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| Sign-Making Party for Monday's protest will take place Friday at 6 pm at Occupy Flint |
FLINT, April 24 - On Monday April 30th Flint General Assembly will host a protest against Public Act 4 (the emergency manager law).
The protest will be from 11am to 1pm on the lawn of Flint City Hall, 1101 S. Saginaw Street.
The Flint General Assembly began meeting when Flint emergency manager Mike Brown cancelled the regularly scheduled city council meetings late last year. “Our Flint income taxes are due April 30th,“ said Nayyirah Shariff, one of the protest organizers. “As things stand now, because we have an emergency manager, we will have no say in how those taxes are spent.”
Governor Rick Snyder announced the appointment of an emergency manager November 8th, the day Flint residents went to the polls to vote for mayor. Mike Brown started December 1st 2011.
"We're paying for an unelected bureaucrat that doesn't have our interests in mind. He's using our tax money to harm the city," said Blair Neifert, another protest organizer.
Yesterday emergency manager Mike Brown presented his budget to Flint City Council. The budget included public safety layoffs, privatization of city services, and projected increased water rates for residents.
Under Public Act 4, the emergency manager assumes the power of the mayor and city council, the legislative and executive branches of local government.
In February, the grassroots group Stand Up For Democracy turned in 226,637 signatures to repeal the law. The state Board of Canvassers will be meeting April 26th to vote whether to certify the signatures to put the issue on the ballot for November.
"It's up to us to take back our democracy," said Paul Jordan. Mr. Jordan is one of the plaintiffs in the statewide lawsuit challenging the constitutionality for Public Act 4.
The protest will also include a short theatrical event.
For more information about the protest contact: Nayyirah Shariff at (810) 610-3681.
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