)
By RON SEIG l
MlchlQ!n Citizen
TH U M city departm nts under th administra-
tion of D troit M yor D nnis Archer 'totally cut off funding for
the Woodbridge District Council without notifying city coun il.
A special s sion was held Tuesday, September 27 in .which
the D troi City Council could clarify the situ tion. City coun
cil sourc state that t.here wer conflicting claims, and th
authorized meetings between Woodbridge and admini tration
official w re e up to iron out these claims.
William ledge, Chairperson of the Woodbridge District
Coun iI, harged that the rea on for the cutoff of Woodbridge
funds wa the desire of some in the Archer Adminis ration to
destroy citizen distric councils and restore th day when
citiz n h d no voice in the development proce .
In th 50s and pOs during th Miriani, Cavanaugh, and
Grib Administration, residents say people were being
moved from their homes without adequate relocation to make
ro m for affluent uburbanites and big busin
ledge id the administration of Detroit Mayor Dennis
Ar h r "came in not wanting CDCs."
ledge pointed out that this year. Gloria Robinson, head of
t.he Planning and D velopment Department suggested that
mon y hould only go to "produ ive" district councils, giving
h dmini tration control over what citizen repr s ntativ
he would accept.
"We ar actually th only voice that the people have," Sledge
aid without citizen district councils, Sledge s: ys, special
int r st, uch as big busine ,would be to 1 old a domi-
nant. voic r w oa... ill he
sid, just s they did in the early days of urban renewal.
WHILE CITY COUNCIL did not adopt the plan to cut off
funding for district councils city officials .did not approve of,
Mahaffey said in her budget message that the city council
would next year. Councilwoman Brenda Scott expressed dis
agr merit.
Sledge charges efforts to cut off Woodbridge funds are part
of a general Archer Administration plan to "close us (citizen
dist.rict councils) up one by one."
ity Editor Roger Short. told the Michigan Citizen that the
problem was the failure of Woodbridge to pay employee taxes
nd document other expenses. According to Short, the Plan
ning and Developm nt Department (formally the Community
and Economic Development Department) pre- ented the
Auditing Department with an audit of Woodbridg expenses
_ from the firm of Reed and Taylor, stating that the district
council owed $26,000 in payroll taxes, tate unemployment
taxes and city taxes.
He said part of the problem was that Woodbridge officials
did not pay taxes in a "timely fashion" and owed interest on
taxes.
He also charged Woodbridge did not provide r cords of
expenditures that it made. .
Citizen dis ric councils are paid out of Federal Block Grant
Fund If charges . against Woodbridge are tru«, Mahaffey
warn d, uch Financial irregularities by district councils could
r due f deral Funding.
TATE LAW establishing district councils do not require
citie to finance them.
Mahaffey aid that if th Woodbridge District Council did
not pay the payroll taxes, he City of Detroit would have to·do
so "out of our tax dollars."
led I Woodbrid hairpe on, aid that th repor WA
fal H aid in th late 1980 , the di ric council had tax
probl m b cause the auditing firm hey hired paid axe late
nd t hi th r d up int re t.
In 19 0 he Col man Young Adrnini tration gr .d to pay
th taxe on on time ba i H dded that th Woodbrid
di trict council al 0 rais d mon y through holding dinners.
Aft r t hi, I d aid Woodbridg h ndl d tax paymen
th m lv nd ensured they w r paid on time
led aid or every expenditure, Woodbridge official
provid -d arc Ip . .
A r mg 0 .Gillon, th ity Council called for m ting
b w n Arch r Adrnini tration and Woodbridge offici Is to
clarify t h i u tion nd work hin ou Gillon adds he city
council want Woodbridge officials to re pond to th charges
in th R ed and T ylor udit and to giv Shor nd Kevin
n om . th fi 1 n ly t, a chance to r ply. .
, ch n to
dur ,
Detroit
') comp ny'
bo min , lower profi
m rgin m n it can no Ion
generate th funding it n
expand.
Trum rk i n alan.
To prepa . for th next eco
nomic downturn, minority 3Up
pl ior ar diver ifying heir
product lin au ide ofth auto
industry, cquiring small r
companies and fonningpartner-
hip with each oth rand non
mi ority finn .
Savaroir
Moss is
'promoted
Savaroir Mo s, 'P , has
been promo eO to r gional con
troller for t h D troit Region of
McDonald' Corporat ion. Moss
will s rve as financial advi or to
the regional vi pr ident on
central business transactions
with restaurant franchisee .
Moss has been with McDon
ald's since 1988. She has pre
viously held the po itions of
internal auditor, staff account
ant, departmental coordinator,
and supervisor of th financial
accounting and r porting group.
Moss rid a bachelor of
science degr e in accounting
from Michigan Stat U niver
sity. She became a certified pub
lic accountant in f990
Moss, a Detroit native, re
side in Livonia, MI.
UNITED EGRO
COLLEGEFuNn
SO YEARS OF MAKING
A CRITiCAl DIFFERENCE
'\
Wednesday
October 26, 1994
·Holiday Inn South
Conference Center
Lansing, Michigan
S40 per penoa
6:30 p.m. - Dinner
and Program
more
busin S.
JA QUELINE LEWI -
KEMP, who became Lewis M t
al's president after her fath r'
death in 1993, ays her com
pany is swamped with work now
because of the boom in auto
ales
Bu she's hedging her be by
slowly diversifying the firm
with appliance maker contrae ,
although 0 percent of her busi-
n is till in aut .
Each ofth BigThr
oci I nd moral obli tion t.o
encoura the growth f min r
ity upplier
The utomaker told th ir
top 200 uppli rs in March that
p rforrn nc ratings will d -
p nd, in part, on wh th r 5 r-
nt of t h i r purcha d
A Community Homework nt r, po ored by th Detroit
Bl k Writ r uild, th W tWIT n Av nue Merchan
ociation, and th Droit Public Libr I')' is now open at 5601
t WaIT n t Junction.
Located in th W t WarrenAv nue M rchants ociation
building, th nter is open Monday - Friday, 3-5:30 p.m. A
coll ion of ncyclopedias, D trait. Public chool lementary
hrough high h 01 t xt books, n 0 h r r [I r nee material
are vai I hie to tud n of II . for hom work ign
men . Ther i adult. upervi ion nd ur parking. For
information 11 313- 97-2551.
Th D troit Public Library 1 0 off homework tutoring
at two of its locations. Studen can mak an appointment at
the Knapp Br nch, 13330 Conant, on S turday 11 a.m.-lp.m.
by c lling 313-876-0133, Monday - Thu day nd Saturday,
9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Th Children' Library of th Main
Library, 5201 Woodward Avenu ,ha tutoring every other
Saturd y, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. and rvations n be made by
calling �13-833-1490, Tu day, Thu day, Friday and Satur
day,9:30 .m. - 5:30 p.m and Wedn day 1 - 9 p.m. For more
inform Lion about the D trait Public Library and its ervices
call th Marketing D p rtment at 313- 33-4042 Monday-Fri
day, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
ADVERTISE
..... � -...,._.,..--�---
-
MDOT Is Doing Its Best
To Keep You Out Of A Fix ...
While Fixing The Bridges
A' I!�OlOOlEFIX continue , acce to d wnt wn ha impr ved with the re
opening of Chry ler Freeway (1-75), The Mi higan Department of Tran portation
(MOOT) i repairing nine bridge and p d trian walkway over th Lodge (M-
10), Ford (1-94) and Fi her (1-75) freeway, When th job i d ne you will be
"
traveling over (and under) me f the afe t, m t ecur brid e in Michigan.
In th meantime, MD T w nt t ke p y u out
Her' h w:
• heck your I al print n w. and traffi
information tation f r updat d travel
inf rmati n.
• All freeway have tw Ian. p n in b th
directi n., except during ni ht tim
n: tru ti n p ri ds.
• n. and pI
th sp ed limits.
• all iur t 11- r h tlin -1-
Mi hi n . p rtm nt
101 W. Mil R ad
uthfi Id, MI 4 75·
ransp irtation
�I ) I thank.
�FIX program
Sav til; information for uture r -ference.
•
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