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.
