1) The city of Benton Harbor requested state review and intervention. It started in 2009 by the request of the City Manager.

2) The independent study which was was done under the prior Democratic Governor who approved it and appointed the current EFM under a 20 year old law. http://www.wndu.com/localnews/headlines/83...

3) The city of Benton Harbor was in complete shambles and the state has the fiduciary duty to step in and protect the citizens.

I urge everyone to read the report of the State study, the get well plan, and other relevant documents on the City website, http://www.bentonharborcity.com


As for the mayor's statement, it is self aggrandizing nonsense. No one is claiming that the city council has run off with city money or anything close to that. However, it is clear that several city departments are not doing their jobs. 100K in bad check charges alone are a pretty clear indicator. Things may have been better during his prior tenure, but for him to claim things will be fine now just because he is back in office is more that silly.

I seriously do not like government by decree. It goes against everything this nation stands for. However, the people of Benton Harbor needed to be protected and the state has an obligation to do just that. May it recover quickly and return to representative government...