Reuters: Bankruptcy News: Detroit city council votes to appeal Michigan state takeover

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Detroit city council votes to appeal Michigan state takeover Mar 6th 2013, 22:33 By Steve Neavling DETROIT, March 6 | Wed Mar 6, 2013 5:33pm EST DETROIT, March 6 (Reuters) - The Detroit City Council voted on Wednesday to challenge Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's declaration that the city faces a financial crisis and that the state should appoint an emergency financial manager. But Detroit Mayor Dave Bing said appointment of an emergency manager is inevitable and he declined to join in the appeal. "We need to end the drama and in-fighting and understand that whether we like it or not, an emergency financial manager is coming to Detroit," Bing said in a statement. The council voted 7-1 to appeal Snyder's decision, and Council President Charles Pugh said there may still be time to change the governor's mind. "The governor hasn't decided yet if he wants an emergency manager, so there is still time to convince him we don't need one," Pugh told Reuters. "I'm not saying our finances aren't in trouble, but we can do this without an emergency manager." The Republican governor on March 1 agreed with a report from a review team he assembled to scour Detroit's finances that concluded the city was in dire financial shape. He also said he had identified a top candidate for the manager job. The pronouncement of a financial emergency set up a 10-day deadline that ends Monday for city officials to request a hearing. In a March 1 letter to the city, Snyder said upon that request, the hearing would be held next Tuesday before Michigan Chief Deputy Treasurer Mary MacDowell. Detroit city council members have been advocating for a new consent agreement to replace an April 2012 one that the review team concluded was not sufficiently working to improve the city's finances. But the hearing will be restricted to whether or not the team had reasonable evidence to back up its conclusions. Information beyond the review team's scope or new actions taken by the city since the review concluded "will be considered beyond the scope of the hearing," the governor's letter said. Bing said the city should spend its time working with the state and the appointed manager. "This decision does not mean that I am turning the keys to our city over to the state ... or throwing in the towel. It is simply a fight we cannot win at the 11th hour - in a 30-minute appeals hearing," Bing said. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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