Detroit on the Brink

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has told a press conference today that Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will announce tomorrow his decision on hiring an emergency financial manager for the city. Bing did not say what Snyder will do.

We reported last week that it was probably a matter of weeks before the state took over Detroit's financial mess. But it looks like we were being optimistic.

The Detroit Free Press reported that it had failed to reach Snyder's representatives for comment, but "his decision [is] widely expected to be that he'll appoint an emergency manager to fix the disastrous finances of a city drowning in deficits and more than $14 billion in long-term debts and liabilities related to bonds and retiree pensions and health care benefits."

An emergency financial manager will have the unenviable task of shutting down many city services and making severe cuts to others and with trying to restructure Detroit's financial relationships. There probably is not a long line of applicants for the job.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Bankruptcy, Politics Tagged: featured