Warren Evans

Wayne and Washtenaw County leaders are making a last-ditch effort to get a millage for improved mass transit across southeast Michigan on the November ballot.

With a few words during his annual State of the County address Wednesday night, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson appeared to doom an effort to revive a regional transit plan for metro Detroit.

This year’s gathering of Metro Detroit’s “Big Four” political leaders highlighted more points of division than unity.

Those leaders are Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

A spirit of regionalism did not prevail at this year’s event, held annually at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show. And the future of regional transit was a major source of contention.

The Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority is under fire for wasting millions of its $730 million Medicaid budget on overpayments to subcontractors, which its board frequently chooses not to recoup.  

That means fewer dollars are getting to people in need.

But there's no question the authority still helps a lot of people with essential services that improve the quality of their lives. Eighty-thousand of them, in fact.

A plan to build a multi-million dollar soccer stadium in downtown Detroit appears dead.

Billionaire businessmen Tom Gores and Dan Gilbert have struck a deal with the Ford family to use Ford Field for a future Major League Soccer franchise. Gores and Gilbert have been bidding for a future MLS franchise for more than a year. The league is expected to announce its expansion plans next month.

Wayne County and the city of Detroit announced a tentative land swap deal Thursday, which brings the Dan Gilbert-owned Rock Ventures one step closer to building a new jail on the land.

Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans and Mayor Mike Duggan said in a press release that the move will benefit the city and the county alike. Duggan called it “a win-win.”

Plans for Wayne County's unfinished jail site in Detroit could get scrapped if the county accepts a proposal from billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert.

The county is considering Dan Gilbert's Rock Ventures' offer to build a jail at a new location in Detroit. In exchange, Gilbert would get the current jail site.

He and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores hope to put a Major League Soccer stadium there.

Metro Detroit’s “Big Four” had their annual public gathering at Detroit’s auto show today.

The four leaders are the Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb county executives, and Detroit’s mayor. It’s usually a mostly feel-good conversation about regional cooperation.

And indeed, they did talk about that and a range of other issues. But the leaders also couldn’t avoid the topic of the hour: Warren Mayor Jim Fouts.

Leaked audio tapes seem to show Fouts making incredibly degrading comments about African-Americans and disabled people, among others.

Michigan has approved Wayne County's request to be released from its 14-month financial management agreement with the state.

County Executive Warren Evans announced today that the county had satisfied the consent agreement with the state by eliminating a $52 million structural deficit and restoring overall financial stability.

Evans' office said the county has restructured employee and retiree health care and pensions, and raised the funding level of the county's pension system from 45% to 54%.  Evans said his goal is to increase the funding level to 70%.

Following extensive efforts to improve its financial standing, Wayne County has a budget surplus for the first time in eight years.

The office of Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said in a statement Tuesday that for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2015 the county had an available general fund surplus of $5.7 million.
 

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans is urging the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to reject permit requests that would allow Marathon Oil and US Ecology to increase emissions and  hazardous waste.

The Marathon Petroleum Refinery in Detroit has been embroiled in controversy over its request to increase sulfur dioxide emissions.

"Our request there is: Before you even contemplate an increase in the permitting, that you show us that you're making some concrete steps in controlling the pollution that's already there," Evans said.

Metro Detroit’s “big four” leaders got together for their annual public chat before the Detroit Economic Club at the North American International Auto Show Tuesday.

This year, two big topics dominated the conversation: the Flint water crisis, and the impending financial collapse of Detroit Public Schools.

Each of the leaders — Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan — said Gov. Snyder had mishandled the state’s response to Flint’s drinking water contamination.

It will get harder from here.

Wayne County Commissioners have approved a consent agreement with the State of Michigan to deal with the county's fiscal emergency.

Of the 14 commissioners, only one, Jewel Ware, voted no.

The agreement means the county will be able to avoid the appointment of an emergency manager, if it can meet the terms.

Gov. Rick Snyder is applauding Michigan’s largest county for moving toward a consent agreement with the state.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans has called for a consent agreement to deal with the city’s troubled finances. The county commission approved that option after a state review team last month found a financial emergency exists and Snyder confirmed that finding.

Wayne County commissioners will officially decide Thursday how to tackle the county’s financial emergency.

Michigan’s largest county has reported a running budget gap of around $50 million a year, prompting Wayne County Executive Warren Evans to ask the state to step in.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans says the time to right the county’s finances is “fading quickly.”

Evans issued that warning Tuesday as he sent his $1.54 billion recommended budget to the Wayne County Commission for approval.

 A state panel says Wayne County is in a state of “probable financial stress.” It was a unanimous determination by the Local Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board. 

Board member and state Treasurer Nick Khouri says now the state will send in a review team to examine the books in Michigan’s most-populous county, which includes the city of Detroit and its suburbs.

The Michigan Department of Treasury started reviewing Wayne County’s financial situation Friday.

The state review comes after Wayne County’s top administrator asked for it, earlier this week.

In a letter to the state, County executive Warren Evans wrote this week the deficit is $9.9 million. 

Wayne County executive Warren Evans has asked state officials to declare a financial emergency there.

In a letter to state treasurer Nick Khouri Wednesday, Evans lays out his reasons for requesting state intervention in Michigan’s largest county, and requests Khouri start the process that could lead to a financial emergency being declared.

Troubles with a new regional water system, uncertainty about roads and mass transit, and ongoing budget difficulties—all were topics among Detroit’s “Big Four” leaders Tuesday.

The Big Four includes the heads of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, along with Detroit’s mayor. In recent years, they’ve met held an annual public meet-up to discuss regional cooperation and other issues in southeast Michigan.

The new Wayne County executive, Warren Evans, has kicked off his term by announcing a 5 percent cut to  the salaries of all his appointees.  

Evans said the move will save Wayne County taxpayers $1.2 million. He said he will also make nine fewer executive appointments than his predecessor.