Mayor Dave Bing at podium, (l to r) Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Anthony Marrocco, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner John McCulloch; McCulloch initiated motion that U.S. District Judge Sean Cox ruled on in February, which gave the suburbs domination over the Detroit Water Board.
By Jackson Anderson
Oct. 1, 2012
(VOD note: this excellent commentary was submitted today by a VOD reader.)
The media is not reporting that the company that received the $48 Million contract (EMA) is tied to the Robert Ficano Machine and Kurt Heise. No one is disclosing EMA’s connection to Wayne County going back to 1998 – here is the proof:
http://www.co.wayne.mi.us/documents/JMC-presentation-9-17-08-final.pdf
Slide from presentation referenced in link above; note EMA in bottom corner. Brian Hurding also presented the 81 percent cut DWSD proposal to the Water Board.
Dave Bing is in over his head and does not do any homework. He is just going along blindly because he does not care and it sounds like a good idea. Ficano’s people are running the City’s Water Department (James Fausone, water board chair, Matthew Schenk, DWSD COO, Woolfson, etc.).
- Brian Hurding of EMA at Detroit Water Board meeting Sept. 7, 2012, where $46 million EMA contract was passed.
How can you justify a $48 million NO-BID CONTRACT to a EMA based on a 90-day self-serving review conducted after EMA (which was paid for by the first NO-BID Contract?) All that the Water Commissioners were given was a POWERPOINT PRESENTATION!
DAVE BING AND THE WATER COMMISSIONERS ARE GOING TO DECIMATE THE WATER DEPARTMENT (ELIMINATE 81% OF THE STAFF) BASED ON A SELF-SERVING POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BY AN OUT-OF STATE COMPANY?
Where is the expert review to confirm the viability of the proposal?
Where is the due diligence into EMA (they have a spotty history and have caused problems with other water systems) – Toronto is an example. New York may be another example (someone needs to check this out).
- John McCulloch, Oakland Co. Water Board rep, Pam Turner, former DWSD interim director, Kurt Heise, then Wayne Co. Ficano appointee.
Where is the outcry over a $48 million dollar no-bid contract? How can you just say “the bidding process would take too long”?!!! Since when has that been an adequate justification for circumventing the bidding process? If it were Kwame Kilpatrick, then the news media would be calling it corruption.
Do you honestly believe that you can cut 81% of the staff with no effect on service?
Which staff will they cut?
- Matthew Schenk, DWSD COO and former Ficano appointee.
They claim that they are going to cross-train people to do multiple jobs – so if a person calls in sick, we have effectively lost the equivalent of three people? As a practical matter, do you believe that you can make everyone do three jobs overnight? People are not fungible.
Do we want more unemployed people in the City (950 new unemployed residents??
Water Board chair and former Ficano appointee Walter Fausone.
This decision stinks and no one is probing into it. It is going to decimate the Water Department and potentially put the health of millions of people at risk. The media is just being bamboozled by the claim that there is a horseshoer title. Are we really that easily duped by the Ficano Machine?
For PDF of this story, click on EMA TIED TO FICANO, HEISE VOD.
Related articles:
http://voiceofdetroit.net/2012/08/22/toronto-under-water-sewage-in-wake-of-ema-plan/
http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/01/26/stop-takeover-of-detroits-water/ regarding State Rep. Kurt Heise’s proposal to take over DWSD. He was also a sponsor of Public Act 4.)
