Detroit Seeks More Time to Avoid State Takeover

The case was presented at a state hearing in Lansing, with representatives for Detroit’s City Council appealing a decision this month by Gov. Rick Snyder to appoint an outside manager. That person would have sweeping authority to balance Detroit’s books, making it one of the largest cities in the nation ever to face such a level of oversight.

Speaking before a Michigan treasury official on Tuesday morning, City Council leaders, while admitting that headway was not as swift as they had hoped, said the state was expecting too much, too fast.

“Arguably, it would take up to a full two years for such an ambitious plan to be implemented,” said Irvin Corley Jr., a fiscal analyst for the Council, citing a legal agreement city leaders made with the state to cut costs last year. He insisted that Detroit had a “satisfactory plan” to address the fiscal challenges ahead, which include more than $14 billion in long-term liabilities, and begged for more time.

“We have a deal on the table,” added David Whitaker, director of research and analysis for the City Council. “It is not over. And we say keep the current deal we have in place.”

State officials do not believe that is enough.

Frederick Headen, a member of a state financial review team that examined Detroit, said changes that had been made by the city were too heavily weighted toward short-term savings. He also said that city leaders had “exhibited notable lack of enthusiasm” about working with the state, a factor that contributed to the need for an emergency manager to step in.

“The review team did not take issue with the stability agreement,” Mr. Headen said. “We took issue with the unwillingness by city officials to abide by its terms.”

While Mayor Dave Bing has opposed an emergency manager for Detroit, he did not support the City Council’s effort to appeal the decision to appoint one, saying he did not think it would change the governor’s mind. Still, he released a report on Tuesday to show progress the city had made.

Detroit would become Michigan’s sixth city currently under the supervision of an outside manager who has the power to alter labor contracts, sell off city assets and slash spending without the normal checks and balances that elected officials face.

For decades, a variety of methods — from oversight boards to appointed receivers — have been used in cases where cities have fallen into financial disarray, but the arrangements are often controversial, stirring up political struggles.

In Detroit, a mostly black city led mainly by Democrats, the intervention by the state, mostly white and led by Republicans, has been viewed by some as a needless and undemocratic seizure of control.

Mr. Snyder, a Republican, was expected to make a decision in a matter of days on whether to reconsider the city’s need for an emergency manager.

Monica Davey contributed reporting.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/13/us/detroit-seeks-more-time-to-avoid-state-takeover.html?partner=rss&emc=rss