Many of these long term concession deals established between government and business never had public involvement or establish any sort of public oversight. We have to stop giving away control to corporate power. Corporations have to become better NEIGHBORS to the people impacted by their business practices.
Yes it means the public becomes more involved in how things operate. If you could spend a couple hours each week making sure your future and the future for our children is healthy and valuable – would you commit within your community?
Now here’s the issue with the Port Authority and many of these oversight agencies as they currently stand. The positions within them are appointed, and likely appointed by several interested layers of government. The people who are appointed to these positions become power brokers who supposedly work toward the best interest of their constituencies.
What might be needed is to move many of these appointment based agencies toward true public engagement for oversight. We need them to come out of closeted deal meetings into community forums. Something the public can attend when interested.
Obviously everyone will benefit when representatives work toward the best outcomes for the people represented.
Who is the Port Authority?
According to the website –
The Detroit Wayne County Port Authority (DWCPA) is a government agency advancing southeast Michigan’s maritime and related industries with the purpose of delivering prosperity and economic benefit to our citizens and businesses.
The members of the board are appointed into office.
The Port Authority has a five-member board of directors with one member appointed by the State of Michigan, two by Wayne County and two by the City of Detroit.
Excerpt
In 2005, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s administration negotiated a deal with businessman Manuel “Matty” Moroun that stunned local officials, who feared it could take land off local tax rolls while ceding the control of a public agency to a private company for the next 100 years.As part of the deal, Moroun lent the quasi-public Detroit Wayne County Port Authority roughly $2.1 million to pay off the debt of the city’s main cargo terminal, the Detroit Marine Terminals. In exchange, the Moroun-owned Ambassador Port Company became the “master concessionaire” for operations at the Detroit terminal. This position gives it the ability to operate free from city and county property tax obligations and without being directly responsible for environmental compliance.Under the agreement, the Port Authority has remained deeply in debt. And it’s become clear that the Morouns’ hold on the riverfront impacts not just shipping and transportation, but also future economic development in the region and the environmental remediation of waterfront property.State Sen. Stephanie Chang believes the deal is proving to be so bad for the public that she requested Attorney General Dana Nessel issue a ruling on the “validity and legality” of the Master Concession agreement. Her request comes five years after the Port Authority itself made a similar request to then-Attorney General Bill Schuette.
Source article
In deep debt to its master concessionaire, the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority has been hamstrung in its ability to work in the public interest to redevelop the Detroit River shoreline. A state senator argues that it’s time to end the deal.