Mr. Bing, You Owe Me Some Change!

[E hemingway]

Thanks for that correction. I meant the HR director. I would like to see how the "following orders" excuse plays with Bing.

[Novine]

No Joe Harris? Sounds like Bing doesn't want to know the truth about the finances. I thought Cockrel was bold for bringing in Harris knowing that he wouldn't let anything slide. It sent a message. Bing sent a message too but it's not a good one.

[Fnemecek]

No Joe Harris? Sounds like Bing doesn't want to know the truth about the finances. I thought Cockrel was bold for bringing in Harris knowing that he wouldn't let anything slide. It sent a message. Bing sent a message too but it's not a good one.

Joe Harris?

You mean the guy who spent several years complaining about one time fixes - such as the sale of City-owned property - in order to balance the City's budget and, when he got moved into a position to do something about it ended up submitting a plan that relied almost entirely on one time fixes?

That guy?

Yeah, I'm not losing any sleep over his departure.

[Novine]

I didn't say he was perfect. You're right that he lost some credibility with that. But it doesn't change the fact that Harris exposed the lies of Kilpatrick's financial shell game. And who does Bing replace him with?

[deweygal]

I was also deeply disappointed by Bing's cabinet, I mean come on of all the kwame trash you decide to keep it's the person in charge of keeping tabs on the city's finances, the same city finances that are in shambles? Yes it is true that not all of kwame's appointments were corrupt, however, I am willing to bet that the financial dept held more than a few snakes. I am really hoping that Bing will prove me wrong and he secretly knows what he is doing/

[Locke09]

Maybe he agrees with Karen Dumas, who was on last night's Let It Rip, that there is a pitifully small pool of literate people left in Detroit to choose from. Maybe he believes, as she seems to, that all that is left, with leadership potential, are the Kilpatrick and Cockrel appointees.

[kraig]

I didn't say he was perfect. You're right that he lost some credibility with that. But it doesn't change the fact that Harris exposed the lies of Kilpatrick's financial shell game. And who does Bing replace him with?

Get real. When it was all said and done, all Cockrel and Harris did was propose the same budgets and plans that Kwame did with even higher unrealistic assumptions. Part of the reason that we got into this mess was because Joe Harris never conducted routine audits, as required by law, of the City Departments. The new auditor is catching departments left and right. People need to stop thinking that someone is good at their job based on them attacking someone else that most people don't like. Joe Harris was a lousy Auditor General and a lousy Finance Director.

[Retroit]

Bing is thinking like a rational businessman. When a new CEO starts at a company, it is often best to leave existing management in place until you have learned from them what the current situation is and whether or not they are willing to partake in the changes you will be implementing.

I think that, in due time, Bing will replace people as necessary. Give him a little time to untangle the mess that Detroit is in. I just hope, for his sake, he is able to accomplish that before the next election. It is a huge task.

Just like Barak Obama, Bing is the victim of over-expectations.

[firstandten]

Get real. When it was all said and done, all Cockrel and Harris did was propose the same budgets and plans that Kwame did with even higher unrealistic assumptions. Part of the reason that we got into this mess was because Joe Harris never conducted routine audits, as required by law, of the City Departments. The new auditor is catching departments left and right. People need to stop thinking that someone is good at their job based on them attacking someone else that most people don't like. Joe Harris was a lousy Auditor General and a lousy Finance Director.

I really appreciate the kind of information you provided. It is easy for someone to go on TV and complain about what another administration is not doing. As a result you get a perception that the person knows what he's talking about and is doing a good job. I think Mr. Harris based on his complaints was seen to be a good public servant who was being overlooked or not being paid attention too. According to your statements I can now see why.

[kraig]

I really appreciate the kind of information you provided. It is easy for someone to go on TV and complain about what another administration is not doing. As a result you get a perception that the person knows what he's talking about and is doing a good job. I think Mr. Harris based on his complaints was seen to be a good public servant who was being overlooked or not being paid attention too. According to your statements I can now see why.

Thanks. Now the one that Bing should listen to is the fiscal analyst, Corley, it always seems that he knows and states where the city is financially months before anyone else. And he manages to do it without ever attacking anyone. For him and his staff it seems to be about the work and not the politics. Too bad he or the Ombudsperson, Durene Brown, aren't being listened to more. They seem to know their stuff.

[kraig]

I seem to recall something about the records of various departments not being produced in either a timely fashion or coherently enough for an audit to be conducted.

Six of the ten years he was Auditor General, Dennis Archer was the mayor, those records were available. The AG is supposed to audit every city department every two years. Joe Harris never audited one single department every two years. The new AG, Loren Monroe, has been doing audits ever since he got there. Joe Harris just didn't do his job. He also had an extremely high employee turnover rate. His default excuse has always been that his staff is untrained. He's a hack.