The mayor of Pontiac, which is in its second year of state-controlled emergency financial management, said he might file a lawsuit challenging the authority of the city’s new financial manager, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Mayor Leon Jukowski, who was elected last November, told the newspaper that he has been shut out of financial decisions by the new manager, Fred Leeb, and that the lawsuit would be an attempt to clarify a Michigan statute outlining the two officials’ duties.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm appointed Leeb to take over the city’s finances early last year. As manager, Leeb has the power to hire and fire staff, sell city property, cut services, and amend union contracts.
Leeb told the Free Press he expects the city to have a balanced budget by the end of fiscal 2010 on June 30, but that falling revenue will likely mean future deficits.
