"Detroit Is Dead. Long Live Oakland County" interview with LBP

[D_Town]

"Lou Willis rents a one-story house on the Detroit side of 8 Mile Road, and working in her small flower garden, she can look across the street into a different world. There, in suburban Ferndale, the trash gets picked up and the streetlamps work, while she has been waiting for months for Detroit to fix the lights on her side. In Ferndale there are fewer of the vacant lots that make whole swaths of Detroit look like post-apocalyptic pastureland. Willis says Ferndale police sometimes respond to calls on the Detroit side because it can take hours for city cops to arrive. She’s thinking of moving to Ferndale, or another town in the same suburban county. “I’d like to relocate to Oakland County, where I can rely on city services and feel safer,” she says, “even if it’s just on the other side of the street.”

Willis is hardly the first Detroiter to consider that move. Since 1950 the population of Detroit has fallen by more than 60 percent, from 1.8 million to 700,000. Over that same period the population of Oakland County—a square comprising Ferndale, Southfield, Birmingham, and a cluster of other cities and towns—tripled, to 1.2 million. The county today is one of the wealthiest in the country, and 8 Mile Road has the feel of an international border. The relationship between Detroit, the nation’s poorest city, and its northern neighbors often resembles a border dispute, characterized on both sides by anger, resentment, fear, and caricature. Detroit’s July 18 bankruptcy filing is merely the latest chapter in the long dysfunctional marriage between a once-thriving city and its suburbs.

If there’s one person who best embodies this psychodrama, it’s L. Brooks Patterson, the county executive of Oakland and for decades one of Detroit’s harshest critics. Patterson, 74, who was elected to his sixth term last fall, has held the post since 1993. He previously made a name for himself as county prosecutor by leading the fight against school desegregation through busing. He’s a unique combination of green-eyeshade superego and raging demagogic id. His pitch—both to voters and businesses—is that Oakland County is everything Detroit is not, and that it doesn’t need Detroit to survive. “In the old days they’d say, ‘As Detroit goes, so goes Michigan,’ ” he says in his office in Waterford. “That’s bulls-.-.-. As Oakland County goes, so goes Michigan.”

Patterson oversees 4,000 employees and a budget of $776 million for fiscal 2013. In the 1990s he switched county workers from defined benefit pensions to 401[[k)-type plans, and new hires no longer get lifetime retiree health care—instead they receive health savings accounts. Changes like these have saved hundreds of millions of dollars and eliminated the legacy labor costs that plague not only Detroit but city and state governments all over the country. Oakland is part of a select group of U.S. counties that enjoy a Triple-A bond rating.
Patterson has also tried to shift the county away from a reliance on manufacturing toward high tech and life sciences. Since 2004, according to a county report produced in June, Patterson’s Emerging Sectors initiative has enticed 241 businesses to expand or relocate to the county and generated $2.5 billion in investment, 29,160 new jobs, and $63.9 million in taxes. “L. Brooks Patterson is one extraordinary county executive,” says Donald Grimes, an economist at the University of Michigan.

Careful stewardship is not what made Patterson a household name in Michigan, however. For that he can thank his mouth. In the 1970s, as county prosecutor, he compared Detroit residents under then-Mayor Coleman Young to “Indians on the reservation—those who can will leave Detroit. Those who can’t will get blankets and food from the government man in the city.” In 1997, the day after Young, the city’s first black mayor, died, Patterson told a newspaper that the deceased was “singly responsible for the demise of Detroit.” Of suburban sprawl, he has declared, “I love sprawl. I need it. I promote it.
...

“I’m just done sending cold, hard cash to the city, especially when it’s going to go right down a rathole.”

READ FULL ARTICLE AT:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles...oakland-county

The bottom line: The leader of Oakland County, Mich., has built a career as a respected administrator and longtime Detroit basher.

[Danny]

That is some message coming from a bigot! named Patterson.

[softailrider]

While it has it's bad spots, Oakland County is just a place that works. As does the majority of Wayne County. What am I trying to say? I'm not sure.......

[bailey]

He previously made a name for himself as county prosecutor by leading the fight against school desegregation through busing.

Was leaving out the "cross-district" part about the busing inadvertent or is it an attempt to make it look like he was like George Wallace standing in the school house door?

[mwilbert]

LBP has never shown any understanding the role of cities in a functioning metropolitan area, and of course the "big city" in Oakland county, Pontiac, is not a lot better off than Detroit. It will be interesting to see how the county and its various subdivisions do as they are built out and the infrastructure ages. No doubt a mixed bag, but I wouldn't be as sanguine as he often seems to be.

[mwilbert]

Was leaving out the "cross-district" part about the busing inadvertent or is it an attempt to make it look like he was like George Wallace standing in the school house door?

Is that really important?

I understand the legal difference between in-district and cross-district busing, but is there a moral difference? I'm not sure I see it.

I'm not especially critical of the anti-busing folks; although many of them were clearly people who had racial attitudes which were and are distasteful, busing has a lot of bad aspects, and there are good reasons to want your kids to go to local schools. But I just don't think that the "cross-district" part is that important.

[bailey]

Is that really important?

I understand the legal difference between in-district and cross-district busing, but is there a moral difference? I'm not sure I see it.

I think it's a huge difference. Desegregation is one thing, cross district forced busing is a whole other.

If I don't particularly like the schools in my neighborhood... should I be able to send my kids to the next district over, where I don't pay taxes, but where they might have better schools? No. I need to move there, pay in, and then my kid can go. that is how the system works.

That is entirely different from a situation where there is a school for black kids and a school for white kids in my own district. Or a situation where I can not move to the city with good schools because of my skin color.

[Novine]

"That is entirely different from a situation where there is a school for black kids and a school for white kids in my own district. Or a situation where I can not move to the city with good schools because of my skin color."

Are we supposed to pretend that in the early 1970s, African-Americans could move to any district they wanted? Even if such discrimination was illegal, it still happened in most communities. How did that work out in Dearborn?

"If I don't particularly like the schools in my neighborhood... should I be able to send my kids to the next district over, where I don't pay taxes, but where they might have better schools? No. I need to move there, pay in, and then my kid can go. that is how the system works."

No, that's how the system used to work. Ironically, it's Republicans who have embraced "school choice" in their effort to dismantle the public school system.

[bailey]

Are we supposed to pretend that in the early 1970s, African-Americans could move to any district they wanted? Even if such discrimination was illegal, it still happened in most communities. How did that work out in Dearborn?

Well, that's a different discussion and an issue forced busing wasn't going to solve.

No, that's how the system used to work. Ironically, it's Republicans who have embraced "school choice" in their effort to dismantle the public school system.

Well, that is how the system still works if the districts don't participate in schools of choice. I agree SoC is a horrific idea as it has had the exact result predicted from the beginning... a mass exodus from failing schools, exacerbating the issue, and deleterious effects on the recipient districts.

[iheartthed]

I think it's a huge difference. Desegregation is one thing, cross district forced busing is a whole other.

If I don't particularly like the schools in my neighborhood... should I be able to send my kids to the next district over, where I don't pay taxes, but where they might have better schools? No. I need to move there, pay in, and then my kid can go. that is how the system works.

That is entirely different from a situation where there is a school for black kids and a school for white kids in my own district. Or a situation where I can not move to the city with good schools because of my skin color.

Didn't the fragmentation of school districts in Metro Detroit start because of court ordered integration [[i.e. bussing) within single districts? I don't see how you separate the two.

[Hypestyles]

Brooks needs to retire ASAP and pray that Obamacare helps him in his ongoing medical issues--- no thanks to his own state party colleagues, who keep trying to scuttle the exchange program..

[Wesley Mouch]

LBP has never shown any understanding the role of cities in a functioning metropolitan area, and of course the "big city" in Oakland county, Pontiac, is not a lot better off than Detroit. It will be interesting to see how the county and its various subdivisions do as they are built out and the infrastructure ages. No doubt a mixed bag, but I wouldn't be as sanguine as he often seems to be.

On the contrary, much of OC is the best big city in Michigan.

He's not lovable, but his 'city' works. It really isn't that sprawled out -- less than Macomb and western Wayne. His citizens enjoy functional government.

Detroit on the other hand is a basket case.

Pontiac seems to be doing much better than Detroit -- from what I can tell. Perhaps you'd like to look up police response time and do a comparison?

Seems like you are critizing him because he doesn't believe in the standard new-urbanism book. Yet the clear winner in Michigan's new-urbanist competition is Royal Oak. Downtown Detroit is fine -- but viewed as a whole, Detroit is not a success.

Given two choices -- LBP or CAY, the decision is easy.

[bailey]

Didn't the fragmentation of school districts in Metro Detroit start because of court ordered integration [[i.e. bussing) within single districts? I don't see how you separate the two.

IIRC, and I can be corrected... it all came out of Detroit's de-segregation. the cross district issue went to SCOTUS and it lost because the "metro" cross busing solution would have required the consolidating of all districts into one mega district and that is only done when there is a showing the lines were drawn to effectuate segregation. Which wasn't shown.

also IIRC, what it came down to was Detroit students had a right to attend mixed schools in DPS. Unless there was a showing that white kids residing in Detroit got to go to suburban schools instead of DPS there was no right to bus Detroit black kids to the burbs.

[iheartthed]

IIRC, and I can be corrected... it went to SCOTUS and it lost because the "metro" cross busing solution would have required consolidating all districts into one mega district and that is only done when there is a showing the lines were drawn to effectuate segregation. Which wasn't shown.

IIRC, What it came down to was Detroit students had a right to attend mixed schools in Detroit. Unless there was a showing that white kids from detroit got to go to suburban schools then there was no right to bus Detroit black kids to the burbs.

Yes, my point is that because legal challenges to integration within school districts [[e.g. Detroit) could not be defended then the trend became to establish districts along municipal boundaries. Tying districts to municipal boundaries was a tool of segregation. LBP's defense of the practice was a de facto defense of segregationist policies. Hence, why the school districts in the south are curiously more racially integrated than they are in the north. School districts in the south are commonly administered on a countywide basis.

[Honky Tonk]

Brooks needs to retire ASAP and pray that Obamacare helps him in his ongoing medical issues--- no thanks to his own state party colleagues, who keep trying to scuttle the exchange program..

Why should he? Oakland County is a totally functioning, safe, service-oriented, community, full of ex-Detroiters, who had enough of Wayne County, and especially Detroit.

[mwilbert]

On the contrary, much of OC is the best big city in Michigan.

To be able to say that, you literally have to not know what a city is.

Seems like you are critizing him because he doesn't believe in the standard new-urbanism book.

I'm not even sure it was exactly a criticism. It was an observation that he doesn't understand the role of cities in a regional economy. Most likely because he has spent basically his entire life in southeast Michigan, during which time the center city has been imploding.

Yet the clear winner in Michigan's new-urbanist competition is Royal Oak. Downtown Detroit is fine -- but viewed as a whole, Detroit is not a success.

Downtown Detroit is not fine; at best it is improving from a pretty bad state. I wouldn't really call Royal Oak new urbanist; downtown has a new-urbanist aspect, but the city is a typical inner-ring suburb.

Given two choices -- LBP or CAY, the decision is easy.

CAY is dead. LBP will be soon. Those are not the choices.

[Novine]

"He's not lovable, but his 'city' works. It really isn't that sprawled out -- less than Macomb and western Wayne. His citizens enjoy functional government."

Please tell us what government LBP provides to most county residents? I can't think of a single service the county provides that the average OC resident would notice.

[Detroitnerd]

L. Brooks Patterson is a pretty effective demagogue. He takes the base hunches of most people and translates them into a potent brand of suburban triumphalism. It's great for keeping him in office, and maybe a morale booster for some of the more regressive suburban folks, who want him to go on peddling his comforting myths.

But as for OC being a self-contained economic unit, and Detroit not mattering, why is he going to shuck and jive so hard when the bond people come to OC? Why is he so insistent in his message that sprawl is growth and OC's fortunes not being yoked to Detroit at all.

As folks used to say, once long ago, when something sounds almost too good to believe, chances are it's not true in the first place.

[poobert]

So Detroit is dead and the alternative is Oakland County?

Now, step back, take a deep breath, and ask yourself, why was Michigan the only state to lose population in the last decade?

Ultimately what this says is, that if you value any semblance of urban living, keep looking. Your choices are a dead city and a collection of mostly indistinguishable suburbs, still heavily dependent on the auto industry, that are profoundly lacking in transit, walkability, or bikability.

The face, nay, messiah of this wonderful place is also a fatter version of the guy from Gran Torino. Nothing screams "cosmopolitan" [[no pun intended) like a drunk old racist.

It also says "As a region, we're so fucking jacked up that we believe a smattering of humdrum suburbs are immune to the problems of their massive, southerly neighbor."

Detroit may be effectively dead, but that isn't really good news for anyone in this state. It may not bring down Oakland County, but to deny the economic interdependence of Oakland County and Detroit is baffling.

The strategy here appears to be continue to take in former Detroiters to add population to Oakland County [[which has been virtually its only source of growth in the past 13 years) and call it good. Now what could possibly go wrong there?

When you're on the stage of the world, competing for the best and the brightest, and your pitch is "At least we're not Detroit! We have streetlights and trash pickup! You can also go to Blackfin in Royal Oak" You're going to be met with a lot of confused looks.

Oakland County is ultimately a provincial, lackluster, undesirable refugee camp of former Detroiters, with a smattering of nouveau riche. It may indeed have streetlights, but it is no great American city. It is virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the nation's suburbs except that it has the misfortune of being in Michigan [[with its awful job market and weather) and bordering [[and being entirely associated with) Detroit.

L Brooks may not be wrong, so for many of us we have no place here and are packing our bags. And believe me we are not heading north on I-75.

[Wesley Mouch]

"He's not lovable, but his 'city' works. It really isn't that sprawled out -- less than Macomb and western Wayne. His citizens enjoy functional government."

Please tell us what government LBP provides to most county residents? I can't think of a single service the county provides that the average OC resident would notice.

How about the aforementioned OC sheriffs in Pontiac. I hear the residents are thrilled -- even while Democrats cringe.

By all informed accounts, you have one of the best functioning counties next to one of the worst county/city governments.

And how about this from their Michigan Treasury filing, easy to find on the web: "Through FY 2012, the PERS is fully funded, and since there have been no new plan members enrolled since July 1, 1994, there have been no contributions from County funds since FY 1999.
Also due to the voluntary shifting of 1,126 employees from the PERS to OPRS, and the fact that all newly hired employees participate in the OPRS, the OPRS has resulted in a savings of $92.1 million since inception of the program without jeopardizing the retirement security of valued
employees." [[PERS is defined benefit, OPRS is defined contribution 401[[a)).

May not be your cup of tea -- but its finely brewed.

[Eber Brock Ward]

As Oakland County's infrastructure ages, it will begin its decline. Good for Brooks, he time his rise and rule well, but history won't judge him well.

On to the next one.

[Bham1982]

Please tell us what government LBP provides to most county residents? I can't think of a single service the county provides that the average OC resident would notice.

I can think of many. Roads, obviously, for everyone in the county. But also police [[many townships don't have police forces), water [[much of the western portion of the county isn't on Detroit water; think Milford, South Lyon, etc.) and the community college and ISD [[both the best in the state). Taxes are generally low, and services are usually good, which is why middle class Detroiters stream into places like Farmington Hills, even today [[even if Brooks is kind of a jerk).

[Novine]

Roads - Road Commission, not the County.
Police - Some cities and townships use the Sheriffs dept. but that's not the majority of the population in OC.
Water - Maybe Lyon Township? Otherwise, those communities are running their own systems.
OCC - Not the County.
ISD - Not the County.

You managed to name a half dozen services, only one of which LPB has a hand in providing. Try again.

[Bham1982]

Roads - Road Commission, not the County.
Police - Some cities and townships use the Sheriffs dept. but that's not the majority of the population in OC.
Water - Maybe Lyon Township? Otherwise, those communities are running their own systems.
OCC - Not the County.
ISD - Not the County.

You managed to name a half dozen services, only one of which LPB has a hand in providing. Try again.

Not true. County Sheriff is County [[LBP), Oakland Water is in 16 communities and County [[LBP). OCC and ISD are not overseen by LBP, but are county-specific services. Road Commission is separate from County governance but the Oakland County Board selects the Road Commission members.

[Novine]

You want to work on your reading comprehension? I wrote:

"Please tell us what government LBP provides to most county residents? I can't think of a single service the county provides that the average OC resident would notice."

You then proceed to list a half-dozen different services provided by entities other than Oakland County government over which LBP has no control. Having pointed that out, you continue to insist, incorrectly, that certain services are provided by the county with the oversight of LBP. Let's review:

County Sheriff is County [[LBP) - The only say LBP has in the operations of the Sheriff's department is in setting the budget. Otherwise, the Sheriff reports to the County Board of Commissioners, not LBP.

Oakland Water is in 16 communities and County [[LBP) - The only say LPB has in the operations of the Water Resources Commissioner's department is in setting the budget. Otherwise, the Commissioner reports to the County Board of Commissioners, not LBP. Of those 16 communities, most of them involve the county handing main sewer line operations. Many of them maintain their own water and sewer staff, like West Bloomfield as an example.

OCC and ISD are not overseen by LBP, but are county-specific services. - They provide services county-wide. Otherwise, they have no association with Oakland County government and LBP has no oversight of those organizations.

Road Commission is separate from County governance but the Oakland County Board selects the Road Commission members. - Correct, selected by the BoC, not LBP.

My original point was that for average county resident, there are no services that the county provides under LBP's oversight that they would notice on a daily basis. Your list only reinforces that point.