Buried in the lede of the news about Flint Emergency Manager Michael Brown firing seven staffers and essentially firing the the Mayor and City Council, as well, is this little tidbit:
In his first orders as emergency manager, Michael Brown on Friday fired seven City Hall staffers — including the mayor’s second-in-command — and eliminated pay and benefits for the mayor and Flint City Council. […]Although the roles of the city ombudsman and Civil Service Commission are mandated by the Flint City Charter, Brown’s order removing Purifoy and Parker cited state law that says an emergency manager can remove any local government appointee.
In other words, his first act as Emergency Manager violated the City Charter. But, hey, that’s okay. ‘Cause he’s allowed to do that. In the worldview of those that support the use of undemocratic, disenfranchising Emergency Managers, it’s completely acceptable to take away representative government from poor people and to break the laws of their city as long as the governor appoints you as the Czar Chancellor Emergency Manager.
In the first paragraph, I said that he was “essentially firing the Mayor and City Council”. This is 100% true. He cancelled all future City Council meetings until further notice, eliminated their benefits and stopped paying them. That’s firing the city government, no matter how you slice it.
