Tempers flared as Flint City Councilman Eric Mays rode Robert’s rules of order for just under an hour before a vote was taken on a special order he proposed at last night’s Council meeting to offer an alternative to the long-term Flint water proposal presented by the Mayor and pushed by the state.

In a letter from the MDEQ Director dated June 15, 2017, the Council was given a deadline of June 26th to approve the proposal or provide an alternative.  The Council had already voted not to put the item on the agenda last Friday, guaranteeing a showdown at Monday’s City Council Meeting.  The special order was advanced to offer an alternative, per the MDEQ request.

Two alternatives were presented in writing, one from Councilman Winfrey, and one from Councilwoman Galloway.  Councilman Mays also offered his own verbal alternative, to force the state to “Pay that [Karegnondi] bond off with state money.”  He noted that “Divided you can’t get all that money,” and suggested presenting a united front in order to get “the Governor to drop that money.”  He offered to stay there until midnight to hash out the alternatives and blamed his fellow council members for their apparent reluctance to do so.

In response to hecklers in the audience urging Mays to “move it along,” the Councilman retorted, “When I’m trying to save the city they want to hear themselves.”

Regarding the two written proposals a question was posed to City Attorney Wheeler whether they would even meet the requirement for an “alternative” demanded by the MDEQ, she seemed to suggest that they would not because they lacked detail and specificity, and did not represent an agreement between all the concerned parties, as the State backed proposal does.  It is difficult to see how an alternative meeting these requirements could have been arrived at in the timeline imposed by the state.

On a vote of 4 to 3, the special order was not approved.  It is reported today that the state has moved the deadline to September for a Council decision, rather than bringing any legal action.

Below are some other highlights from last night’s Flint City Council meeting:

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