The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled review teams can meet behind closed doors as they decide whether to recommend a state takeover of a city or school district. Opponents of Michigan’s emergency manager law filed the challenge. They say review teams should have to comply with Michigan’s open meetings law.
The ruling essentially upholds the decision to name an emergency manager to run Flint and the state’s consent agreement with Detroit.
Robert Davis filed one of the lawsuits. He says the court made a mistake.
“The financial review teams are able to exercise extraordinary powers, including issuing subpoenas and compelling testimony of local elected officials, and, certainly, since they are discussing financial management of a local unit of government certainly that should be open for every person and every citizen to be privy to,” Davis said.
Davis said he will appeal this ruling to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals is still deciding whether to allow a referendum challenging the emergency manager law on the November ballot
