The city of Allen Park, Mich., has dodged the “bankruptcy bullet” because Joyce Parker, the city’s emergency manager, said that after adjustments to city employee contracts that included wage and benefit cuts, Allen Park will avoid filing for chapter 9 protection, the CBS affiliate in Detroit reported yesterday. But she says more consolidation and privatization could be in the plans. “So we would certainly evaluate that along with some other initiatives, even issues for opportunities for consolidation or collaborating with other communities. That’s always something that we will consider as we move forward,” Parker said. To date, the structural reform measures have saved Allen Park $4-million — roughly the same deficit amount the city faced when Parker was appointed in October.
