Special of the week; Issue 12-1969

NDE are the national educational radio network presents special of the week. This is part six of seven half hour radio documentary programs on Metropolitan Government prepared for broadcast by the capital city is broadcast station in Detroit WJR. The producer and the writer is Oscar for an WJR Neil the title for this series. Is there a better way. A few months ago a car came into being in the Detroit area KOG stands for Council of Governments some cog stands for southeast Michigan Council of Governments. What is it. Why was it created. What will it do. Who is for or against it. The greatest antidote there is there but the greatest bull work against metropolitan government would be an effective Council of Governments. They want more power and they want Metro government and they are misleading the people.

Eventually black people will have enough political power to have control over their cities. They have an author Lee mistaken notion of what the Council of Government intends and is able to do. Send number six in a series of WJR News special reports on local government reorganisation seeking answers to the question is there a better way. One of the biggest news stories of the next decade will be local government reorganisation. And at least one pattern for this has been cut in the Detroit area. It has developed into what is now called a Council of Governments and similar groups are sprouting all over the country. Here's how it came about. They deputy director for Sam Coggan Robert Farley has been with it through each phase of development. The Detroit metropolitan area has a long history of intergovernmental cooperation running back over 20 years with the formation of the Detroit Metropolitan Area

Regional Planning Commission the first multiday County Planning Group in the nation. It was started right here in the Detroit area. That was followed in 1954 by the creation of the supervisor Center County Committee an organization combining six county governments into one cooperative organization a voluntary organization and that early effort to end 954 was fostered by count the late councilman Edward Connor. The inner county committee you see it was the First Council of Governments in the country. There are well over 100 such councils of governments or voluntary organizations today. But the prototype and its start was had right here in Michigan and Michigan in the Detroit area with the formation of the inner County Committee the chairman of the outgoing Oakland County Board of Supervisors Deloss Hamlin has been 27 years in county government.

He was chairman of that inter-county committee for several years. Well the philosophy. Of the Council of Government was really born in southeastern Michigan some 15 years ago with the creation of the old supervisors in Riccati Committee. At that time we were experiencing the urbanization of our area and communal communities being built in the unincorporated areas and was recognized as a to give services to these areas where this was a was a concern to everyone and many people felt that the only solution would be one large metropolitan type government out of this area came the thought that if we would work together possibly on a voluntary cooperative basis some of these problems in the areas of water and sewer and regional problems could be solved mutually by everyone

recognizing the importance of it. Solving them on a regional basis the intercounty committee in southeast Michigan was a success as far as it went. We in the inner County realized that we were somewhat limited. That we were dealing only at the county level. Many of the cities the mayors of the council and the school boards didn't realize that there was this cooperative effort and we would eat up the lies our limitations. In getting back to all NSA polities and in southeastern Michigan. The need for this cooperative. Program. We the intercounty s the Metropolitan fund if they would do a study. That.

Howl that we could be more effective. The study was made by some very competent people. And they recommended that the intercounty be and enlarged its membership be enlarged to a broader base which would include all NSA polities of the six county area in all six counties including school boards. Following this report there was a committee of a hundred of the six county all government officials that study the report for some six months. Whether the report was practical and feasible or not they in the end recommended. I think really the entire report be implemented and it has been. And today we do have a council governments operating under the same philosophy that we started 15 years ago that if people of good will meet together with a proper communication.

That they had mutually solve most of their original problems without. Going to the drastic setting of the new super layer of government. Robert Farley was one of the staff workers on that report underwritten by the Metropolitan fund. The report released June of 1965 indicated that it was badly needed was an expansion of the Center County Committee both in terms of representation and that its size and also recommended that the former Regional Planning Commission be merged within that structure of a Committee of 100 which was formed to study the report met about 20 times and then made its recommendations. And we spent until June of 1960 6 until January of this year taking that report to the individual school boards city councils village councils township boards as well as the county boards of

supervisors making explanation and asking them their desire and intent in participating in such a voluntary association. Today is the Council of Governments Council of hundred 14 members which would comprise roughly 65 percent of the population of the six county area of the school districts which number their membership numbers about 40. Would represent roughly 60 percent of the student enrollment of the six county area. So we feel that the hundred fourteen members who have stepped forward it's contributions to the organization as well as willing hands and minds in this fight represent a fair share of the metropolitan areas population size an area the stage was set for state legislation formalizing the existence of the Council of Governments.

The Committee of 100 drafted a bill with the help of Governor George Romney's office. The bill passed the House in Lansing but failed in the Senate. State Senator Robert Huber chairman of the municipality's committee is fearful of metropolitan government. He took his committee on a two week tour to study what was being done in other cities. He came back and introduced legislation of his own which was considered too restrictive by supporters of some car. This time the bill bogged down in the house as State Senator Hubert remains fearful. I think that they real problem with the southeastern Michigan Council of Government is the tremendous opposition that they have brought forth to any restrictions upon their functioning. They have fought bitterly against my bills to keep them from being passed. And the reason they have done this is because in my opinion. They want more power and they want Metro government and they are misleading the people. Now if they were not opposed to strong Metro government they wouldn't fight some sorts of restrictions upon themselves but they do not want

any restrictions. And anybody who doesn't want their hands tied. In my opinion is fighting to have unlimited power. And I think that's what they want. Supporters of some cog decided that special legislation was not needed after all. At this point we were ready with the organization and failing the passage of that legislation we then began to look at the existing statutes that were on the books and quite frankly the new Council of Governments have. Has been incorporated as a cause i governmental voluntary organization under a 1945 statute providing for regional planning. This statute to completely satisfies our purposes allows the council to do more. No more nor no less than was suggested by the Committee of 100. It is not a government you say. It cannot tax it cannot bond it will not legislate. And in this sense it's completely voluntary. Without power to bind its members to any of its decisions. So

in a great sense the need for legislation for our own Council of Government exists no longer. We hear a lot these days about the need for the private sector to become involved in urban problems in Detroit. This started about 10 years ago with the formation of a group which has become known as metropolitan fund. Its president Kent Mathewson gives some of the background actually a decade ago. Clarence Hill Barry who is damned president of Wayne State University called together the presidents of the other universities and southeast in the southeast Michigan area. As well as the heads of industry and labor and business in the community. I understand those early discussions such people as Henry Ford and Walter Ruther John Gordon idly was then president of General Motors

as well as as someone from the JL Hudson company and I'm not sure that Joe Hudson was on the scene at that time but his predecessor. Banks and the utility companies there were there was a meeting of a relatively small group of men of this stature who came together and said we must develop our indeed for the governance of this region just as we do in our own businesses and that. There is much need for research. As to how the southeast Michigan region can develop and prosper and avoid the great problems that they saw even 10 years ago. Advancing on our metropolitan region the Detroit metropolitan fund is financed by a business labor industry and foundation money with some federal funds for specific projects. It was the power behind the new Detroit

committee created to help rebuild following the riots in July of 67. It was the agency that did the study of southeast Michigan at the request of the County Committee. We did not recommend. Metropolitan Government southeast Michigan for two reasons. First of all we doubt very much whether it would be acceptable to the people that if they would vote for or want it. And secondly even if they would we wonder whether. We could support the fact we frankly feel that we couldn't because the price that would be paid for that. Suppose a deficiency that would come through one gigantic super government for our four million people we think would be offset in the loss of citizen participation. Sometimes we become frustrated with the many many little governments that we have here in southeast Michigan. And yet there's no question but what this brings

government much closer to the people and it's an old adage that the closer the government is the people the better it's going to be and we have to believe that. And so instead our. Object was to find some way in which these several governments could relate to one another and operate under a common plan but still retain their identity and relationship with the public and we believe that through the Council of Governments this is possible and this is far superior than having a monolithic metropolitan form of government. Despite the fact that the study did not call for a metropolitan form of government state senator Huber remains fearful. I am convinced that there is a hard core in some Kaga who are pushing for Metro government. Some of them have said this and some of them who are in key places I have testimony before my committee at a public hearing on my bills last year and we have the testimony in which this is what some of the people think and what they believe has

got to come. Now I believe that the great majority of people members of some kind are not in favor Metro government and they really are convinced that this is not going to be Metro government. But I dont think they understand the problem they havent taken the time to go to the other cities and learn firsthand what happens when you start with a loose federation and move rapidly into a strong Metro government. This is what we did this is why we had our tour and we learned this and we were warned in all of these cities to protect yourself against this from happening. And this we did in our bills and this is what this hardcore leadership killed because they dont want their hands tied in any way shape or form. All you have to do is read their own bills and see the tremendous power they want to have. And that's what's terrifying. One of the political scientists who worked on the Metropolitan Fund report University of Michigan professor Arthur Brundage says they tried to be realistic in their recommendations I suppose we were guilty of

as followed all scientists of a kind of a political pragmatism that let's take the first step. Let me say something about that first step. But now there are three theories perhaps about these colleagues or councils of government. One is you know that they all talk themselves to death and the second one is that their way stations on the way to Super God mine and so therefore we've got to keep Leary on them. And the third one is that well they will accomplish the mission that is to say that they will engender more contracts and services that they will that they will promote legislation to the advantage of metropolitan people and that they will see certain cooperative functions that could be carried on in counties for the benefit of the units of local government

such as possibly the home of the difficult problem of all the garbage and refuse we have and development of and generators just getting rid of the garbage and refuse a metropolitan area is a terrific problem. So I have those three theories now you mean. You might very well ask me Well well what do you think's going to happen while I already have enough confidence in metropolitan democracy to think that they want to talk themselves to death. And on our You don't say them as way stations do super governments because super government could come without them in the long run. I think they will. They're our best hope to bring about more rationalisation of services. Well a former city manager of Burbank California e Robert Turner is now the executive director of stem cog. Here is how he describes the organization. The southeast Michigan Council of Governments is a voluntary association of local government

which involves counties cities townships villages schools. All of the agencies of local government in this area it comprises six counties including around Detroit and including the train it has within its borders some three hundred and seventy five local units of government of which a hundred and eighteen I believe the count is as of today I'm members of the council. It is financed principally by dues from these agencies and those Jews are based upon population and other factors. We at the present time. Are collecting approximately two hundred forty thousand dollars in dues from our local membership. We are

also anticipating funds from the various foundations. We are anticipating some monies from the federal government in the various programs that we will undertake. Essentially I would say that our basic budget will be between five hundred thousand and three and seven hundred fifty thousand dollars a year. Detroit mayor Jerome Kavanagh was an early supporter of Sam cog. He points up some of the difficulties involved in bringing the different units of government together. You know as well as I do that between various units and levels of government there is a great distrust at times. I don't think that distrust is always shared by the people the constituents of these agencies but I think sometimes the. The men that are charged with the responsibility of operating the agencies the political and public figures have distressed of each other and their motives and it makes an

organization like SIM card very difficult to get off the ground. But I do believe that it is achieving and starting to achieve some of its purposes in that it's developing a far broader base of support than it initially had some government officials in the suburbs feel that they're not adequately represented for instance the mayor of Southfield James Clarkson. Well the biggest objection is representation. There was two methods proposed by the Committee of 100 for the formation of the Council of Governments. One was where the powers would be vested in the general assembly. And you would operate through subcommittees of that assembly and everything would have to be approved by the General Assembly who are representatives from the various communities that are members. The other form was the present form which was adopted. That the powers would be put and placed in the executive committee. These

35 members chosen from the various locales of the General Assembly would have the power to promulgate the programs and determine the budget and so forth. And it's this form that I object to there is no direct representation provided for the city's Southfield Southfield is not a member of some god but Mayor Clarkson is not in disagreement with the overall goons. As far as the objectives of the council are concerned there is no quarrel with that. In fact I haven't found anybody even the most severest critic Senator Uber has said that the objectives aren't a lot of Tory it's the fact that. We don't have the right kind of representation and it must be by elected officials. Nowhere have I read in any of the authorities on the Council of government structure. There wasn't some primary statement made that it must

be comprised of elected officials in every report. Even our own committee of 100s report and I think that this is where the problem lies. As far as self feels the Waterford township board is another unit of government that decided against joining some cog supervisor Elmer Johnson. We had been requested to join and then finally I declined because I think the thought was mostly that we would not have proper we would have representation but actually were to really have no voice and I'm just getting further away from the people and there would be then perhaps a certain group that would control it rather than me. Why like we operate the township board where everything is drawn out in the open and the public is aware of what we are going on our

reactions. Here again the supervisor Johnson sees the need for some regional agency. My personal failing as. Many of our problems are area problems and certainly it's easier to handle on an area level because we have drains I don't stop just here in Waterford they continue out we have stores the same thing that many of these things here that you can plan for they all metropolitan area. And I also have the benefit of experienced and trained people and I said I can see many benefits where they are Coggan exhaustion. There is opposition to any form of regional government from some segments of the central city. The next speaker Walter M. MCMURTRIE wanted this introduced simply as one black man's opinion. Regional county government I believe as we have spoken about before

I think is a effort on the part of the white community or the white power structure to continue to have control of the core city surrounding suburbia of which this core city is vital to suburbia to continue to have control over it while continuing to fly to the suburbs as the populations in the city of Detroit city like it becomes more and more black the population is going down and relative proportions. It is only natural to assume that eventually black people will have enough political power to have control over their cities. This is why I don't think the white people won. I think that they don't want black people to have control over that they don't want an all black administration of Detroit which controls the power of taxation and income tax all where the jobs are. The jobs. Held in Detroit by white people and from that standpoint I think that I would have to be against this county government type situation and I think that some of the systems

that are set out now. Such as metropolitan vines such as Southeastern council government can eventually grow into a situation where you have complete on county government or metropolitan type government that is superior to city government and will take a lot of control away from city governments. The chairman of some cog is William L. mainly the supervisor of Milford Township in Oakland County. The concept is I believe can be simply stated as one of having the chosen representatives of neighboring units of government voluntarily getting together to share their experience knowledge and ideas concerning mutual problems which overlap jurisdictional boundaries and then to seek to make practical plans for their effective and harmonious solutions.

This them is SIM card. Southeast Michigan Council of Governments seen by some as a bulwark against Metropolitan Government by others as just the first step towards a metropolitan form of government. Yet others see it as a scheme to keep Negroes from taking control of the central cities. Still others see it as the last hope for maintaining some autonomy some control over our destiny is at the local or municipal level as opposed to state and federal government levels. Chairman mainland explains what Sam Carr plans to do. As of now we know what a direction we want to take but we want to complete as detailed a blueprint just possible for future action and to do this as quickly as possible. Second we intend to design a number of studies. One will be in the area of public educational needs particularly with regard to the financing of these we don't suppose that we will come up with the

one not necessarily the best solution to this tedious problem but we're going to be working at it and we hope to some for years. Another will deal with housing needs and trends. Still another will seek to identify public safety co-ordination possibilities. Still others will relate to regional airport problems and programs comprehensive health planning and coordination program. The responsibility for which has been has come our way from the state comprehensive health planning agency and it would just seem that the Council of Government is by all odds the most ideal unit to function in this and probably the only one can bring together both private and public interest.

In a recent copyrighted interview in U.S. News and World Report the president of Chase Manhattan Bank David Rockefeller said the problems of our urban areas is the biggest domestic problem confronting the next president of the United States. When asked what the solution would be Rockefeller answered. I believe it's going to require a certain amount of reorganization of governmental structure bringing together in larger groupings a variety of existing units. I mean he said making the municipality a metropolitan area rather than stopping of the present city limits. The next report in this series will look at Metropolitan Government. This is Oscar Frenette WJR do you see. Any Ares special of the week. Thanks the capital city is a broadcast station in Detroit WJR for the recordings of these documentaries. This was part six of seven parts on Metropolitan Government. Is there a better way. This is an easy are the national

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