Author: East Village Magazine
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Commentary: Three budgets, three deficits, three crises?
By Paul Rozycki “Flint’s ‘comeback story’ at odds with its bleak fiscal outlook” Chad Livengood, Crain’s Detroit Business, Nov. 10, 2019 “Dismal finances place future of Flint Community Schools in doubt” Mark Bullion, WJRT, Nov. 5, 2019 “With budget issues looming, Genesee County looks to sell Lake Huron property,” “Genesee County commissioners ask departments to…
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“We knew about it,” former Mayor Weaver says of $20 million water fund balance
By Jan Worth-Nelson Former Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said today that the $20 million “found” in the city’s water fund in a preliminary audit report from incoming Mayor Sheldon Neeley was well known to her administration. Though she has been largely silent as the Neeley administration took over, Weaver agreed to a phone interview, she…
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“More than $20 million” balance found in water fund audit, new city administration claims
By Jan Worth-Nelson The City of Flint’s water fund has a “fiscal year 2020 balance” of more than $20 million, according to a startling press release issued this afternoon from Communications Director Marjory Raymer. Municipal finance expert Eric Scorsone, hired by Mayor Sheldon Neeley in the first week of his administration, said it appears “budget…
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City Council Beat: Water shutoff fee removed, city administrator and EAB appointees approved
By Tom Travis and Luther Houle A $75 fee for water shutoffs in Flint has been eliminated by unanimous vote of the Flint City Council. After the vote on ending the fee, proposed by Councilperson Eva Worthing (9th Ward) the audience of about 50 applauded. Worthing explained, “I’m a single mom… I have my parents,…
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MCC unveils a third Ballenger sculpture–this time at Ballenger Fieldhouse
By Paul Rozycki After unveiling statues of William S. Ballenger Sr. at Ballenger Park just a month ago, and at Memorial Park, William Ballenger III was joined by family and friends Nov. 25, as he dedicated one more remembrance of his grandfather — a bust at the Ballenger Fieldhouse on the Mott Community College campus.…
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“The weight of an entire community” — Mott Foundation execs describe what they’ve learned in “Focus on Flint,” what they worry about, and how they hope a targeted $1 million might help
By Harold C. Ford Editor’s note: The following is an interview with the C.S. Mott Foundation’s Ridgway White, CEO and president, and Kimberly Roberson, Flint area program director. Also present at the interview was Kathryn Thomas, vice president for communications. After release of a 24-page Focus on Flint report, available here, the Mott Foundation announced…
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Lead line replacement opt-in alerts, census urgency top items at Neeley’s first press conference
By Melodee Mabbitt There was more than talk of a “bug” at newly-elected Mayor Sheldon Neeley’s first press conference Saturday, when local media were hauled in at 10:30 a.m. to an otherwise closed City Hall. The first item was a presentation by Neeley’s Interim Police Chief Phil Hart, who donned a suit on Saturday morning…
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Democratic leaders, supporters gather en masse for Gary Peters campaign kickoff
By Paul Rozycki The 2020 Michigan U.S. Senatorial campaign may be nearly a year away, but it got an early kickoff when incumbent Democratic Senator Gary Peters paid a visit to the White Horse Tavern in Flint Nov. 23 for one of his first campaign fundraisers. He was greeted by a standing-room-only crowd that included…
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“Bug” matter dropped by Hart; “insignificant” device never seized
By Melodee Mabbitt “I would always make an inquiry before an indictment,” Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said when asked how he learned of a “device,” at first thought to be an electronic surveillance bug, found in the mayor’s office following the Nov. 5 election when Neeley defeated incumbent Karen Weaver. In a press conference unusually…
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Mayor, police chief connect, state reps offer update, councilpersons conflict at CCNA
By Jan Worth-Nelson It was the night of the politicos Thursday at the November meeting of the College Cultural Neighborhood Association (CCNA), as the assemblage of about 50 residents heard from the city’s new mayor, the interim police chief, the state senator, the state representative, and the chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint. To top…
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