Yeeouch. That’ll leave a mark.
One of my newest heroes these days, Ingham County Judge William Collette has had just about enough of Governor Sndyer’s Detroit Emergency Manager review team. As I mentioned this afternoon in my Michigan Emergency Manager news round-up, this review team tried to circumvent the Open Meetings Act, which Judge Collette had already found them in violation of, by setting up a subcommittee that would continue to meet in secret.
An Ingham County judge this afternoon ordered all 10 members of the Detroit emergency financial review team to appear in his courtroom March 12 to answer why they should not be held in contempt for attempting to evade his finding that the review team is subject to the Open Meetings Act by forming a smaller committee to meet in secret.Judge William Collette issued the order at the request of attorneys for Robert Davis, the employee of AFSCME who filed open meetings lawsuits against financial review teams in both Detroit and the Highland Park school districts.
Davis said the five-member subcommittee created by the review team on Tuesday is clearly an attempt to circumvent Collette’s finding that review teams are public agencies subject to the open meeting law.
I so wish I could be in the courtroom when these people have to explain why the hell Judge Collette shouldn’t just throw their asses in jail. Maybe take Treasurer Andy Dillon with them.
[CC image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
