spend more money that we didn't have.
trueblue60 November 12, 2011 at 6:01PM
A few things. Are you telling me they have 400 new computers and flat screens? That's probably about $320,000, where did that money come from?
From what I've been told both the Finance department and DCED fall under Eason's control, and by control I mean micro-management. Anything done in those departments, as well as the others that he micro-manages, is by direct order from him. I'm guessing you are right about his wife's connections because no other reason makes sense for Walling to keep Eason. I think all political favors have been paid.
Interesting about the whistle blowers being let go. I do have a feeling that will cost the city.
Any truth to the rumor that Jackie Foster is gone too?
yokeonu November 12, 2011 at 6:28PM
gladiator12 is right on in the comments - from the employees to the computers to short fuse Eason's wife. Obviously Dayne doesn't see that Donna and Greg are his problems - or he is still politically paying back. Either way, the city is doomed until they are gone, including Steve Montle, Dawn Jones, Arnold Brown, and the newest appointee, an Urban Agriculture guy named Arellano.
Flint MI USA November 12, 2011 at 4:41PM
Perhaps he is making decisions now because he is in the running for the EFM job??? Clear out as many people as possible, hope the Governor chooses him to continue the process.
With regards to three people fired - part of Whistleblowers suit - if true, it WILL cost the City a ton of money later on in punitive damages.
Flintasite November 12, 2011 at 4:45PM
Had the same thought Mr. Clawson, why did the FJ wait until now to break this yesterday's news. Heard about this last night on ABC12 News. Little slow keeping your readers informed with breaking news of this caliber. It's no wonder the main-stream media Journal is teetering into an abyss just like the City of Flint.
phillip November 12, 2011 at 4:56PM
Walling is leting these people go to throw up smoke of all the bad things he let happen as he looked the other way when they were being done. Walling is trying to save himself from the state being in Flint everyday to uncover the wrong doing and keep himself out of a 6 by 8 cell and it is all too late. |
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Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:33 pm |
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