Henderson: Rejecting Emergency Manager Law Would Set Off "Economic Disasters"

Free Press Editorial Page Editor Stephen Henderson writes that repealing Michigan's Emergency Manager law will " likely precipitate a series of local economic disasters with ramifications for the entire state."

The state Supreme Court ruled Friday 4-3 to allow the issue to appear on the ballot this November so voters can decide.

"This ballot proposal is an ill-conceived and short-sighted reaction to a law that Michigan needs, especially during this period of economic transition," Henderson wrote.

The Free reports that the Supreme Court ruling has touched off chaos and "a flurry of bold and contradictory claims....about the status of cities and schools already operating under financial emergencies."

To date, Flint, Benton Harbor, Ecorse and Pontiac and the school districts of Detroit, Muskegon Heights and Highland Park are under state-appointed emergency managers.