Government of Flint, Michigan

The City of Flint has operated under at least four charters (1855,^[1] 1888,^[2] 1929, 1974^[3]). The City is currently run under its 2017 ^[4] charter that gives the city a Strong Mayor form of government. It is also instituted the appointed independent office of Ombudsman, while the city clerk is solely appointed by the City Council. The City Council is composed of members elected from the city's nine wards.^[3]

The city was under the supervision of a state-appointed Receivership Transition Advisory Board from 2015 to January 2019.^[5] The Receivership Transition Advisory Board had to review and rule on all financial matters approved by the city council and mayor.

In June 2018, an Administrative Hearings Bureau, or Blight Hearings Bureau, was started through a grant to handle blight hearings generated from blight citations given by the city's Blight Elimination Division. Attorney T.W. Feaster was appointed the first administrative hearing officer of the bureau.^[6] There were a backlog since 2013 of about 7,000 complaints.^[7]

Other principal officers

See Also Mayor of the City of Flint, Michigan

Year	Recorders	Treasurers	Marshals
1855	Levi Walker	Elihu F. Frary	Cornelius Roosevelt
1856	Chas. B. Higgins	John C. Griswold	Joshua Vose
1857	M.L. Higgins	George F. Hood	Nathaniel Dodge
1858	Charles Hascall		Cyrus H. Golf
1859
1860	Lewis G. Bickford	John A. Kline	George Andrews
1861	L.R. Buckingham		J.A. Owens
1862	Julius Brouseau
1863	H. R. Lovell	Anson S. Withee	J.D. Morehouse
1864	Alvin T. Crossman		L.G. Buckingham
1865			J.D. Morehouse
1866		William W. Barnes
1867	George R. Gold		John S. Freeman
1868
1869	Anson S. Withee		William A. Miller
1870
1871	Chas. E. McAlester		Samuel B. Wicks
1872	Francis H. Rankin, Sr.
1873	Solomon V. Hakes
1874	Francis H. Rankin, Sr.
1875
1876
Year	City Clerk•	Treasurers	Marshals
1877	Francis H. Rankin, Sr.	Charles C. Beahan	Samuel B. Wicks
1878			Michael Doran
1879	J.B.F. Curtis	Jared Van Vleet

^[8]

•In 1876, the office of City Recorder was abolished and replaced with a city council appointed city clerk.^[8]

1929 Charter

In 1929, the city adopted a new city charter with a council-manager form of government. In 1935, the city residents approved a charter amendment establishing the Civil Service Commission. The three-member Civil Service Commission had complete control over all personal matters leaving the city manager powerless to hire and fire. The Commission powers were reduced in the 1974 charter.^[9]

Year	City Manager	Deputy City Manager	Clerk
1963—1965		James W. Rutherford
12/1971-4/1974	Brian Rapp[10]

Emergency manager

Term	Manager	Governor
Jul 2002 - Jun 2004	Ed Kurtz	John Engler
Dec 2011 - Aug 2012	Michael Brown	Rick Snyder
Aug 2012 - July 2013	Ed Kurtz	Rick Snyder
July 2013 - October 2013	Michael Brown	Rick Snyder
October 2013 - January 2015	Darnell Earley	Rick Snyder[11]
January 2015–April 30, 2015	Jerry Ambrose	Rick Snyder[12][13]

Ward officers

	Street Commissioners				Assessors
Year	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1855	William Moon	William Eddy	John C. Griswold		Ashael Fuller	William Hamilton	David Foot [14]
1856	Thomas McElhany	George Andrews	James McAlester
1857	William Baker	John A. Kline	John W. Palmer
1858	John S. Ryno	Benjamin Pearson	Chas. H. Cudney
1859		Elijah Drake
1860	Benjamin F. Golf	William Miller
1861	L. Bradford	S. C. Smith	William Bloomer
1862	A.M. Hurd	L. Buckingham	Josiah Pratt
1863		L. H. Roberts	James D. Haight
1864	David Watson	Theo. Simons	L. Buckingham
1865
1866	William W. Joyner	Leonard Weason	Jacob B. Covert
1867		Orson B. Gibson	Edmond Curtis
1868	William O. Bassett		William Boomer
1869	Jno. C. Clement	Josiah Pratt	Josiah Pratt (?)
1870	Robert W. Dullam	L. H. Robert	Silas Austin
1871	Robert Patrick, Sr.		Almon Reynolds	George Stanard
1872		S. B. Wicks		Henry Stanley
1873		Edmond Curtis	L. Buckingham	Henry Thayer
1874			Josiah Pratt
1875				John Becker
1876	John Andrews		Augustus Root
1877			John C. Dayton	D. C. Andrews
1878	Thomas Sullivan			M. H. White
1879		Alfred Ingalls		William Pidd

^[8]

Council

1855 Charter

Alderman		Wards
Council	Years	1st		2nd		3rd		4th
1st	1855	J.W. Armstrong	George W. Dewey	Benjamin Pearson	David Mather	William M. Fenton	Alvin T. Crosman
2nd	1856	H. W. Wood	? (George W. Dewey)	Charles Rice	? (David Mather)	Henry Higgins	? (Alvin T. Crosman)
3rd	1857	? (H. W. Wood)	C.S. Payne	? (Charles Rice) Lewis Walker†	Samuel N. Warren	? (Henry Higgins)	George W. Fish
4th	1858	Jno. C. Allen		Samuel B. Wicks		G.W. Skidmore
5th	1859					J. Skidmore
6th	1861	? (Jno. C. Allen)	Oscar Adams	? (Samuel B. Wicks)	William Hamilton	? (J. Skidmore)	William Patterson
7th	1861	Alexander McFarland	? (Oscar Adams)	Edward C. Turner	? (William Hamilton)	William Clark	? (William Patterson)
8th	1862	? (Alexander McFarland)	David Spencer Fox	? (Edward C. Turner)	William Hamilton	? (William Clark)	Paul H. Stewart
9th	1863	O.F. Forsyth		Edward C. Turner	I. N. Eldridge	David Foote
10th	1864		William Stevenson				Hiram Parsell
11th	1865	George H. Durand
12th	1865				L.H. Roberts
13th	1866		John Hawley	I. N. Eldridge			Sumner Howard
14th	1867		Abner Randall		William Hamilton	Charles Smith
15th	1868			Orson B. Gibson
16th	1869			F.W. Judd	Orson B. Gibson	F.H. Pierce
17th	1870	M.S. Elmore			Wilson S. Tousey		W. O'Donoughue
18th	1871		Damon Stewart	John Willett		W.Buckingham		J.R. Chambers	Chas. D. Smith
19th	1872	Samuel C. Randall	William Dullam		J.B.F. Curtis	Edward B. Clapp	Josiah W. Begole	James Williams
20th	1873		Benj. Cotharin	H.C. Spencer		P. Cleveland, Jr.
21st	1874						William R. Morse
22nd	1875		Thomas Page	Williams Fobes					Chris Becker
23rd	1876	Chas. A. Mason					Henry Brown	Chas. D. Smith
24th	1877			Andrew J. Ward		William A. Atwood	William A. Burr		J. Zimmerman
25th	1878				S.N. Androus		Henry C. Walker	Jos. M. Corkey
26th	1879	George L. Caldwell	? (Thomas Page)		? (S.N. Androus)	? (William A. Atwood)		? (Jos. M. Corkey)	A.R. Michaels

† To fill vacancy^[8]

1888 Charter

1929 Charter

1974 Charter

Councilor		Wards
Council	Years	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
	1974 to 1983	John W. Northrup (ward unknown)
	1983 to 1985	John W. Northrup (ward unknown)						Jack Minore
	1985-1991	John W. Northrup (ward unknown)						Jack Minore		Scott Kincaid
	1991-January 1997	John W. Northrup (ward unknown)			Peggy R. Cook			Jack Minore		Scott Kincaid
	January 1997 to 1998				Peggy R. Cook			Jack Minore		Scott Kincaid
	1998 to 2004				Peggy R. Cook					Scott Kincaid
	2004 to 2005				Joshua Freeman					Scott Kincaid
	2005–2007	Darryl Buchanan	Jackie Poplar	Kerry Nelson	Sandy Hill	Carolyn Sims	Sheldon Neeley	Jim Ananich	Ehren Gonzales	Scott Kincaid
	2007–2009	Delrico Loyd	Jackie Poplar[15]	Kerry Nelson[16]	Sandy Hill[15]	Carolyn Sims[17]	Sheldon Neeley	Jim Ananich	Ehren Gonzales	Scott Kincaid[15]
	2009–2013	Delrico Loyd	Jacqueline Poplar	Bryant Nolden	Joshua Freeman	Bernard Lawler	Sheldon Neeley	Dale Weighill	Michael Sarginson	Scott Kincaid [15]
	2013-2017[18][19]	Eric Mays		Bryant Nolden (2013-1/2015; VP 2013-2014) Kerry Nelson, President (2015-2016)	Joshua Freeman (13-1/2016), president (2014-2015) Kate Fields (2016-2017)[20]	Wantwaz Davis, Vice President (2014-2015)	Herbert Winfrey	Monica Galloway	Vicki VanBuren, Vice President (2015-2016)	Scott Kincaid, president (2013-2014)

President and vice president are selected in November.

Receivership Transition Advisory Board

The Receivership Transition Advisory Board was appointed by Governor Snyder after the city exited direct control of the emergency manager in its second Financial emergency in Michigan.

member	position	start[13]	end
Fred Headen	chair	April 30, 2015
Brian Larkin [21]			October 28, 2015
David McGhee
Robert McMahan [22]			January 20, 2016
Beverly Walker-Griffea
Mike Finney[22][23]		January 19, 2016	May 26, 2017
Michael Townsend[23][24]		January 21, 2016
Paul Newman[23]		May 26, 2017
William Tarver[23]

Charter Review Commission

member 1974	position [25]
Carl L Bekofske	chairman
leroy Nichols	vice chairman
Bob Jackson
John H. West
Joseph Conroy
Charles A. Greene
James P. Hanley
Philip D. Marvin
Banius C. Hedrick

member 2015	position	term[25]
John D. Cherry	Vice chair	May 18, 2015 - May 18, 2018
Brian Larkin		May 18, 2015 - October 28, 2015[21]
Cleora Magee	chair	May 18, 2015 - May 18, 2018
Victoria McKenze
Charles Metcalfe
Heidi Phaneuf
James Richardson
Marsha Wesley
Barry Williams
Quincy Murphy	December 17, 2015 -[26] May 18, 2018

Supervisors

Supervisors represented the City on the Genesee County, Michigan Board of Supervisors.

Year	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
1855	Charles N. Beecher
1856
1857	George S. Hopkins
1858	Francis Baker	William Lyons	George S. Hopkins
1859
1860	W. O'Donoughue	Samuel N. Warren	L.G. Buckingham
1861	D.S. Freeman		George S. Hopkins
1862	John C. Clement
1863
1864			P.H. Stewart
1865			Josiah W. Begole
1866
1867			Paul H. Stewart
1868			William Paterson
1869	Andrew B. Chapin		Paul H. Stewart
1870
1871	George E. Newall			George W. Thayer
1872		Cornelius Roosevelt		George L. Walker
1873
1874			John Algoe
1875		S. Mathewson	Ephraim S. Williams
1876			James Van Vleet
1877	D.S. Freeman
1878	L.C. Witney			Albert Crosby
1879

^[8]

Ombudsman

The City Ombudsman is a charter independent office of the city appointed by the City Council in a 2/3 votes to a seven-year term. A police ombudsman, Richard Dicks, predated the current charter position and was appointed in 1969.

Term	Office holder	notes
12/26/75-1978	Joe Dupcza
05/15/78-07/21/87	James Ananich
07/22/87-07/21/94	Terry Bankert
08/17/94-04/08/96	Darryl Buchanan	He was removed from office by the City Council but was returned to office after a lawsuit and finished his term.
01/1999-05/8/2006	Jessie Binion
05/8/2006-12/2/2011	Brenda L. Purifoy	Removed from office by the Emergency Manager Michael Brown.[27]

^[28]

References

1. "The History of Genesee, MI, Chapter 13, Early Years of Flint City". www.usgennet.org. Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
2. "HON. WILLIAM A. ATWOOD". 1892 Portrait & Biographical Album of Genesee, Lapeer & Tuscola Counties, Chapman Bros. 1892. pp. 801–803. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
3. City of Flint, Michigan Charter 1974 Archived 2010-03-02 at the Wayback Machine.
4. Flint City Charte Effective Archived 2022-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
5. Goodin-Smith, Oona (11 January 2019). "State board OKs giving financial powers back to Flint officials". MLive.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
6. "Cleaning up Flint: Blight hearings begin, reward offered for used tires". ABC12.com. WJRT. June 6, 2018. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
7. Ramey, Elisse (June 6, 2018). "Blight court judge tackles backlog of violations in Flint under new program". ABC12.com. WJRT. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
8. Ellis, Franklin (1879). History of Genesee county, Michigan. With illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers. Philadelphia, PA.: Everts & Abbott. pp. 177–178. Archived from the original on 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
9. "Proposal 5: Voters can eliminate Flint Civil Service Commission with charter vote". The Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. October 17, 2014. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
10. Flint Journal Unforgettable: When a former Flint city manager left this world, he also left mixed memories Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine. BoothNewspapers: Flint Journal. March 5, 1995. retrieved March 08, 2011.
11. Adams, Dominic. (September 11, 201) Darnell Earley promises bold steps as Flint emergency manager Archived 2015-02-02 at the Wayback Machine. MLive Media Group: The Flint Journal. Accessed on October 18, 2013.
12. "Jerry Ambrose named Flint's fourth emergency manager as Darnell Earley heads to Detroit". The Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. January 13, 2015. Archived from the original on July 11, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
13. Fonger, Ron (April 29, 2015). "'A heavy burden' lifted from Flint as Gov. Rick Snyder declares end of financial emergency". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
14. Chapter XIII: First City Officers. Archived 2012-09-30 at the Wayback Machine The History of Genesee County, MI.
15. Longley, Kristin (November 3, 2009). "Fresh faces make up new majority of Flint City Council". Flint Journal. Flint, Michigan: BoothNewspapers. Archived from the original on 2009-11-07. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
16. Longley, Kristin (November 4, 2009). "Flint City Council overhauled as voters usher in five new members". Flint Journal. Flint, Michigan: Booth Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
17. Banas, Teri (November 3, 2009). "Lawler in Flint's 5th Ward said residents were "ready for a change"". Flint Journal. Flint, Michigan: BoothNewspapers. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
18. Acosta, Roberto (November 10, 2014). "Flint City Council elects new president, vice president". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
19. Johnson, Jiquanda (November 10, 2015). "Flint City Council elects new president after new mayor sworn in". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Archived from the original on November 13, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
20. Emery, Amanda (January 21, 2016). "Flint City Council appoints new member to empty 4th ward seat". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
21. Fonger, Ron (October 28, 2015). "Chamber of Commerce exec named Flint planning and development director". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
22. Emery, Amanda (January 20, 2016). "Gov. Rick Snyder makes appointment to the state's oversight board in Flint". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
23. Fonger, Ron (May 26, 2017). "Snyder picks Newman, Tarver to fill resignations on Flint oversight board". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
24. Ridley, Gary (January 21, 2016). "Former finance director who sued city appointed to Flint oversight board". Flint Journal. MLive Media Group. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
25. Fonger, Ron (May 6, 2015). "Big job ahead for nine elected to Flint Charter Review Commission". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
26. Fonger, Ron (December 21, 2015). "Flint activist Quincy Murphy appointed to Flint Charter Review Commission". Flint Journal. Mlive Media Group. Archived from the original on January 26, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
27. Longley, Kristin (December 2, 2011). "Shakeup at Flint City Hall as new emergency manager issues layoffs, pay cuts". The Flint Journal. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
28. "2006-2007 Ombudsman Report" (PDF). ci.flint.mi.us. City of Flint. Retrieved 2009-05-18. ^{[dead link‍]}