Section 141.1548 - Consent agreement; negotiation and signature; provisions; continuing operations plan; form; amendment of budget adopted by municipal government or school district; recovery plan; terms and provisions; powers granted to chief administrative officer, chief financial officer, governing body, or other local officers; consultant; release from requirements(1) The chief administrative officer of a local government may negotiate and sign a consent agreement with the state treasurer as provided for in this act. If the local government is a school district and the consent agreement contains an educational plan, the consent agreement shall also be signed by the superintendent of public instruction. The consent agreement shall provide for remedial measures considered necessary to address the financial emergency within the local government and provide for the financial stability of the local government. The consent agreement may utilize state financial management and technical assistance as necessary in order to alleviate the financial emergency. The consent agreement shall also provide for periodic financial status reports to the state treasurer, with a copy of each report to each state senator and state representative who represents that local government. The consent agreement may provide for a board appointed by the governor to monitor the local government's compliance with the consent agreement. In order for the consent agreement to go into effect, it shall be approved, by resolution, by the governing body of the local government and shall be approved and executed by the state treasurer. Nothing in the consent agreement shall limit the ability of the state treasurer in his or her sole discretion to declare a material breach of the consent agreement. A consent agreement shall provide that in the event of a material uncured breach of the consent agreement, the governor may place the local government in receivership or in the neutral evaluation process. If within 30 days after a local government selects the consent agreement option under section 7(1)(a) or sooner in the discretion of the state treasurer, a consent agreement cannot be agreed upon, the state treasurer shall require the local government to proceed under 1 of the other local options provided for in section 7.(2) A consent agreement as provided in subsection (1) may require a continuing operations plan or a recovery plan if required by the state treasurer.(3) If the state treasurer requires that a consent agreement include a continuing operations plan, the local government shall prepare and file the continuing operations plan with the state treasurer as provided for in the consent agreement. The state treasurer shall approve or reject the initial continuing operations plan within 14 days of receiving it from the local government. If a continuing operations plan is rejected, the local government shall refile an amended plan within 30 days of the rejection, addressing any concerns raised by the state treasurer or the superintendent of public instruction regarding an educational plan. If the amended plan is rejected, then the local government may be considered to be in material breach of the consent agreement. The local government shall file annual updates to its continuing operations plan. The annual updates shall be included with the annual filing of the local government's audit report with the state financial authority as long as the continuing operations plan remains in effect.(4) The continuing operations plan shall be in a form prescribed by the state treasurer but shall, at a minimum, include all of the following: (a) A detailed projected budget of revenues and expenditures over not less than 3 fiscal years which demonstrates that the local government's expenditures will not exceed its revenues and that any existing deficits will be eliminated during the projected budget period.(b) A cash flow projection for the budget period.(c) An operating plan for the budget period that assures fiscal accountability for the local government.(d) A plan showing reasonable and necessary maintenance and capital expenditures so as to assure the local government's fiscal accountability.(e) An evaluation of the costs associated with pension and postemployment health care obligations for which the local government is responsible and a plan for how those costs will be addressed within the budget period.(f) A provision for submitting quarterly compliance reports to the state treasurer demonstrating compliance with the continuing operations plan, with a copy of each report to each state senator and state representative who represents that local government. Each quarterly compliance report shall be posted on the local government's website within 7 days after the report is submitted to the state treasurer.(5) If a continuing operations plan is approved for a municipal government, the municipal government shall amend the budget and general appropriations ordinance adopted by the municipal government under the uniform budgeting and accounting act, 1968 PA 2, MCL 141.421 to 141.440a, to the extent necessary or advisable to give full effect to the continuing operations plan. If a continuing operations plan is approved for a school district, the school district shall amend the budget adopted by the school district under the uniform budgeting and accounting act, 1968 PA 2, MCL 141.421 to 141.440a, to the extent necessary or advisable to give full effect to the continuing operations plan. The chief administrative officer, the chief financial officer, the governing body, and other officials of the local government shall take and direct such actions as may be necessary or advisable to maintain the local government's operations in compliance with the continuing operations plan.(6) If the state treasurer requires that a consent agreement include a recovery plan, the state treasurer, with input from the local government, shall develop and adopt a recovery plan. If a recovery plan is developed and adopted for the local government, the local government shall file annual updates to its recovery plan. The annual updates shall be included with the annual filing of the local government's audit report with the state financial authority as long as the recovery plan remains in effect.(7) A recovery plan may include terms and provisions as may be approved in the discretion of the state treasurer, including, but not limited to, 1 or more of the following: (a) A detailed projected budget of revenues and expenditures over not less than 3 fiscal years that demonstrates that the local government's expenditures will not exceed its revenues and that any existing deficits will be eliminated during the projected budget period.(b) A cash flow projection for the budget period.(c) An operating plan for the budget period that assures fiscal accountability for the local government.(d) A plan showing reasonable and necessary maintenance and capital expenditures so as to assure the local government's fiscal accountability.(e) An evaluation of costs associated with pension and postemployment health care obligations for which the local government is responsible and a plan for how those costs will be addressed to assure that current obligations are met and that steps are taken to reduce future unfunded obligations.(f) Procedures for cash control and cash management, including, but not limited to, procedures for timely collection, securing, depositing, balancing, and expending of cash. Procedures for cash control and cash management may include the designation of appropriate fiduciaries.(g) A provision for submitting quarterly compliance reports to the state treasurer and the chief administrative officer of the local government that demonstrate compliance with the recovery plan, with a copy of each report to each state senator and state representative who represents that local government. Each quarterly compliance report shall be posted on the local government's website within 7 days after the report is submitted to the state treasurer.(8) The recovery plan may include the appointment of a local auditor or local inspector, or both, in accordance with section 12(1)(p).(9) If a recovery plan is developed and adopted by the state treasurer for a local government, the recovery plan shall supersede the budget and general appropriations ordinance adopted by the local government under the uniform budgeting and accounting act, 1968 PA 2, MCL 141.421 to 141.440a, and the budget and general appropriations ordinance is considered amended to the extent necessary or advisable to give full effect to the recovery plan. In the event of any inconsistency between the recovery plan and the budget or general appropriations ordinance, the recovery plan shall control. The chief administrative officer, the chief financial officer, the governing body, and other officers of the local government shall take and direct actions as may be necessary or advisable to bring and maintain the local government's operations in compliance with the recovery plan.(10) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the consent agreement may include a grant to the chief administrative officer, the chief financial officer, the governing body, or other officers of the local government by the state treasurer of 1 or more of the powers prescribed for emergency managers as otherwise provided in this act for such periods and upon such terms and conditions as the state treasurer considers necessary or convenient, in the state treasurer's discretion to enable the local government to achieve the goals and objectives of the consent agreement. However, the consent agreement shall not include a grant to the chief administrative officer, the chief financial officer, the governing body, or other officers of the local government of the powers prescribed for emergency managers in section 12(1)(k).(11) Unless the state treasurer determines otherwise, beginning 30 days after the date a local government enters into a consent agreement under this act, that local government is not subject to section 15(1) of 1947 PA 336, MCL 423.215, for the remaining term of the consent agreement.(12) The consent agreement may provide for the required retention by the local government of a consultant for the purpose of assisting the local government to achieve the goals and objectives of the consent agreement.(13) A local government is released from the requirements under this section upon compliance with the consent agreement as determined by the state treasurer.Added by 2012, Act 436,s 8, eff. 3/28/2013.