Detroit officials and a state financial review team are free once again to try and reach a consent agreement. The Michigan Court of Appeals tonight unanimously overturned an Ingham County Court judge’s order that prohibited the two sides from working out an agreement before Monday’s deadline.
Ingham County Circuit Judge William Collette was worried that the financial review team had violated the state’s Open Meetings Act while determining the economic condition of Detroit. But the Appeals Court said Collette could not stop the financial review team from doing its job unless it continued to violate the Open Meetings Act.
Judge Collette had scheduled a hearing for next Thursday to discuss the alleged violations of the Open Meetings Act, but the review team had a Monday deadline to announce whether or not Detroit would be taken over by an Emergency Manager. The city is now able to continue negotiating an agreement with the review team that could keep an Emergency Manager out of the picture.
The financial review team has scheduled a meeting for 3:00 pm Monday. They can continue to negotiate a possible consent agreement with the city of Detroit until that time.
