Judge dismisses lawsuit by Detroit city lawyer over consent deal

"I do believe Dave Bing is the mayor and Dave Bing makes the decisions for the city in conformance with the rules of the City Council."

With those words an Ingham County judge tossed out the controversial lawsuit filed by Detroit's corporation counsel.  That lawsuit had potential to put Detroit's financial stability at risk and sparked a lot of concern that the city would run out of money perhaps by Friday.

What's not clear at this time is whether Krystal Crittendon plans to appeal.  She did not return calls seeking comment, but barring an appeal, it appears that this consent agreement moves forward and the city narrowly avoids running out of money.

"We need to get on with running the city. The city is still in a crisis, and we can't have all of these distractions and think we're going to bring the city back," Detroit Mayor Dave Bing stated Wednesday.

He says the consent agreement is back on track. The city will make its $34 million bond debt payment by Friday and convene the first meeting of the Financial Stability Board at Cobo Center that morning.  City employees will keep working and continue to be paid.

"I pick up a lot of people all day, that's all they've been talking about, and I pick up a lot of city workers, that's all they've been talking about, if we don't get paid, we will not come to work," said DDOT bus driver Renee Shows.

She is relieved and so are citizens who ride the bus.  Many had feared transit would be one the many city services shut down if the city ran out of money.

"It is very important because some people out here don't have transportation.  There [are] elderly people that need to get to their medication or kids that need to get to school," said bus rider Chanell Bell.

"We need buses, especially people [that] don't have cars. We need to get to work and school," said bus rider Robert Randle.

For now, it looks as though those buses will keep running.  The consent agreement back in place, but Local 26 union president Henry Gaffney says transit workers should not be included in that consent agreement.  A federal agreement states the city must collectively bargain with transit workers or lose funding. Gaffney says that's about $50-million in federal funds the city stands to lose, and if that happens, those buses won't be on the road.

"It's coming down.  We expect to negotiate.  As far as that, I have to do what I have to do," said Gaffney.

It's just one of the many pending issues as the City Council prepares to appoint two people to the Financial Stability Board as early as Thursday.

"We're all back on the same page. We've signed an agreement.  We all intend to live up to the agreement, and that agreement is designed to be able to deliver services in a more efficient, effective manner for the citizens of the City of Detroit.  That's what we all want, and that's what we're going to all work for," said City Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown.