Bing To Lay Off 1000 City Workers December 5th

**Hypestyles** · November-24-11, 01:37 PM

This is looking to be a long, cold winter--
Detroit mayor "declares war" on city council, city employee unions http://tinyurl.com/88c4mse

**Wesley Mouch** · November-24-11, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by stasu1213

Wait until January 1st at least so that families could have their last good Christmas for a while.

Let their union brothers who are resisting pay cuts, reorganization, streamlining contribute to their Christmas. When I see that happening, I'll know that Unions have a future. Until then, it just looks like a private club.

**brizee** · November-24-11, 02:34 PM

Noting that one member had been mayor for seven months, an obvious reference to Ken Cockrel Jr., Bing said, "I would ask, 'What the hell did you achieve for the time that you were here?' "

This guy just has no sense of irony or self-awareness at all.

**mwilbert** · November-24-11, 08:42 PM

There were always going to have to be cuts. That isn't Bing's fault. The various stakeholders were always going to be trying to keep as much of what they have as they could. That isn't a surprise, or Bing's fault.

What I think is Bing's fault is that it has been completely apparent that the fiscal situation was untenable from before the time he was in office, and yet he really didn't seem to have much of a sense of urgency until recently. At this point, it looks to me like an EFM is inevitable. I just wonder if that was where the mayor always expected it to end up anyway. There is no reason to put a lot of effort into negotiation when you [[or someone on your behalf) is going to be able to dictate terms in the end anyway.

**Hypestyles** · November-24-11, 11:22 PM

just out of curiosity.. I wonder what would the situation be if... If.. Cockrel had won the special election, and from there, the main election.. would things be more balanced, budgetwise.. would more cuts still be forthcoming.. would the relationship with city council be overly contentious..

**Dexlin** · November-25-11, 01:15 AM

Bing's temper tantrum the other day shows the guy has totally jumped the shark. He didn't just go the war, but he got ad hominem and petty like even the city council hasn't. What a utter and total display of classlessness he gave to the media the other day. Here they are going above and beyond in terms of the immediate situation, and all he has is profanity and petty name calling. Bring the danged EFM in; Bing has made it so that he can no longer command the respect of his workers or the city council. What a classless way to go out. The city is literally months from going under, and he's basing his entire plan off of two things that can't and won't happen in the time alloted: the $200 million from the state and concessions from city workers.

**Wesley Mouch** · November-25-11, 03:33 AM

Article from Slate.com gives an insightful take on what's coming to a major city near you...

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...break_anchor_2

**skyl4rk** · November-25-11, 09:02 AM

Bing needs to make it look like he was forced into requesting an EFM. He needs to do this because otherwise he will get all the blame for what happens under an EFM. If it looks like he had no other option and can blame it on others, he protects his political future.

**313WX** · November-25-11, 09:34 AM

Looking into the future, we now see Bing quite frankly sucks as Mayor and likely will get voted out.

But this begs the question, what other [[realistic) candidate do you know that will be any better than he is?

Lets face it, the pickings for real leadership in this city are very slim, at least when it comes to those who are interested at all in politics and government.

**coracle** · November-25-11, 09:34 AM

Originally Posted by skyl4rk

Bing needs to make it look like he was forced into requesting an EFM. He needs to do this because otherwise he will get all the blame for what happens under an EFM. If it looks like he had no other option and can blame it on others, he protects his political future.

He really needs to have a chat with Obama then to get some pointers.

**Danny** · November-25-11, 09:53 AM

Don't blame KING BING for Detroit financial crisis. Blame the greed corrupt city leaders and unions 100 years ago after Mayor Hazen S. Pingree left office. All of the Detroit financial bugdet issues are dumped on city leaders. We have to look at their petty faces and watch them smile of TV saying, ' Everyting is going to be ok.' well NO, NO, NO! Sacrifices will have to be made to save this city from a EFM dictator.

Greed and segregation makes Detroit what it is today and greed and segregation will destroy Detroit. So all of the city unions if you're not with KING BING's plans, you're against him. So here are your pink slips and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Go tell your kids and your families and your friends that your presents will not be in your tree come December 25th.

Ask Jesus for a miracle, not man. So start praying without ceasing Detroit city unions.

**firstandten** · November-25-11, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by 313WX

Looking into the future, we now see Bing quite frankly sucks as Mayor and likely will get voted out.

But this begs the question, what other [[realistic) candidate do you know that will be any better than he is?

Lets face it, the pickings for real leadership in this city are very slim, at least when it comes to those who are interested at all in politics and government.

I'm going to look at someone who is not dependent on politics for their lively hood but want to serve. The changes that have to be made in the city requires someone who is a high-risk high-reward type of person. I thought Bing would be that person. It also requires someone who can really explain to the people why we are going thru these hardships and inspire people to keep the faith and do some concrete things to show the people that things will be different once we get thru the hardships.

The only person who might even remotely fit that criteria is Gary Brown and he would need more vetting before I would throw my hat in to the ring with him.

**Danny** · November-25-11, 10:58 AM

My eyes is on Jeffrey Feiger. Strong supporter to the black community. Defender of the poor. Champion against corporate greed. Even through all of Detroit's bugdet issues will be dump on his desk if he becomes mayor. Don't blame him.

**Hypestyles** · November-25-11, 01:22 PM

^^^ Heh-heh... if Fieger were to find his way in, how would he deal with the lawsuits his office files against the police, as well as other lawsuits against the city.. would he "fire everybody" and start from the ground up in all city departments?

would he have to divest from his own law firm? I don't see him giving up the income..

Buy American · November-25-11, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by 313WX

Looking into the future, we now see Bing quite frankly sucks as Mayor and likely will get voted out.

But this begs the question, what other [[realistic) candidate do you know that will be any better than he is?

Lets face it, the pickings for real leadership in this city are very slim, at least when it comes to those who are interested at all in politics and government.

Shiela Cockrel would be my choice for the next mayor of Detroit.

Buy American · November-25-11, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by firstandten

I'm going to look at someone who is not dependent on politics for their lively hood but want to serve. The changes that have to be made in the city requires someone who is a high-risk high-reward type of person. I thought Bing would be that person. It also requires someone who can really explain to the people why we are going thru these hardships and inspire people to keep the faith and do some concrete things to show the people that things will be different once we get thru the hardships.

The only person who might even remotely fit that criteria is Gary Brown and he would need more vetting before I would throw my hat in to the ring with him.

Gary Brown is a turncoat and only interested in what's in it for him.

**Danny** · November-25-11, 02:16 PM

Dan Gilbert, Mike Illitch or Peter Karmanos. They could run for mayor of Detroit and bring corporate regionalism to Detroit. Those who would lose out will be city unions and low-income folks in Detroit ghettohoods.

**firstandten** · November-25-11, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by Buy American

Gary Brown is a turncoat and only interested in what's in it for him.

interesting comment... why do you say that ?

BTW Ms Cockrel would be a candidate worth considering

**firstandten** · November-25-11, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by Hypestyles

^^^ Heh-heh... if Fieger were to find his way in, how would he deal with the lawsuits his office files against the police, as well as other lawsuits against the city.. would he "fire everybody" and start from the ground up in all city departments?

would he have to divest from his own law firm? I don't see him giving up the income..

Not that I want to spend a lot of this thread talking about Fieger, I wonder after watching his commercials who's the real Fieger the champion of the people or the person who doesn't have one minority face representing his firm ?

Buy American · November-25-11, 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by firstandten

interesting comment... why do you say that ?

BTW Ms Cockrel would be a candidate worth considering

Brown's first priority is to cut police and fire in Detroit. It doesn't seem to matter to him that the $60-$70K pension he receives is a direct result of being a DPD officer for approx. 26 yeas and that negotiations between the City and the unions are how he was able to receive a decent wage and get that amount, and the key word is "negotiations".

From what I've heard is that Brown has plans to move on to Congress someday and wants to portray the fiscally conservative union buster. That may look good in a suburban audience that he would need if he's going to defeat Congressman Conyers or Congressman Clarke,

He has an attitude of arrogance when he refers to cutting the DPD manpower that I and many others don't care for. He has turned his back on his brothers/sisters in the DPD and that leaves a sour taste in the mouths of many. There are so many departments within the City of Detroit that can be eliminated or trimmed where they could leave the DPD and the DFD alone...Airport Department; Board of Ethics [[that's a good one); Cable Commission; City Council Fiscal Analysis Division; City Council Research & Analysis Division [[redundant department if you ask me); Culture Department [[Huh???); Enviornmental Dept; Detroit Film Office; Finance Department [[this one's a for sure because the City paid Ernst & Young 1.7 Million to tell them they're broke); and there are probably more than 15 others that can be trimmed or eliminated. Brown doesn't even know of the existance of these departments.

**corktownyuppie** · November-25-11, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by 313WX

Lets face it, the pickings for real leadership in this city are very slim, at least when it comes to those who are interested at all in politics and government.

I would like the EFM to have absolutely no relationship to Detroit whatsoever. The problem in the past has been the marriage between politics and government...and in the system we have set up, city leaders forced to choose between: [[a) loyalty to political allegiance or [[b) loyalty to the governing that the city needs...have always chosen their politics.

I don't blame anyone for this, I think in many ways it's a product of the system that we set up. It's also a product of the circumstances we're in. Let's all admit that if doing what's best for the people in the long run required making them suffer, making them angry, and then making them hate us....we probably wouldn't be able to do it. It's not a character flaw as much as it is a systemic flaw.

I would like a total outsider to come in and be EFM if we end up with one. There will be plenty of elected official, including an elected mayor and city council, to educate the EFM on how the politics are around here. But what we really need is someone with the courage to walk in the office and say,

"WTF?! Why does xxx department even exist? Why are we offering xxx benefit when no one else can afford it? Why aren't we sharing resources and power with xxxx to take advantage of economies of scale?"

I don't think that anyone from the inside can do that.

**Scottathew** · November-25-11, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by coracle

He really needs to have a chat with Obama then to get some pointers.

Obama can't help Bing. Obama and Bush have drastically increased spending, but they don't have to balance a budget. Bing and Council do.

I've been losing faith in Bing. I don't have any way to see inside his mind, but if I had to guess, he seems to just being going through the motions to make it look like he tried to fix everything before an EFM is appointed.

I don't know if Bing thinks he'll be that EFM, but I have faith in Snyder that he's going to choose someone else.

**Novine** · November-25-11, 11:05 PM

"There are so many departments within the City of Detroit that can be eliminated or trimmed where they could leave the DPD and the DFD alone"

When Police and Fire make up a huge percentage of the city's budget, cutting all of those departments aren't going to make up the budget gap that exists. I don't see any way of getting around cuts to police and fire despite what some want to believe.

**Scottathew** · November-25-11, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by Novine

"There are so many departments within the City of Detroit that can be eliminated or trimmed where they could leave the DPD and the DFD alone"

When Police and Fire make up a huge percentage of the city's budget, cutting all of those departments aren't going to make up the budget gap that exists. I don't see any way of getting around cuts to police and fire despite what some want to believe.

You've got a good point. However, I would remind folks that police and fire are the most CORE services that a city should provide. All other services seem rather ancillary if structures burn and criminals reign.

That said, this is how I would approach the budget crisis.

Starting point: Cut all services by an equal percentage that would balance the budget. This would mean massive layoffs city wide, but this accomplishes balancing the budget immediately.

Then under the principal of pay-as-you-go, find dollars to appropriate to the core services. For example, the savings from the elimination of the public lighting department could be directly applied to police and fire.

Then unions could also negotiate concessions. So for example, if the police union agree to reduce labor costs by 10% they could do so with the agreement that all the savings would go towards recalling laid off officers.

Fat could be cut all round the city and re-appropriated to the most core services. If taxes were raised, they could do so and know where every penny was going.

Tough thing is, that while we all have ideas on how to accomplish things, only one truth is known; the city must balance its budget or have its citizens democratic power removed at the local level.

**313WX** · November-25-11, 11:51 PM

Has anyone considered the fact that all of these proposed cuts and the crap with the EFM would only accelerate Detroit's decline further? The reason people are leaving right now is because the services are already crap considering what they pay for them. Cutting them even further [[if it's possible) won't help things. Wouldn't it then just worsen the problem, because the city would lose more law-abiding, responsible, tax-paying citizens?

Even the diehard citizens are getting sick of the BS now and are weighing their options. This could very well be the straw that breaks the camel's back. And Detroit quite frankly can't afford to decline much further either if it wants to remain relevant on a national and international scale, any AGONIZINGLY SLOW revival of downtown notwithstanding