Mayor's office releases statement in response to brief Detroit City Council meeting

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's office has released a statement in response to Monday's brief City Council meeting.

The statement is credited to Deputy Mayor Kirk Lewis, who was at the meeting to represent the mayor's office.

It reads as follows:

Mayor Bing regrets that in the midst of a financial crisis, the City's most urgent business has once again been put on hold before the Detroit City Council, this time due to concerns raised by the City's Law Department.

On Nov. 21, the City’s Law Department advised the Mayor's office on specific steps to take in calling a special meeting of City Council and notifying the public. We took those steps on Nov. 21. However, the City’s Law Department informed us shortly before the meeting convened today that those steps might fall short of rules set by the state’s Open Meetings Act.

Mayor Bing is determined to bring the issues postponed today -- the Miller Canfield contract and a City pension fund matter -- back to City Council. He will ask for a special meeting of City Council next week to resolve the City pension fund matter, which affects state revenue sharing. Meanwhile, in anticipation of a $30 million cash shortfall, the City continues to plan for unpaid furloughs and other cost-saving actions, beginning Jan. 1, 2013.

City Council stopped today's meeting after questions were raised about whether or not postings announcing the meeting were legal under the Open Meetings Act.