Battered for decades by the same problems—a steady loss of people and jobs, a soaring murder rate, a wholesale erosion of its tax base—Detroit now faces the prospect of running out of cash as soon as the end of the month, which would mean the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, according to an op-ed in Friday's New York Times. Recent proposals on ways to patch holes in Detroit’s budget illustrate just how desperate things have become. Gov. Rick Snyder (R), offered to lease Belle Isle, a city-owned island park, around 985 acres, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1883. Under the plan, in the works since last summer, the island would have become a state park with an entry fee, thus covering the annual $6 million in maintenance and operations costs—funds sorely needed for the beloved landmark, which in recent years has fallen into disrepair. Still, the Detroit City Council, under pressure from a vocal minority suspicious of “outsiders” looting Detroit’s few remaining assets, postponed a long-planned vote on the Belle Isle proposal, prompting Governor Snyder to rescind his offer. Soon after, Mayor Dave Bing, who had supported the governor’s plan, announced that he would be forced to close 51 other parks in order to keep Belle Isle financially afloat.
For more on the situation in Detroit, municipal financial distress and chapter 9 trends, be sure to pick up a copy of Municipalities in Peril: The ABI Guide to Chapter 9, Second Edition..