Flint's emergency manager tightens his grip on city finances

Flint’s emergency manager is taking further steps to bring the city’s finances under control.

Michael Brown’s been on the job as Flint’s emergency manager for a week. His first steps to lift Flint from its ‘financial emergency’ were to fire a half dozen top city employees and eliminate pay for the city’s elected officials. He says that alone should save the city a million dollars.

Brown issued four more orders today which he says should save the city hundreds of thousands of additional dollars this year. They include requiring all city purchases over $10,000 to go through his office. Brown also eliminated the city’s ombudsman and civil service departments.

"These are from $300,000 areas to a quarter million…these will start adding up real fast," says Brown.

Brown hopes to have a comprehensive plan in place by the middle of January to fix Flint’s financial problems. He’s talking with labor representatives as part of developing that plan.