Tagged: Troy

Detroit deadlock continues

Detroit needs cash if it's going to make payroll in December. $30 million waits from the state.

But Mayor Bing and the Detroit City Council are locked in a battle over a law firm contract. A special council meeting was supposed to be held yesterday to resolve the problem, but the the city's legal department canceled the meeting.

Even it the meeting had been held, Matt Helms of the Detroit Free Press reports, Bing would not have had the votes to end the deadlock.

Had a vote been taken, it likely would not have gone Bing's way. The sole council member to vote to approve it, President Pro Tem Gary Brown, said Monday that the Bing administration "doesn't have the votes" to reverse course.

And the city's financial crisis looms.

Legislature aims to cut a source of revenue for some cities

There have been a lot of proposals floated in this lame-duck session of the Michigan legislature, but one plan the Gov. hopes to pass by the end of the year is a phase out of the "personal property tax."

That's a tax that many manufacturers pay to local governments on equipment they own. Local governments that have a big manufacturing base have said eliminating the tax would hurt their bottom line.

MLive's Dave Eggert reports Lt. Gov. Brian Calley plans to unveil a new plan to cut the tax today:

Sources who have been briefed on the proposal said key changes include partially replacing the revenue with a portion of the state's tax on out-of-state retail transactions and allowing local governments to assess a special tax to recoup money for police, fire and ambulance services.

Troy breaks ground on new transit center

The city of Troy is breaking ground on a new transit center today. The project was opposed by Troy's recently recalled Mayor, Janice Daniels, because the funding for the project is comging from the federal government. The transit center will cost $6.3 million to build and will house facilities for bus, train, and car rental services. The transit center will replace Birmingham's Amtrak stop. It's expected to open the summer of 2013.

Despite Daniels' effort to stop the recall campaign, Oakland County officials certified more than the 7,985 petition signatures needed to place the recall question before voters on November 6.

The Detroit News reports 8,877 signatures were certified:

The challenge, which Daniels filed with the Oakland County Elections Office at 4:20 p.m. Thursday — 10 minutes before the deadline — resulted in the disqualification of five signatures, not enough to prevent the issue from going before voters.

Daniels became a controversial figure the moment she took office. She refused to recite a pledge to uphold the city's charter at her inauguration, she posted an anti-gay slur on Facebook prior to taking office, and she refused to accept federal money for a new transit center (Troy city council later approved a scaled-down version of the transit center despite Daniels' objections). "Recall Janice Daniels" organizers say they expect the mayor will be recalled by voters. From the Detroit Free Press: 

"The recall campaign looks forward to the November ballot, when responsible leadership will be restored to the city of Troy," said petitioners from the group Recall Janice Daniels in a statement released late Monday evening.

Daniels has told the Free Press that continued conversation about her views on homosexuality is being foisted upon her. She previously said she would beat the recall effort.

A group will hold a town hall meeting and legal clinic in the Detroit area on Saturday designed to provide assistance to Syrians looking to temporarily stay in the United States beyond the expiration of their visas.

The Obama administration has said it will allow Syrians to temporarily stay beyond the expiration of their visas and not deport those in the country illegally due to deteriorating conditions in their native country.

The United for a Free Syria-hosted event will be held at the Troy Public Library  tomorrow where immigration lawyers will take questions from attendees. 

UFS is a pro-democracy nonprofit organization based in Flint.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in March said Syrians will get temporary protected status because they'd face "serious threats to their personal safety" if they were to return to Syria.

Under the terms of the notice, Syrian nationals who have continuously resided in the United States since March 29 of this year can apply for the status.

Serene Katranji-Zeni is a TPS Coordinator who works with United for a Free Syria.

She says the clinic is the second of its kind in Michigan, and she anticipates helping those eligible complete the time-consuming task of filling out necessary paperwork.

Although she can't say to how many Syrians in Michigan could qualify for the status, she says her office has fielded several requests for help, though many are not eligible.

"The major issue we're running into is that many more people have come into the country since [the March deadline] who want the status, but they don't qualify," she said.

According to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services website, the temporary protected status for Syrians is designated through September of next year.  USCIS currently lists seven other countries on its list for foreigners in the United States who may qualify for temporary protected status.

-Elaine Ezekiel, Michigan Radio Newsroom

Supporters of an effort to kick Troy's mayor out of office say they've submitted more than enough petition signatures to get the measure onto the November ballot.

John Kulesz is one of the recall campaign's organizers. He says he expects Mayor Janice Daniels and her supporters will put up a vigorous fight to keep her in office.

"These people are take no prisoner types,” said Kulesz. “So we know that they'll throw everything in the book at us to discredit us and accuse us of this that and the other thing. But we're going to stand up for our rights, and we're going to stand up for the people of Troy."

Kulesz Daniels is harming Troy's reputation. Daniels gained notoriety over a gay slur she used on her Facebook page before she took office. She later angered many people when she voted to turn down federal money for a transit center.

But Daniels says those are not legitimate reasons for recall.

"If the new standard for recall is that a group of people doesn't like the way an elected official voted on an issue, or they don't like an elected official's opinion on issues, then we've gone to a very dangerous point in our history,” Daniels said. “I haven't committed a crime."

The Oakland County clerk's office has 35 days to certify the petitions.

A petition seeking to recall Troy Mayor Janice Daniels has been approved.

More from MLive's, Jeff Wattrick:

A group seeking to recall Troy Mayor Janice Daniels won a split-decision victory yesterday as the Oakland County Election Commission approved recall language for a petition drive. That means organizers have 180 days to collect 7,985 signatures within a 90-day period to place the recall question on the ballot.

Daniels has angered some in her community for an anti-gay slur she made on her Facebook page prior to being mayor. Opponents of Daniels were also angered when Mayor Daniels rejected federal funding for a new transit center in Troy.

Wattrick writes that Daniels became a controversial figure the moment she took office:

At her inauguration, she refused to recite the traditional oath of office because she wouldn’t pledge to uphold Troy’s City Charter. Daniels dismissed Troy’s governing document as “whimsical.”

Troy Mayor Janice Daniels could face a recall campaign next November if members of the Oakland County Election Commission approve language on recall petitions filed by the political action committee "Recall Janice Daniels," and if organizers get enough valid signatures.

More from the Detroit News:

One petition targets her for voting in December to reject $8.4 million in federal grant money for a transit center. The other alleges she refused to swear support for the city charter while taking the oath of office.

Recall organizers also claim she violated city rules by exceeding speaking time limits at a City Council meeting to read a position paper about her opposition to the center and embarrassed Troy by allegedly telling high school students the "homosexual lifestyle is dangerous."

Mayor Daniels first came under fire when an anti-gay slur she posted on Facebook was unearthed.

The post was in reaction to New York's gay marriage law and was made prior to her term as Troy Mayor. It read:

“I think I am going to throw away my I love New York carrying bag now that queers can get married there.”

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Troy City Council has effectively reversed course from their decision last month to block construction of a transit center using federal dollars.

The Freep reports that during a meeting Tuesday night, council members voted 4-3 in favor of approving a plan with a slightly reduced cost---the new project will use roughly $6.3 million from a federal transportation grant as opposed to $8.5 million in the earlier proposal.

From the Free Press:

Officials in the Detroit suburb of Troy will return $8.5 million in federal stimulus money that was supposed to build a new transit center.

After a last-ditch attempt at compromise, the Troy City Council voted 4 to 3 to cancel the project.

The issue has been extremely contentious. Troy officials had worked on the project for more than a decade.

But Tea Party-influenced candidates recently won a majority on the Troy City Council. They saw the project as an example of wasteful federal spending.

Mayor Janice Daniels says her vote was a matter of taking a stand.

“One of the issues that we campaigned on was we were not going approve this transit center because we didn’t believe it was the right way to use the taxpayer’s money or to move this city forward,” Daniels said.

The Council’s decision came despite pressure from Troy’s business community and Governor Snyder, who see expanding transit as a way to boost economic growth.

William Cowger is with the Troy Chamber of Commerce.

“Basically…they decided on ideology before Troy. That they would refuse funds that would help us in the future, for our economic development. Bottom line is, they gave away our money,” said Cowger.

The money will be re-allocated for other transportation projects.