Representative, police officer talk to group

Written by Kate Cole Saturday, 21 May 2011 04:00

Politicians and a police officer dominated the College Cultural Neighborhood Association meeting May 19.

Rep. Jim Ananich reported on recent cuts to education funding.

"Not only are K-12 schools affected," Ananich said, "universities and community colleges will see reduced funding as well. I think these cuts are a step backward. Flint schools will lose about $9 million in funding."

According to Ananich, bilingual classes and other programs that affect kids will be cut.

More school services will be contracted out and employees will pay a greater share of their health care costs.

Asked where he would cut spending at the state level, Ananich said he would not have given a big tax break to corporations.

"I'd make the tax system more equitable — not put the burden on the educational system. We need to put more money into work force development," he explained.

Besides cuts in educational funding, the city will lose state funding.

"Flint will see about a cut of $8 million dollars in revenue sharing," Ananich said.

On the positive side, Ananich said that indicators show the economy is starting to turn around.

"Hiring is slow but new job trends continue to be upward in Michigan," Ananich added.

Michigan Trooper Scott Nichols, a community service trooper, said 10 state troopers and two supervisors were in Flint.

"We have a three-year grant to assist the Flint police," Nichols said. "We're dedicated to preventing personal and property crime on the north end of the city. This frees up the Flint police to handle other incidents," Nichols explained.

Nichols said his work as a community service trooper includes working in city schools alerting students to the dangers of "sex-texting," bullying and drunk driving.

According to Nichols, Flint has a dense population of pawnshops, which promotes burglary crime rings.

"With 10 dedicated state troopers we've taken 87 firearms off the street, made 270 felon arrests, taken 53 drunk drivers off the road and put 41 felons in prison. If the recent city jail millage had passed, we would have had another 12 officers from the state," Nichols said.

"By voting not to support the city jail, the police have no where to put drunk drivers and drug dealers," Nichols added.

Nichols explained that his group is working with the C.S. Mott Foundation to find the money to reopen the city jail so the state can send another 12 officers to aid the Flint police.

Councilman Dale Weighill (Ward 7) asked Nichols if the mayor was aware of the fact that more state troopers would have been brought in if the city jail millage had passed?

"This fact wasn't brought up during the recent campaign," Weighill said.

Members asked Weighill about Mayor Dayne Walling's request to city council for a state review of the city's finances.

"The mayor believed that if the state granted a review and entered into a consent agreement with the city, he would be given expanded powers under the state's revised emergency financial manager law with the authority to change union contracts," Weighill said.

"However, the mayor withdrew his request after finding out the authority of the consent agreement did not include changing union contracts."

According to Weighill, the mayor promised no public safety layoffs if he gets the 15 percent police and fire concessions in place by July 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.

Mike Harriman said the city and state were losing a lot of money by not collecting license fees.

"Just look at the mechanical repair shops in the city that are not licensed. We're losing lots of revenue. Besides licensing fees, the state is losing sales tax revenue, EPA regulations are not followed and police aren't checking for stolen parts because these shops aren't licensed," Harriman said.

"Regulations should be statewide so businesses don't move to places where they can get away without registering," Harriman added.

In other matters:

• The group elected three incumbent officers — President Sherry Hayden, Vice President Mike Keller and Treasurer Cindy Robinson — to one-year terms. There was no nomination for secretary that is open because of the resignation of current secretary, Paul Streby.
• Craig Walcott, neighborhood watch co-chairman, reported crime statistics for March which included 139 incidents in Ward 7 with 10 of them in the College Cultural area. Walcott said his group is working with the Fairfield Village Neighborhood Association, west of Gilkey Creek, which shares information using patrol notes, an e-mail criminal activity watch system. Mike Harriman, co-chairman, reported that sharing information via patrol notes resulted in a recent metal theft arrest.
• Weighill reported the vacant home at 801 S. Vernon St. was demolished and graffiti at a local car wash was removed. "We're working on removing graffiti from the train tracks overpass on Dort Highway," he added.
• Weighill said each ward would have two representatives in the city's master planning process on the steering committee.
• Mike Keller reported eight flowering pear trees and 10 flowering crabapple trees were planted at Pierce School with funds raised by the group and a donation by Don Potter.
• Recycling will begin June 4, June 5, July 2, July 3, Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 at Woodside church parking lot. Check the association web site at www.ccnaflint.org for more information.

The group will meet next at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Mott Community College RTC Auditorium Room 1005.

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