The EM Has Arrived: How to Keep Score

**corktownyuppie** · March-14-13, 03:37 PM

I believe that it makes most sense to move away from political conversation and toward policy analysis.

For those of you who wanted this, congratulations.
For those of you who didn't, condolences.

Now that he's here...perhaps it makes sense to develop some criteria to determine whether he is or isn't doing a good job.

So let's hear it...by what criteria should he be judged?

**brizee** · March-14-13, 04:12 PM

Even a sniff of impropriety when it comes to voting since I believe the city funds the city clerk's office.

**rb336** · March-14-13, 05:01 PM

Take away quote so far:

"I've reached land and burned my boat"

**Zug** · March-14-13, 05:25 PM

Pretty broad, but my one criteria: No city service evaluations should be lower than what they currently are. Better services would be nice, but not a requirement.

The basis of this is that I think it would be a failure if an EFM's actions directly lead to the average customer/consumer of city services having to "suffer through" a period of inferior services so the city can save money. In other words, provide the same services at a lower cost to the city...like an EFM is supposed to do.

**rb336** · March-14-13, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by Zug

Pretty broad, but my one criteria: No city service evaluations should be lower than what they currently are. Better services would be nice, but not a requirement.

I disagree. I think it IS a requirement, and the only one that will be visible to the average person

**Funaho** · March-14-13, 07:46 PM

Originally Posted by Zug

Pretty broad, but my one criteria: No city service evaluations should be lower than what they currently are. Better services would be nice, but not a requirement.

If there are not visible improvements in core city services [[especially public safety) then the city's population, not to mention property values, will continue to spiral down and just make things worse. Stabilizing those is an important part of "stopping the bleeding".

**EastsideAl** · March-14-13, 07:57 PM

I really doubt that city services are going to improve anytime soon. In fact, I fully expect them to get worse before they get better. The EM's primary job is to stop the financial bleeding, and to try to protect the city [[and its bondholders) from an outright default. In order to do that, much of what the city is currently spending money on - i.e. city services - will have to be curtailed.

**Hypestyles** · March-14-13, 08:42 PM

so when does this person actually start work? Monday? Where will his office be? How many hours per week will he be expected to work?

... is $275 K average compensation for his "position"? Does that include fringe benefits at all? What pool of money does this come from?

**corktownyuppie** · March-14-13, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by Hypestyles

so when does this person actually start work? Monday? Where will his office be? How many hours per week will he be expected to work?

... is $275 K average compensation for his "position"? Does that include fringe benefits at all? What pool of money does this come from?

[[1) March 27
[[2) It's a paycut. There are tons of people making $300k per year that would never go near this job.
[[3) He'll work as many hours as he needs to to get the job done. He did Chrysler's bankruptcy restructuring in 45 days. Something tells me that wasn't 8-hour days with a mandatory 30 min. lunch break.
[[4) Paid by the city [[I believe).

**313WX** · March-14-13, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by corktownyuppie

[[1) March 27
[[2) It's a paycut. There are tons of people making $300k per year that would never go near this job.
[[3) He'll work as many hours as he needs to to get the job done. He did Chrysler's bankruptcy restructuring in 45 days. Something tells me that wasn't 8-hour days with a mandatory 30 min. lunch break.
[[4) Paid by the city [[I believe).

1. Per the Detroit News and Free Press, he's going to start as an EFM on MArch 25th and will become an EM with the same powers as under PA 4 on March 28th.

2. True.

3. Probably.

4. Only through March 28th [[so he will receive a check from the city for his first pay period). Under PA 436, the state pays his salary.

**Lowell** · March-14-13, 10:10 PM

I heard the press conference with Mr. Orr. He was impressive, confident and erudite. One phrase he repeated a few times in regard to dealing with an issue was that he had to 'look at the data'.

I think he should be scored the same way - look at the data. How many street lights are repaired? By how much time is police response improved? Does the crime rate drop? Are weed lots mowed and abandoned houses removed?

We had some of this discussion last summer in the thread Benchmarking The Consent Agreement. Show Me The Progress.

**douglasm** · March-15-13, 07:51 AM

It's gonna take a while before anyone can come up with a proper score, and I hope people understand that. There is no instant fix, but I have this feeling that in a world that looks for instant gratification, editorials deploring the direction he's taking will appear within a month.

An I don't know how you would keep score. I guess it all debends on your agenda. Someone, somewhere is going to get shafted, and thus irritated, and then go on the news complaining about it. Someone else is going to come out ok, be happy, and then go on the news praising it. Independent non issue based reporting is going to be necessary in order to figure out how the EFM is doing.

**Honky Tonk** · March-15-13, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by douglasm

It's gonna take a while before anyone can come up with a proper score, and I hope people understand that. There is no instant fix, but I have this feeling that in a world that looks for instant gratification, editorials deploring the direction he's taking will appear within a month.

I don't understand why not? Everything on TV gets fixed in a half hour, hour tops.

**Lowell** · March-15-13, 08:25 AM

One metric I would like to see scored is insurance rates. It is easily quantifiable.

Insurance is arguably the most crippling economic impediment that the CoD faces. It drains dollars out of the City of Detroit, discourage particularly young people from moving in and ends up hurting Detroit's population count. How? Residents of Detroit claim residency at relative's homes outside the red line to avoid the punishing rates.

While listening to the Orr, Snyder, Bing press conference yesterday I thought that was the elephant in the room. The word insurance was never uttered.

**wardwood** · March-15-13, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by rb336

Take away quote so far:

"I've reached land and burned my boat"

Not sure about this. According freep.com his wife and 2 young children are staying in DC, not moving to Detroit

http://www.freep.com/article/20130315/NEWS01/303150170/

**Novine** · March-15-13, 09:03 AM

Is that a surprise? He doesn't have any plans to be here for any longer than 18 months. Guys like him fly in, do their dirty work and go back home when they or their boss has decided their work is done. If he wanted to live in Detroit, he would already be here.

**Honky Tonk** · March-15-13, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by Novine

Is that a surprise? He doesn't have any plans to be here for any longer than 18 months. Guys like him fly in, do their dirty work and go back home when they or their boss has decided their work is done. If he wanted to live in Detroit, he would already be here.

What a surprise. His wife is probably an established surgeon, his kids probably have lives in DC too. These days you can air commute to your job and be home on the weekends.

**Hypestyles** · March-15-13, 09:43 AM

what exactly is the protocol for making policy changes?does he send recommendations to Snyder's office for the green-light? My guessis that there won't be a press conference for every change that is made.

does the structure of the police/fire commissioners & pension board fallunder an EM?

**Wesley Mouch** · March-15-13, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by Lowell

I heard the press conference with Mr. Orr. He was impressive, confident and erudite. One phrase he repeated a few times in regard to dealing with an issue was that he had to 'look at the data'.

I think he should be scored the same way - look at the data. How many street lights are repaired? By how much time is police response improved? Does the crime rate drop? Are weed lots mowed and abandoned houses removed?

We had some of this discussion last summer in the thread Benchmarking The Consent Agreement. Show Me The Progress.

Lowell -- those are the metrics that should have been applied to the council and mayor. They have only tangential relevance to the EFM.

The EFM's role is not to improve city services. Of course they should improve after he leaves, and be harmed as little as possible during the EFM's engagement.

I will argue that these metrics are harmful. An EFM should be harmful and hurt. One should only be engaged as the last resort. Avoiding declines in your metrics WERE the job of the council/mayor. It remains their job. The EFM is empowering them to do their job by stabilizing their finances where they were unwilling to do so.

**mwilbert** · March-15-13, 11:22 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Lowell -- those are the metrics that should have been applied to the council and mayor. They have only tangential relevance to the EFM.

The EFM's role is not to improve city services. Of course they should improve after he leaves, and be harmed as little as possible during the EFM's engagement. .

This is true of an EFM, but an EM, which is what Mr. Orr will be, has a broader set of powers and, one would think, a broader portfolio. I imagine we will find out what he thinks he is trying to accomplish fairly quickly.

**kenp** · March-15-13, 11:41 AM

The state will be more willing to send money to Detroit now that they have control the spending. Before it was like handing money to a crack head

**Danny** · March-15-13, 12:34 PM

Alas! I have seenRomulus Augustus’s hand over the laurel reef crown to the German King Odoacerand Rome fall along with his glorious empire in A.D. 476.

Alas! I have seen Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the city council hand over cityseal to Gov. Rick Snyder and given all to a black king named Kevyn Orr andDetroit fall along with its glorious self-rule in A.D. 2013.

This would be the new changing of the political guard in Detroit. An EmergencyFinancial Manager is here and now. He or [[she) will dictate Detroit citygovernment businesses from its public safety to regional job growth. Now let'ssee what this king can do to fix Detroit's mess.

**Lowell** · March-15-13, 12:42 PM

Guess what? 200 years ago today Detroit was also under the domination of a non-elected leader - the British Commander who had forced the surrender of the city.

**Honky Tonk** · March-15-13, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Guess what? 200 years ago today Detroit was also under the domination of a non-elected leader - the British Commander who had forced the surrender of the city.

And Snyder did it without a shot fired.

**p69rrh51** · March-15-13, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by Danny

Alas! I have seenRomulus Augustus’s hand over the laurel reef crown to the German King Odoacerand Rome fall along with his glorious empire in A.D. 476.

Alas! I have seen Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the city council hand over cityseal to Gov. Rick Snyder and given all to a black king named Kevyn Orr andDetroit fall along with its glorious self-rule in A.D. 2013.

This would be the new changing of the political guard in Detroit. An EmergencyFinancial Manager is here and now. He or [[she) will dictate Detroit citygovernment businesses from its public safety to regional job growth. Now let'ssee what this king can do to fix Detroit's mess.

Danny you are doing quite well for 1500+ years old. One thing you and your cohorts forgets is that the City of Detroit is not a state or country, it is an entity that belongs to the State of Michigan. The State does have the right to properly administer any city or town etc. within its political boundaries. Also the governor and the legislature are also duly elected by the citizens of the the state something many Detroit residents seem to ignore! Personnally I want bankruptcy. You think the EMF is a headache watch what happens with a bankruptcy judge. Bing and Snyder are trying to save union contracts, pensions and of course keep the bond holders happy that all goes away with bankruptcy. By the way does anyone know if the civil service rules will still be in effect?