An appointee of Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel is raising a ruckus on the board that controls TCF Center, as the Detroit convention facility bleeds cash and has been in violation of the state’s budget law for four months.
Board member Marilyn Lane of Fraser has battled with her colleagues repeatedly as the riverfront convention facility (formerly known as Cobo) struggles with a shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Four of the five members object to Lane’s aggressive push for additional TCF budget cuts after the state-subsidized center has slashed payroll and basic operations.
Lane
The impasse created by Lane, who works for the Macomb executive’s office as an independent contractor, is made possible by a quirk in the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) rules: Board decisions must be approved unanimously.
That essentially gives Lane, a member for about a year, veto power over approving a fiscal 2020-21 budget that was due last September.
“I would just appreciate that they recognize my experience,” said Lane, a former Fraser mayor and state representative, in an interview with Deadline Detroit. “This is not a ruckus. I have to defend my position.”
At stake is the future of the 2.4 million square foot convention center that has provided an economic jolt to downtown Detroit, suburban hotels and tricounty area workers over the past decade. Last year, the workforce was slashed from 122 employees down to 55. Of those, 44 have endured pay cuts or a loss of work hours.
A DRCFA board that has operated in an atmosphere of collegiality since its inception in 2010 now faces a rogue member from Macomb determined to chop away at some of the remaining budget as the pandemic has created monumental challenges, with Covid-19 social distancing rules preventing a reopening.
Keep reading here.
