new leader plans exit 05_11_09
TRANSCRIPT
May 11, 2009
New leader in Highland Park plans his exit
Emergency manager's goal: Return power to the people
BY ERIC D. LAWRENCE
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Highland Park's state-appointed leader said his main objective is to help the city return to local control.
But Robert Mason, the city's new emergency financial manager, has uncovered a few financial problems that appear to complicate the process. The city owes $3.2 million in overdue lighting bills to DTE Energy, $4.4 million in sewerage costs to Detroit and more than $1 million to the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, which previously provided law enforcement to the city, Mason said.
While acknowledging that those expenses present a challenge, Mason said he remains "cautiously optimistic" that the city will be ready for a return to local control by the time his three-month term ends in July. "That's my driving factor," he said.
Mason, a former Chrysler executive for strategic planning who served on the Farmington Hills City Council last year, was named April 17 to replace Arthur Blackwell II, who state officials said improperly paid himself $264,000. Blackwell, who has denied wrongdoing, is being investigated by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
State and local officials agree that the city is in better shape than when Gov. John Engler appointed Ramona Henderson Pearson the emergency financial manager in 2001. The 2.9-square-mile city was struggling with declining population, an underfunded pension system and a debt that was more than twice as high as the $6.5 million estimate at the time.
Caleb Buhs, a spokesman for the state Department of Treasury, said the city's financial picture has improved enough that the three-month term given to Mason was appropriate. The state, however, can opt to extend the term if need be.
Highland Park officials have been eager to regain control of the city, and Mason has tried to put them at ease.
"I do not believe you can have an eight-year emergency," Mason said during the April 20 City Council meeting that served as his introduction to most of the city.
Local officials insist they are ready to take over and had expected to do so beginning this month. "Our financial emergency is over," said Councilwoman Isabella Thompson, citing progress made during Blackwell's 4-year tenure.
Thompson credited Blackwell with shoring up the city's pension system and helping to clean up blight.
"We accomplished a great deal with him," she said.
Contact ERIC D. LAWRENCE: 313-223-4272 or [email protected]