Orr had ZERO plans to deal with the various lawsuits against the city.

**brizee** · October-11-13, 10:00 AM

That's pretty interesting. Especially for a city with as many harrassment and negligent incidents as Detroit.

I'm not a lawyer but I once again fail to see the superior intelligence or even competence of Kevyn Orr. Or the highpriced lawyers and consultants he seems to be so fond of.

And speaking of people connected to Orr putting their foot in their mouth...

**JBMcB** · October-11-13, 10:08 AM

Probably because, during normal bankruptcy proceedings, all lawsuits are put on hold. You deal with them after the bankruptcy, and the presiding judge might throw some of them out. The bankruptcy judge ordering the city to figure out the lawsuit situation *before* the bankruptcy has gone through is unusual.

**SWMAP** · October-11-13, 11:03 AM

I think what that appointee said was thoughtless - but I can imagine the scenario. He's being "instructed" on the special Detroit protocol that administrators must follow: travel slowly around Detroit streets in a car with a flasher all night to be, basically, neighborhood watch volunteers. As this dawns on a guy he starts to see that things could get dicey for someone with no law enforcement training if, maybe, a situation goes bad. So, I guess, he made a barbed observation and the lady dragged it into her complaint about being demoted. I see a commenter on Deadline Detroit [[who sounds like an insider) said that she deserved demotion because "The city’s income tax system was labeled “catastrophic” in an Internal Revenue Service audit last year. To help fix this, Orr identified more than $83 million worth of improvements to IT systems over the next 10 years. Cheryl did NOTHING."

**Wesley Mouch** · October-11-13, 01:21 PM

Matt Helms should be embarrased of himself. There may be something going on here, but quoting some letter written by someone -- just because he 'discovered' it doesn't make it true. Maybe its true. Or maybe he's just been maniupulated by people who are working 24/7 to attack Orr so their personal gravy train stays delivering the gravy. Read this absolutely deplorable quote from the article where he 'quotes' this 'letter'.

Cheryl Johnson, who is black, was demoted from finance director to city treasurer on Oct. 3. She said in a letter addressed to Mayor Dave Bing, Orr and other top city officials that Jim Bonsall, the city’s chief financial officer whom Orr appointed in July, routinely demeans and berates employees openly during meetings — but in a manner that “is more pronounced with minority women,” according to the letter obtained Wednesday by the Free Press.

Oh, so someone's opinion in a letter that her manner is 'more pronounced with minority women' makes it worth mentioning? Where did good reporting go. And Helms is better than most.

**Locke09** · October-11-13, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

I think what that appointee said was thoughtless - but I can imagine the scenario. He's being "instructed" on the special Detroit protocol that administrators must follow: travel slowly around Detroit streets in a car with a flasher all night to be, basically, neighborhood watch volunteers. As this dawns on a guy he starts to see that things could get dicey for someone with no law enforcement training if, maybe, a situation goes bad. So, I guess, he made a barbed observation and the lady dragged it into her complaint about being demoted. I see a commenter on Deadline Detroit [[who sounds like an insider) said that she deserved demotion because "The city’s income tax system was labeled “catastrophic” in an Internal Revenue Service audit last year. To help fix this, Orr identified more than $83 million worth of improvements to IT systems over the next 10 years. Cheryl did NOTHING."

I've done Angel's Night patrols before, without police protection. It is well known that all those flashing lights riding around on top of vehicles makes those three nights the safest nights of the year in Detroit. Every year I volunteered, there were plenty of suburban volunteers. Admittedly I have not done so in the last few years.

There is no justification for his comment. He could have just said: "I'm not comfortable doing this, so I'm not volunteering." and left it at that.

So, in my opinion, it doesn't matter who Cheryl Johnson is, what she has or has not done, or what her motivation for revealing the appointee's comments are. He thought it was okay for him to joke about shooting someone in a hoodie in a staff meeting. As someone else opined, "Welcome to the New Detroit!"

**Novine** · October-11-13, 11:11 PM

"Matt Helms should be embarrased of himself."

Looks like Mr. Helms was onto something.

http://michiganradio.org/post/detroi...usive-comments

**Wesley Mouch** · October-12-13, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by Novine

"Matt Helms should be embarrased of himself."

Looks like Mr. Helms was onto something.

http://michiganradio.org/post/detroi...usive-comments

Bad, irresponsible reporting can be right about the facts. That doesn't excuse him in my book.

I read the Michigan Radio post. Maybe things were amiss. But I like to side with the innocent until proven guilty. There are too many people who jump to conclusions based on initial reports. And when that report is weak, we should all be careful about the feeding frenzies that erupt. We all know that there are plenty of people who would be thrilled if Orr has made a mistake. That tells me to be careful. It doesn't mean that this chap is innocent nor guilty.

Let's not join a political feeding frenzy.

**corktownyuppie** · October-13-13, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by Locke09

I've done Angel's Night patrols before, without police protection. It is well known that all those flashing lights riding around on top of vehicles makes those three nights the safest nights of the year in Detroit. Every year I volunteered, there were plenty of suburban volunteers. Admittedly I have not done so in the last few years.

There is no justification for his comment. He could have just said: "I'm not comfortable doing this, so I'm not volunteering." and left it at that.

So, in my opinion, it doesn't matter who Cheryl Johnson is, what she has or has not done, or what her motivation for revealing the appointee's comments are. He thought it was okay for him to joke about shooting someone in a hoodie in a staff meeting. As someone else opined, "Welcome to the New Detroit!"

I too have volunteered on Angels Night, though the neighborhoods we were patrolling didn't exactly welcome us with open arms.

That's another story.

I find Jim Bonsall's remarks both disgusting, from a personal perspective, but also professionally destructive from an executive perspective. If I'm Orr I'd tell Bosnall that if he wants to keep his job he needs some intensive sensitivity training as well as mandatory "on-the-ground" community service hours so that he can get to know the people he is serving. Most of whom, are hard-working and kind, even though their politics and mine aren't always the best fit.

Lastly, regardless of Bonsall's remarks, Cheryl Johnson's demotion is a totally separate issue. And, frankly, given her comments about retiree pension representation, I wouldn't object to her having some sensitivity training as well.