Flint Emergency Manager Michael Brown restores partial pay for the mayor and city council.

The mayor and city council see this as a vote of confidence in their skills and a willingness to work together.

Council member Jacqueline Poplar says, "It means that we are going to move forward. It means that he is trying to work with us."

Council member Jackie Poplar says she would wanted at least 50% of her council pay restored, but she says she can live with the $7,000 restoration and would work for nothing if she had to. "I was elected by the people, for the people, and I continue working for the people."

Emergency Manager Michael Brown says public act four of the emergency manager law requires the pay of elected officials to be reduced to zero.

However, he has the power to restore pay.

"These are elected representatives, and I think as long as we can work out a cooperative arrangement, it's important government can continue to function that way," says Brown, who also restored Mayor Dayne Walling's pay by 60%.\

"He made a commitment that this was going to be a collaborative process and is recognizing there is a number of positive efforts that were underway. Council has an important role to play in committees, providing public hearings for ordinances, and other changes and that right here within the staff that was in place that were involved in initiatives that he wants to see continued," says Walling.

One of the reasons why brown says he restored partial pay is because he does not blame the current mayor or council for Flint's problems.

"If you really look at the financial problems, it's a structural problem that started over 25 years ago, as our tax base declined and our cost of government like legacy costs, pensions and health care, that have gone up, we have less and less to pay for services," says Brown.

Brown has until January 15th to present his budget plan to the state and then execute that plan.

He says he's still overwhelmed by the job and that it could take some time.