On January 20 the progressive think tank Michigan Forward and the Detroit branch of the NAACP sent a joint letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder expressing concern over Public Act 4, the Local Government and School District Fiscal Accountability Act. Signed into law in March 2011, it granted unprecedented
new powers to the states emergency managers (EMs), including breaking union contracts, taking over pension systems, setting school curriculums and even dissolving or disincorporating municipalities. Under PA 4, EMs, who are appointed by the governor, can exercise any power or authority of any officer, employee, department, board, commission or other similar entity of the local government whether elected or appointed.
What are the qualifications for such a powerful office and the six-figure salary that accompanies it? Not much: PA 4 requires a minimum of 5 years experience and demonstrable expertise in business, financial, or local or state budgetary matters. Last year the state held a pair of two-day training sessions for EMs, both run primarily by companies that provide outsourcing services to municipalities and school districts. Yet PA 4 made the emergency manager the single most powerful person in the city.
Read more: The Scandal of Michigan's Emergency Managers | The Nation
The Scandal of Michigan's Emergency Managers | The Nation
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