Michigan's new Local Government And School District Accountability Act, which gives state-appointed fiscal czars broad powers to intervene in local governments with budget problems, has garnered attention because of the potential confrontations between fiscal managers using the new law, like Robert Bobb, the head of the Detroit Public Schools, and local unions over everything from pay and benefits to collective bargaining rights.
Now the state of Michigan has upped the ante, and local tensions. This week the state began training hundreds of financial professionals and government administrators in the art of managing and advising troubled municipalities. Up to 400 private and public sector experts are undergoing a crash course on topics that include "dealing with a unionized workforce," according to Bloomberg News. The new legislation, signed into law March 16 by Gov. Rick Synder, gives managers a range of powers, including the ability to suspend collective bargaining for government unions for up to five years.
Now the state of Michigan has upped the ante, and local tensions. This week the state began training hundreds of financial professionals and government administrators in the art of managing and advising troubled municipalities. Up to 400 private and public sector experts are undergoing a crash course on topics that include "dealing with a unionized workforce," according to Bloomberg News. The new legislation, signed into law March 16 by Gov. Rick Synder, gives managers a range of powers, including the ability to suspend collective bargaining for government unions for up to five years.
In addition to the Detroit public schools, state appointed fiscal
managers are already operating in the municipalities of Pontiac, Ecorse
and Benton
Harbor. Many other school systems and towns are under fiscal stress in
Michigan, one reason why there is a waiting list for the new fiscal
management classes.Meanwhile, rumors continue to circulate that Synder
would give Detroit Mayor Dave Bing the new emergency powers in order to
deal with the city's whopping $150 million deficit.
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