Saginaw Mayor Greg Branch doesn't support termination of City Manager Darnell Earley, despite disagreements

By Jessica Fleischman | jfleisc2@mlive.comThe Saginaw News
on February 19, 2013 at 10:42 PM, updated February 19, 2013 at 10:45 PM

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Enlarge Colleen Harrison | MLive.comSaginaw Mayor Greg Branch speaks during an open discussion portion of a citywide meeting hosted by the Southwest Saginaw Neighborhood Association at Beacon of Hope Church in Saginaw Tuesday, Feb. 19. The meeting was organized to discuss possible cuts to the police and fire services in the city.Saginaw neighborhood association holds meeting to discuss police, fire services gallery (10 photos)

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SAGINAW, MI — Saginaw Mayor Greg Branch answered questions from Saginaw residents, police officers, and firefighters for nearly two-and-a-half hours during a citywide neighborhood association meeting.
With other local officials looking on at the 6:30 p.m. meeting inside Beacon of Hope Church, 2109 W. Michigan, Branch explained his proposed ordinance enforcement plan, state revenue sharing, Saginaw's tax cap, and his disagreement with City Manager Darnell Earley regarding a proposal to contract with the Saginaw County Sheriff's Office for city policing services.
"I think it would be safe to say that the city manager and I don't see eye to eye on this issue. I think he sees it as the magic bullet - the simple, one shot way to fix the budget issue," Branch said to the room of approximately 100 people.
"I don't think it is the best solution. I have voted that way, (but) I am one vote of nine."
Branch opposed the proposal to contract with the sheriff,when it came up for a council vote in December, but was outvoted by the majority of council members.
Though Branch said he does disagree with Earley on how to bridge a projected $3.2 million budget gap for the 2013-2014 fiscal year, which begins July 1, he disagreed with audience members at the meeting, who expressed their support for eliminating Earley as the city manager, saying firing him would fix the city's financial problems.
"Ultimately, the issue here is not, and should not be, individual personalities, because it does not matter who the city manager is, we are still going to have the same issues."
"This is bigger than Darnell Earley. This is bigger than Phil Ludos," Branch said, bringing up the assistant city manager for public safety, after audience members also called for his termination.
"We can't sustain our public safety infrastructure on incremental cuts," he said, explaining that the salary Ludos takes in would only sustain one-and-a-half police officers.
Branch blamed many of the city's financial problems on state laws and encouraged Saginaw residents to contact their state legislators with complaints about issues, including non-resident tax rates, which are limited by the state.
While Branch was the centerpiece of the meeting, police and fire officials also spoke up. Several public safety officials expressed their gratitude for support from audience members, including police officer and union president Doug Wortley.
"I'd like to say thanks to all the people here for supporting the police and fire departments. It means a lot to us," Wortley said.