Events

No Public Input Allowed at Flint City Council Meeting

Darnell Earley 1scott kincaid

    Darnell Earley                               Scott Kincaid

By Floyd Fuller

On Monday April 7, 2014 at the Flint City Council meeting, the crowd chanted “Dictator, Dictator” again and again after learning that they would not be allowed to speak at the Council meeting. The meeting was held for the purpose of voting to approve a 7 Point Transition Management Plan, proposed by Emergency Manager (EM) Darnell Earley. It’s been reported that Earley doesn’t need the council approval of the plan but he hoped they would.

The 7 Point Transition Management Plan is a plan Emergency Manager Darnell Earley introduced to the city Council for approval back in March. The voting was delayed until now.

According to the EM the goal of the plan is to provide a strategy for determining and evaluating relevant and specific criteria for assessing when the City of Flint might be prepared to emerge from Emergency Manager oversight to a Transition Advisory Board (TBA) as provided in public act 436.

City Councilman Scott Kincaid who chaired the meeting said that the agenda that he received from the EM Darnell Earley didn't allow for any public input. The crowd burst out in an uproar.

Councilman Sheldon Neeley vigorously opposed this agenda and tried over and over again to get Councilman Kincaid to allow him to move to allow a Special Order be added to the agenda to hear from the people that are concerned about what’s going on as it pertains to the 7 Point Plan, he said “because I serves at the pleasure of the public.”  

Councilman Eric Mays express a mutual feelings.

Neeley went on to say “It seems to me that their has been an extra effort to silence the people and to silence the Councilman, and it is important to me to here from the public that which pertains to something that’s going to be impacting this community moving forward.”

After further discussion Councilman Kincaid brought the motion to the floor to be voted upon. The Special Order to allow the public to speak was voted down 5 to 4.

According to Neeley the reason they didn’t want the public to speak is they felt the people would be a nuisance.

Councilman Wantwaz Davis said, “I do think we need a play because we need a plan don't mean the plan presented to us is right play”. Davis also stated that he did not like the blue ribbon committee.

Councilman Neeley also expressed concerns about the blue ribbon committee the Third Transition Point on the emergency manager plan. Neeley says he opposes the third Point because the committee was selected by the emergency manager which Mayor Dayne Walling is a part of and that it has nothing to do with the plan “he just added it as one of his points.”

Councilman Brian Nolan who voted for the plan said that the plan was a framework in order to move forward because none of the people he had talked with who opposed the measure could give him a reason not to pass the measure.

The seven point transition management plan was approved on a 5 to 4 vote by Councilman’s Brian Nolan, Scott Kincaid, Josh Freeman and Councilwomen Jackie Poplar and Victoria Van Buren who voted yes.

Councilman Sheldon Neeley, Eric Mays, Wantwaz Davis, and Councilwoman Monica Galloway all apposed the measure.

 

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