What the people of Flint blame for the population drop

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Flint – Don Eric Brown, who has never left the city he grew up in, has seen this once thriving urban center teeming with endless jobs and promises turn into a center of desolation and abandonment.

The 68-year-old retired teacher, for example, is not surprised by US census figures which show Flint is hemorrhaging residents, losing nearly 21% of its population since 2010. Crime, loss of jobs and lead contaminated water caused by the city state. crisis are the main culprits, he said.

The powerful automotive and manufacturing powerhouse that once overflowed by nearly 200,000 six decades ago now has 81,252 people, down sharply from around 102,000 in 2010. It has left the state’s 10 largest cities and is in 12th place, losing five places in 10 years.

“I remember when things were very different, when you see a street like this and it wouldn’t be that empty,” Brown said as he crossed downtown Saginaw Street across from the ‘city Hall. “You couldn’t walk through Saginaw like that because he was constantly busy.”

When General Motors Co. began to downsize decades ago, he said, it was the start of the population decline.

Other issues, including the lead-tainted water crisis of the past decade, have pushed some of the remaining residents to neighboring states or suburbs, draining the city of its academic and athletic talents.

“Water is a problem. I just picked up a few filters,” Brown said. “The water crisis has had an effect, not so much on people’s decisions to leave but on their confidence in the government.”

Brown was among a crowd of residents and leaders of Flint who were disappointed with the loss of population. While the lead contamination crisis that began with the city’s change of water source in 2014 is blamed as one of the causes, crime is another factor as serious crime continues to rise over the years. years.

Murders increased 33% to 40 through August 8 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the Flint Police Department website. While thefts decreased by 43%, arson increased by 30%.

Flint reported 61 homicides in 2020, up 33% from 46 the year before. In 2018, there were 31 homicides. Violent crime is up 18% from 2019, according to the city’s year-end report, while property crime is up about 2.5%.

Emma Latchison, 77, said she knew people who left because of the water crisis and “so much violence”. She came to Flint when she was 18 and loved her city, she said, but so much has changed.

Latchison believes the water crisis and not knowing who to trust in state and city government contributed to the exodus.

“In some cases, that may have been the first reason they left,” she said of the water crisis. “I think it’s just bad, but I stayed because when you’re my age it’s hard to leave and you can barely pay your bills. High insurance. High water prices. You just live in day by day. “

In a statement, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said his administration “had a strong 2020 census campaign” to bolster residents, “so of course I was hoping for more” given that the population of the city ​​determines the number of legislators the city receives in Lansing and the nation’s capital.

“Unfortunately, the town of Flint has experienced a steady demographic decline for almost 20 years,” said the mayor. “The city and many community partners are working diligently to attract talent, families and businesses through economic development initiatives, housing opportunities and workforce development with the goal of making increase the resident population.

Residents say they have been wary of water quality ever since a state-appointed emergency official changed Flint’s drinking water source from the Detroit-area water supply system to the Flint River in April 2014. The change led to complaints from residents about the color and smell of the water. as well as health related issues.

Search our interactive database: How your Michigan community grew (or shrunk) in the 2020 census

In late September 2015, the state’s environmental department confirmed that there was lead contamination in drinking water. The change coincided with an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in 2014-15 which was responsible for more than 90 cases, including 12 deaths. Some experts have estimated the death toll to be higher.

In a 2016 report, a task force appointed by the government of the day. Rick Snyder criticized state-appointed emergency officials for deciding to change the water source and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for failing to advise city officials to add anticorrosive additives to acidic water of the river, leading to leaching of lead from old pipes. Snyder was charged with willful neglect of his homework.

Even a visit in May 2016 by then-President Barack Obama, who took a sip of Flint’s tap water and declared it safe, sparked skepticism among residents of the predominantly African-American city.

Some residents excoriated lawyers who negotiated a provisionally approved $ 641 million settlement in the water crisis case, calling on Federal Judge Judith Levy to reject the deal and resume negotiations so that they can get more money for their suffering. At a hearing in July, they said the proposed embezzlement of $ 202 million to pay lawyers who pleaded their case is too high.

Latchison said she, too, was worried that the lawyers were raising the money and “we’re at the bottom” and that could drive people out as well.

Former Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, who ruled the city from 2015 to 2019, said city officials knew the water crisis “played a role” in the loss of people over the years. last years.

“I would start with the water crisis because that was one of the things we knew was going to happen as a result of the crisis,” Weaver said of the town’s decline in population, saying that she wanted the right to sue the state for the crisis. in part “because of our loss of population.”

“We were losing our tax base,” she said. “It was also about that. It was about reputational damage. This is one of the things that happened in the wake of the water crisis. . “

The city has also been rocked by crime and job losses, said Weaver, who lost to Neeley.

“And when you have such an out of control crime rate, it makes people not want to come,” she said.

Kim Mann, 55, and her boyfriend, Tim Mihlfeld, 32, have defied the trend and moved to Flint within the past year. “The houses were affordable, that’s mainly the reason,” she said. “There are a lot of houses for sale that are affordable.

Mann, who once lived in Lapeer County, said she knew people had been leaving Flint for quite some time and “we saw all the abandoned houses all around.”

“We assumed a lot of people were gone because of the water… and they abandoned their homes and left,” she said.

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Twitter: @leonardnfleming

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