Detroit Mayor Dave Bing yesterday outlined a 10-point program to raise revenue and cut expenses totaling $50 million in the city's latest effort to heal its finances, Reuters reported. The "revenue enhancement initiative" includes more effective collection of property and income taxes. Also, the city will be more aggressive in collecting on a variety of programs, including delinquent licensing fees and parking tickets, as well as fighting workers compensation fraud. The city also wants to sell a $4 million building on the downtown riverfront to the United Auto Workers union, but the price has yet to be negotiated. "This is just the beginning," said Bing, indicating that there will be more rounds of cost-saving initiatives.
To learn more about issues in chapter 9, be sure to pick up the latest ABI publication, Municipalities in Peril: The ABI Guide to Chapter 9, Second Edition, now up for pre-order in ABI's Bookstore.