Will local control return to Hamtramck? A decision awaits

A state-appointed financial board will soon make a recommendation on whether to return local control to city hall, or perhaps modify the state’s supervision. City officials have not had the authority to make financial decisions since 2014.

A state-appointed financial board will soon make a recommendation on whether to return local control to city hall, or perhaps modify the state’s supervision. City officials have not had the authority to make financial decisions since 2014.

 

By Charles Sercombe
The future of the state’s role in supervising Hamtramck’s finances is up for review.
The state-appointed Transition Advisory Board will soon put together a recommendation on what course the state should take.
That recommendation goes to the state Treasury Department, which will then decide what’s next for the city. That decision will be released in June or July, said Jeremy Sampson, a spokesman for the department.
The TAB has been overseeing city finances for the past year. Prior to the TAB, Emergency Manager Cathy Square was in charge of the city. She left behind a number of final directives for the city manager and city council to follow.
During this time the council has not had the authority to control financial decisions or contracts. But, the final directives laid out by Square require the city manager to involve the council on contracts, hirings, and promotions, among other things.
Just what the TAB will base its recommendation on could include any number of items. Sampson told The Review it is “premature” to say what that could include, other than to say “many different areas.”
TAB members do not speak publicly about this issue, but their recommendation will be a matter of public record.
The city came under a financial crisis three years ago, and the city council asked for the state to declare a financial emergency. That was granted and an emergency manager was appointed to oversee operations.
Cathy Square ended up staying here for 18 months, the maximum amount of time allowed by law.
Day-to-day control was left in the hands of City Manager Katrina Powell, who was hired at the end of Square’s tenure.
Since that time the city has accumulated a budget surplus, a modest $800,000.
On paper the city’s finances seem in order. But down the road, in about four years, the city’s pension obligation will far exceed what the city can afford to pay out.
That financial burden is still being worked out.
There is one other factor at play, one which the state said contributed to the initial financial crisis: the political atmosphere in city hall.
Hamtramck’s politics have always been a blood sport, and the interplay between past city councils and the city manager has proven to undercut stability. Prior to the state declaring a financial crisis here, the council went through five city managers within one year.
The current relationship between some members of council and the city manager has not been good.
Will that weakness in the city’s stability play a role in the TAB’s recommendation to the Treasury Department?
That’s hard to tell, if Pontiac’s case is any guide. The state recently relaxed its control of Pontiac’s financial decisions and eliminated a state-appointed city administrator.
Local control has pretty much returned there despite the mayor and city council generally being at odds with the city administrator.

 

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