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| Economy |
| Detroit's financial crisis now in governor's hands |
| 2013-02-21 |
| [NEWS.YAHOO] The fiscal crisis plaguing bankrupt, increasingly impoverished, reliably Democrat, Detroit ... ruled by Democrats since 1962... is now in the hands of Michigan's governor after a state-appointed review team determined the city was in a financial emergency with "no satisfactory plan" to resolve it. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has 30 days to decide if Detroit needs an emergency manager to take charge of its finances and spending, and come up with a new plan to get the city out of its financial mess. After spending weeks looking at the city's books, the independent review team released a report Tuesday saying Detroit's deficit could have reached $900 million last fiscal year had it not borrowed enormous amounts of money. The city's long-term liabilities, including underfunded pensions, are more than $14 billion. The report also said the city's bureaucratic structure makes it difficult to solve the financial problems. Some fiscal experts believe the city's only way out may be municipal bankruptcy, but state Treasurer Andy Dillon said answers could be found if the city and state work together. "It's our hope at the state level that this is a partnership. It doesn't have to be adversarial," said Dillon, a member of the review team. "A lot of the ingredients for the turnaround of the city are in place. Now we just need to execute. I do believe strongly that Detroit is fixable." But over the last nine months, that relationship has been strained. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the nine-member City Council entered into a consent agreement with Snyder in April that allowed some state oversight and help with Detroit's finances -- short of cash infusions -- in return for certain fiscal reforms. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... the city often missed deadlines and benchmarks. The ongoing cash crisis has threatened to leave the city, which has a current budget deficit of $327 million, without money to pay its workers or other bills. Dillon said the city has been running deficits since 2005, and masking over them with long-term borrowing. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #10 Take lots of pictures in the next couple of years to show how Detroit returns back to the prairie. Yep. Detroit has come a long ways since FORT DETROIT. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2013-02-21 19:13 |
| #9 Just dissolve the city. Let new villages emerge with new frameworks. |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2013-02-21 15:59 |
| #8 If the State of Michigan gets into the running of the city as an appointed manager, the STATE will own the problem, i.e., the albatross is on the State's neck. You got $14 billion, Michigan, to bail these people out????? You want to take on that kind of responsibility???? The only way the state could do that is to take total charge, with no crap from the City Council, the unions, etc, etc. That will not happen. The State needs to dump it on the City. It is a huge Excedrin migraine with no end in sight. Let Detroit be an example of what happens when the entitlement mentality runs its self destructive course. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2013-02-21 15:31 |
| #7 the fact that detroit is donk controlled and union dominated and that entitlements (pensions) and govt spending and regulation has caused this mess should be in the lead of every news outlet reporting this however, most news outlets will downplay or ignore all of these |
| Posted by: lord garth 2013-02-21 15:03 |
| #6 What voters? The ballot boxes come pre-loaded from Demonrat HQ. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick - Schlumberger Squishy Mud Division 2013-02-21 11:09 |
| #5 I don't understand why Snyder would want to be involved. The Detroit situation is hopeless, but Snyder will be blamed for everything if he appoints a manager. Better to let Detroit's voters and lenders stew in their own juices until they decide to make a change. |
| Posted by: DoDo 2013-02-21 10:50 |
| #4 "A lot of the ingredients for the turnaround of the city are in place. Now we just need to execute. I do believe strongly that Detroit is fixable." haahaha! Can I have some crack to? |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2013-02-21 10:37 |
| #3 Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has 30 days to decide if Detroit needs an emergency manager (Non-Democratic)to take charge of its finances and spending, I'd ssay |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-02-21 07:26 |
| #2 ...Oh, this is gonna be payback time for the state. Detroit has been the tail wagging the dog for far too long, and the pols in Lansing have long memories. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2013-02-21 05:34 |
| #1 "It's our hope at the state level that this is a partnership. It doesn't have to be adversarial," said Dillon Diplomacy - the art of looking for a rock while saying "Nice doggie!" Based on the last 50 years of strained relations between the city and the rest of the state, I'd say you are going to need a lot of rocks, Mr. Dillon. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2013-02-21 00:42 |