DETROIT, MI -- Gov. Rick Snyder and state Treasurer Andy Dillon have been meeting privately with members of City Council this week on the likely appointment of an emergency manager, and activist Tom Barrow on Wednesday revealed details of one of the discussions.

Barrow, a past mayoral candidate who is contemplating another run and is vehemently opposed to an emergency manager, said in a news release that he accompanied Council Member JoAnn Watson in her meeting with Dillon.

"Each council member was allotted 30 minutes to name four 'sacred' things that they did not want the EFM 'to touch' in return for their cooperation with a state appointed emergency financial manager," read a statement from Barrow's group Citizens for Detroit's Future.

State officials have not confirmed those details.

He said Watson declined to name four "sacred" items, and instead questioned Dillon over money some believe the state owes Detroit from a 1997 agreement between then-Governor John Engler and then-Mayor Dennis Archer that involved reducing city income tax in exchange for fixed revenue sharing.

Barrow said "watched Councilwoman Watson refuse the bait in every form in which it was advanced."

The governor's office did not immediately respond to a message seeking confirmation and comment on Barrow's account.

(Update: Spokesperson for the governor's office Sara Wurfel said that some of the meetings with council members involved both Snyder and Dillon while others were separate. She denied that the "four sacred things" discussion Barrow describes were part of the meetings in which Snyder was present. Watson's meeting was with Dillon. A spokesman for Dillon has been contacted for comment.)

(Update 2: Dillon's spokesman Terry Stanton declined to divulge details of the meetings. "That said, the Treasurer feels it is important to ensure that lines of communication with city officials remain open as we work together to move the city forward," he said.)

Barrow said the discussion also led him to believe that the city's Department of Transportation would be transferred to the newly established Regional Transit Authority under an emergency manager.

Snyder last week announced that he intends to appoint an emergency manager in Detroit. He said he won't name an appointee until after an appeals process is complete.

City Council was working Wednesday to gain the mayor's support in requesting a March 12 hearing to appeal the state's ruling that the city is in a state of financial emergency.

(Update:: Detroit Mayor Dave Bing: Fight against emergency manager isn't winnable)

Some have argued that the state has exaggerated the city's financial crisis in order to justify an emergency manger, noting that Detroit has not missed any debt or payroll payments and that portions of Detroit's $14 billion long-term debt belong to independent entities including the water department and 36th District Court.

"The City of Detroit indeed has no immediate justification for a crisis and makes the need for a state takeover a well-orchestrated contrivance," Barrow said.

Follow Khalil AlHajal on Twitter @DetroitKhalil or on Facebook at Detroit Khalil. He can be reached at kalhajal@mlive.com or 313-643-0527.