Yin & Yang / A VIRTUAL IMPASSE?

Mayor, council at odds over control of spending

Web-posted Dec 1, 2004
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Daily Oakland Press

A $5.1 million budget deficit has Mayor Willie Payne and the City Council in a tug of war over Pontiac's financial purse strings.

Payne announced Monday night he is going to begin spending money appropriated in the budget without seeking approval from the council. Under the Pontiac City Charter, he said, the mayor is authorized to supervise expenditures for city operation - not the City Council.

Upset over Payne's statements, Council President Everett Seay alleged, "This is all about ... spending all you want to spend. This is about the city in bankruptcy and we will probably end up in court."

The issue over the city's financial status has been brewing between the mayor and council for months. Council members are upset because they have not yet received an audit or letter of evaluation from auditors for the 2002-2003 fiscal year.

Consequently, the council approved a resolution months ago requiring Payne to get approval from the council Finance Subcommittee for expenditures more than $5,000 and for new hires. The administration has been complying with that request, until now, Payne said, in the spirit of cooperation - not because it is required to.

But on Monday night, Payne announced he will take back control of spending in reaction to a memo that stated Seay has instructed that no further Finance Subcommittee meetings be scheduled until the council receives the audit.

If the subcommittee holds no meetings, Payne said, he wouldn't be able to get council approval for expenditures and "It will stop day-to-day operations of the city. Does this indicate people who want to work together?"

Payne accused council of placing its own personal political self-interest before the interests of the residents of Pontiac, an allegation all council members denied.

The mayor continued that the fact council has retained an attorney to represent it in court on budget issues is the "epitome of hypocrisy to on the one hand preach the need for fiscal restraint and then on the other hand expend the limited funds of the municipality on the costs of litigation."

Councilman Charlie Harrison called the mayor's announcement "a hand grenade."
"You've had a long leash and we can't allow you to run around and wreak havoc," Harrison said.

Councilman Art McClellan said, "Something has to change. There is a systemic problem here. We have to change from top to bottom. I'm willing to work with anybody to improve this.
"We have to get this ship righted, right now."

Payne said there have been suggestions that the Finance Subcommittee may have violated the Open Meetings Act by approving hires without posting the meeting.

But John Bueno, council president pro tem and chairman of the Finance Subcommittee, said he has always followed the Open Meetings Act as far as he knows. He said he relied on City Attorney Mark Hotz to advise him to avoid any violations.

Payne submitted a deficit reduction plan and said the audit and management letter have been promised by the auditor at the end of next week.


Detroit Free Press Article
Letters to the Editor

Teach children how to learn
November 30, 2004

Your Nov. 29 article "School kids on payroll for learning" is another example of the effectiveness of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as instructional technology. External reinforcement such as play money to purchase desirable items aimed to select and increase students' academic behaviors works. We used a similar token economy to teach reading and mathematics to early elementary age students with disabilities at the Experimental Education Unit, University of Washington in Seattle in the late 1980s. However, young children who are typically developing need to learn more than discreet tasks within a teacher-directed curriculum. They need to learn how to learn to understand their world.

Young children enter the world with motivation to learn in all areas of development: social, emotional, language, cognition, self-care and physical. We as early childhood educators need to understand each child across these areas of development in order to design instruction that promotes the child's healthy development and learning in home and school. These areas of development and learning continue in elementary school and expand into academic content areas of reading and mathematics. We can provide developmentally appropriate instruction and learning that builds upon each child's natural motivation to explore, inquire and make sense of their world. Teaching is more than providing external reinforcement to increase academic behaviors. Our children need to learn how to learn about the complexities their world and be the leaders for tomorrow.

Mark J. Larson,
PhD Coordinator, early childhood education Assistant professor, early childhood education and early childhood special education Wayne State University Detroit