What a stink-in mess the city of Detroit is in. Governor Snyder has appointed an emergency manager to straighten out it's finances. A report is coming soon that lays bare the entire mess. As far as we know the city is around 14 billion in debt and barley has enough cash flow to pay its bills.

it took a long time for the city to get to this place. The Detroit public schools are also in financial management. When it was first taken over by the state they found kids didn't have books and school board members being driven around in limo zines  No wonder they were in financial trouble. I suspect the city leaders did the same kinds of things over time. the ex-mayor Kwayme Kilpatrick didn't help matters either with his proven administration of corruption.

Detroit leaders brace for EM report on restructuring due to financial crisis

Plan to be released Monday likely to reveal Detroit's deep financial crisis

• By The Detroit News
• 2 Comments

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Emergency manager Kevyn Orr Orr is finishing up a draft of a roughly 50-page plan expected to be “a detailed look at the depth and breath of the financial crisis of Detroit, says his spokesman. (Max Ortiz/The Detroit News)

Detroit - Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr's first report to the state on Detroit's restructuring is expected to reveal the city is in much worse financial shape than previously thought, his spokesman said Wednesday.

City leaders are bracing for the plan, which Orr is expected to deliver Monday as required under Pubilc Act 436, the state's emergency manager law.

Spokesman Bill Nowling said Orr was finishing up a draft of a roughly 50-page plan expected to be "a detailed look at the depth and breath of the financial crisis we're in" after "we've had a chance to pop the hood and look around" since Orr took office March 25.

"It's really going to be a very accurate snapshot of the situation from a financial standpoint and a need-for-restructuring standpoint for the city," Nowling said. "The depth of the financial crisis is steeper than we thought… "Anyone who reads it will have a pretty good picture of the situation the city faces."

The report will be Orr's first since he was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to overhaul Detroit's finances. He is required to file the document 45 days after his appointment. State Treasurer Andy Dillon began the countdown from March 28, when Public Act 436 officially came into law.

A spokesman for Mayor Dave Bing said his administration has not seen the report and declined to comment.

Municipal bankruptcy attorney Douglas Bernstein said he expects Orr will find some operational inefficiencies that need to be addressed immediately, but it will take more time to lay out plans to address the long-term financial issues.

Bernstein said he's curious to see what the plan will say on issues such as Belle Isle and City Council operations. Orr could also outsource some services, such as garbage collection, to see some immediate results, Bernstein said.

"It's going to be a redefinition of what the city is and what it has to be," said Bernstein, a Bloomfield Hills-based attorney. "It is no longer a city of 1.5 million people and you have to right-size and reconfigure and create that new model." Nowling said Wednesday the plan will identify those areas in need of restructuring, whether it's areas such as long-term pension obligations or tax collection. But he adds this "is the first pass at the plan" and the document is a guidebook. That makes the plan flexible, he said.

"It's an important first step. (People) know there's an issue, but they don't have a sense of the magnitude of the issues," Nowling said. "(It) will be clear the city must address these issues and have a new and different way of doing business. It's abundantly clear we cannot continue (with the status quo). It's not a five-year situation. We've got to get this done now."

Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown said he hopes the plan deals with restructuring and pension obligations.

"I'm hoping there will be some restructuring of the debt of unfunded liabilities or at least a plan for it so we can use it in consideration to finalize the budget," Brown said.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130509/METRO01/305090359#ixzz2SmuoATa2