Tagged: dayne walling

Flint’s Emergency Manager, Ed Kurtz, says he will resign come June 30th, which may put Flint a step closer to returning to local control. Flint Mayor Dayne Walling talks with Jennifer White about the financial future of Flint.

Flint’s city council recently passed a resolution asking Governor Rick Snyder to remove the city’s emergency manager and appoint a transition advisory team.

“There are a number of requirements in the law that would have to be met by the appointed manager before a transition board could be put in place, such as the adoption of a two-year budget. So, city council leadership and I have been calling on for those steps to get done as soon as possible. The city of Flint does face financial challenges, let’s get addressed as soon as possible so we can move on,” says Mayor Walling.

When asked how financially healthy Flint is right now, Walling says:

“It’s marginally stable. But our position is that it’s going to take some long-term planning, some serious community partnerships to get the city to where it’s more sustainable going forward. And that work cannot be done effectively by an appointed manager.”

Listen to the full interview above.

The Mayor of Flint says it's time to say goodbye to its emergency manager and make Flint the first city in Michigan to have a transition team appointed under the new emergency manager law, a team that would guide Flint back to being run by its mayor and city council

That was one of the key messages as Flint Mayor Dayne Walling delivered his State of the City message last night - his fourth State of the City address.

Mayor Dayne Walling joined us from Flint. You can listen to our interview with him above.

Flint’s emergency manager is giving back some responsibilities to the city’s mayor and city council.  

One of the first things Michael Brown did after the governor appointed him was to eliminate the pay and benefits for Mayor Dayne Walling and the entire Flint city council. He also canceled future city council meetings. 

This week, Brown reinstated 60 percent of the mayor’s salary, as well as his full benefits. Mayor Walling will also get some of his powers restored, including his role in economic development, master planning, intergovernmental affairs, and community engagement. Walling is also a member of an advisory panel for the emergency manager. 

In a written statement, Walling says "Manager Brown has followed through on his commitment to make this a collaborative process that involves elected leadership and engages residents." 

The emergency manager also is letting each member of the city council collect seven thousand dollars a year in pay, or about half of their former annual pay, but with no benefits.  

The Flint city council will have a little less to do than the mayor. The emergency manager will only permit the council members to attend public meetings in their respective wards, as directed by him. The Flint city council will meet once a month, but only to address items on the emergency manager’s agenda.  

The emergency manger was appointed to fix Flint’s ‘financial emergency’ that has the city mired in debt.